HID, Sony in RFID venture

HID Global and Sony are forming a partnership to jointly develop a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader platform for PCs, reports RFID Journal.

The jointly developed platform, the two companies report, will be designed specifically for laptop manufacturers, and will encompass both Sony's and HID Global's contactless solutions.

Goals for the joint development are focused on minimising product development requirements and speeding time-to-market schedules for PC manufacturers.

The University of Chicago Medical Centre has started deploying RFID badges that monitor hygiene, states RFID Solutions Online.

In the pilot project, Proventix Systems will install its nGage system that monitors hand hygiene compliance 24 hours a day.

Caregivers wear RFID badges that monitor hand hygiene events upon entering and exiting a patient room. The system also includes communication screens in each patient room that can display hospital- or patient-specific information.

After going through a bankruptcy that nearly killed it, Pleo, the robotic dinosaur, is set to be reborn with upgraded features, says Wired.

The new Pleos will have a battery life of up to two hours and will have an RFID-based 'sense of smell.'

In April last year, Pleo's manufacturer Ugobe filed for liquidation. While that signaled the end for the road for Pleo, a Hong Kong-based company Jetta stepped in to buy the intellectual property rights and other assets for the Pleo.