RFID hits the slopes

An EM Microelectronic product story

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Apr 8, 2005

EM Microelectronic, Skidata and EC-Passage have codeveloped an RFID transponder chip that greatly facilitates the handling and identification of rented skis or snowboards at ski resorts.

EM Microelectronic, Skidata and EC-Passage have codeveloped an RFID transponder chip that greatly facilitates the handling and identification of rented skis or snowboards at ski resorts.

The EM4026 chip can be read with a contactless reader operating at 125kHz, a frequency range allowing for best reading performance in wet conditions or in close proximity to metallic parts.

The battery-less transponder, which contains the chip connected only to a small antenna, is integrated into the ski at manufacturing time and is therefore invisible and tamper-protected.

An on-chip voltage limiter prevents the chip from intentional or accidental destruction.

It is powered by the reader field and can be operated at temperatures down to -40C.

It features anticollision, meaning that several tags can be read simultaneously in the area of the field detection.

Each individual chip features a unique factory programmed 64bit identification number.

The Tag Talk First protocol enables a cost effective chip implementation and avoids interferences with existing contactless access control systems near ski lifts.

In ski rental shops, tagged items can be identified and attributed to customers very easily, making the process of delivery and return of rented equipment more accurate and speedier.

Furthermore, with readers in lift boarding areas, more than 100 tags in the field can be counted and identified simultaneously.

Ski resorts are thus able to automatically locate stolen or lost equipment.

EM Microelectronic RFID technology has been present on ski slopes for over ten years in access control with Skidata.

Today most ski resorts in the European Alps use RFID chips and systems for contactless access control to the lift boarding areas.

With its partners, EM Microelectronic is also a world leader in supplying RFID chips for ski applications.