UPS RFID labels

[Jonathan Rosen]

I noticed that UPS puts a label on all packages that has an RFID tag embedded in it. I got curious about what they are using and found its an Avery-Dennison paper tag with an Impinj M830 chip on it.  The M830 is the newest and highest performing RFID tag, so I was interested in testing it. It functions like any other RFID tag, easily changed and read.  The next challenge was separating it from the paper substrate, which was impossible. They actually embedded the tag into the paper, so after dissolving the paper in water, there was nothing left to support the thin tag metal, making it unusable. 

This week I tested a tag on a UPS box and found that they changed both the tag and substrate. They switched to an Alien AZ-MR7N wet inlay (plastic substrate) with an Impinj M830 chip. I suspect this change is due to the weather; the paper AD Movement tag could get wet outside and have a reduced read range.  

The AZ-MR7N is very similar to the AD Movement, it has the same dimensions and uses the same high performance M830 chip but the plastic substrate makes it easy to soak and remove the label, and makes the tag reusable. 

Next step is to do some distance testing outside, where I'll try to compare the read sensitivity using Impinj ItemTest to see the performance difference between different chips that I have.