Dash 7- Dash 7: A Reality

Dash 7 is an active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology which was designed for security and asset monitoring applications initially. But in recent years, it has ingressed into several commercial applications across the world. It works on biometric technologies.

Dash 7 is an advanced wireless sensor networking technology as it operates at unlicensed spectrum of 433 MHz ISM band air interface. The 433.92 MHz gives it exemplary signal propagation characteristics. It is ideal for wireless sensor networking applications since it penetrates concrete and water, but also has the ability to transmit/receive over very long ranges without requiring a large power draw on a battery. The low input current of typical tag configurations allows for battery powering on coin cell or thin film batteries for up to 10 years. A Dash 7 system of devices is inherently mobile or transitional. It is upload-centric, so devices do not need to be managed extensively by fixed infrastructure (ie base stations). The only disadvantage of Dash 7 is that it cannot handle high-bandwidth data transfers.

Core Competencies

Within 2-10 kms' radius, it can keep a tab on the identity of an object or a person using radio waves. The adoption of Dash 7 is a win-win situation for all sectors of businesses particularly for retail and mobile payment sector. Dash 7 will enable mobile payments, manufacturing and warehouse optimization, hazardous material monitoring, self-replicating light data networks, building access-in automotive/ logistics, etc, advanced location based services, ticketing and more.

Retailers can immensely benefit from the long distance mobile advertising and mobile coupons. Retailers such as BestBuy, Metro, Target, Tesco and Walmart are in the forefront of RFID adoption. These retailers are focused on improving the supply chain efficiency and making sure that the product is on the shelf when customers want to buy it with the help of sensors. Retailers can attract prospective customers by sending information about products, its price, color, origin, expiration and so on with the help of RFID tags. Dash 7 will enable the mobile payment at drive-through windows.

Dash 7 will transform the life of a common man and farmers as well. It has the ability to revolutionize the agricultural sector. For instance, farmers need not walk 2-3 kms to their farms to switch on the pump set for irrigation, instead it can be done and monitored from home with the help of mobile phones. It can facilitate cold chain management and it can address the spoilage of fresh products before reaching markets. Dash 7 is also being designed and used for other automotive applications like supply chain visibility. Dash 7 based TPMS can save 2 bn gallons of gasoline annually.

Dash 7 will assist logistics by tracking the whereabouts of shipping containers, pallets, roll cages, trucks, rail cars, maritime vessels and other supply chain assets, providing businesses with unprecedented visibility into their everyday operations. It is also used for monitoring the in-transit temperature and other environmental factors that can impact the integrity of sensitive products.

Complementing NFC

Dash 7 is a complement to Near Field Communications (NFC), driven by a combination of sensing function with wireless transmission. Dash 7 is an advanced wireless sensor networking technology which operates at unlicensed spectrum, 433 MHz ISM band air interface. It provides low latency for tracking moving objects, small protocol stack, sensor and security support, and data transfer of up to 200 kbit/s.

At present, Nokia, Samsung, LG, Motorola, BenQ have deployed NFC. Several leading operators across the world will follow this trend including American Movil, Axiata Group Berhad, Bharti, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KT, MTS, Orange, Qtel Group, SoftBank Mobile, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telekom Austria Group, Telenor, and Vodafone. IMS Research, a market research firm has forecasted that NFC-enabled phones are expected to reach 26% in 2015 and it will be commercially deployed by 2012 in several markets. Therefore, as Dash 7 is a complement to NFC and has an edge over it; what will stop Dash 7 from being a reality?

Malini N
malinin@cybermedia.co.in