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The first question in applying a radio frequency identification system to a particular application is whether to use passive or active tags. Passive tags, similar to barcodes, are smaller and cheaper, but can’t hold much information. Active tags, on the other hand, can hold considerably more data and can communicate on their own, but need a power source such as a battery and are traditionally larger and more expensive.
Tego Inc., however, has presented a compromise. Last week, the Waltham-based startup launched the first version of its passive, battery-less RFID tag capable of holding up to 32 kilobytes of memory for up to 20 years without an additional power source.
The initial reception for the tags has been positive, particularly in the aerospace and defense industries, according to Tego founder and CEO Timothy Butler, who also founded collaboration software maker SiteScape Inc. in Maynard, which was sold to Novell Inc. in 2007. Airplane manufacturers Airbus SAS and Boeing Co. are in the process of evaluating the tags, according to Butler, though he declined to discuss the details of the relationships. The Department of Defense has also expressed interest in the company’s system, he said.
“We’re looking (to tag) objects that have a long life and a story behind that life,” he said. “Aerospace parts, for example, go through numerous changes and inspections and maintenance checks over the course of their life, all of which creates a story that can be stored on the part.”
Butler also hopes to move the product into new applications, from medical equipment to retail tags, where price markdowns on things like clothing could be tracked on the tag itself, eliminating confusion for customers and salespeople.
According to Michael Liard, a research director covering RFID at ABI Research, the idea of a memory-bearing passive tag is not new, but Tego may be among the first in the industry to bring it to market.
Liard also said the markets Tego has identified, such as aerospace, are ideal for the technology, but in other areas, such as retail, price will become a make-or-break factor.
“Changing price tags on the fly would be very attractive to retailers, but the price point (of the tag) becomes very important,” he said.
Butler said the company has not set the system’s final price structure yet, but expects to be “at or below the cost of traditionally active tags with similar functionality.”
The 10-person Tego raised $6 million in funding in 2007 from Bainco International Investors and other investors, and officials expect to be looking at raising a new round in the near future.
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