A state-of-the-art Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology lab is now open at Merrimack
College.
Merrimack is one of the few colleges in the country with such equipment for study, and is one
of the only higher education institutions to include RFID coursework as a core requirement for an
electrical engineering undergraduate degree.
RFID technology is an automatic identification method that uses tags or transponders to store
and remotely retrieve data.
The new lab, located in the Mendel Center for Science, Engineering, and Technology on
Merrimack’s campus, features a number of demonstration stations to help students learn firsthand
how RFID is used to track items in manufacturing and supply chain applications in industries such
as: libraries, textile services, apparel retail, luxury goods, and pharmaceutical/health care.
TAGSYS donated over $60,000 of equipment to Merrimack’s lab – a combination of high frequency
(HF) and ultra high frequency (UHF) tags, readers, antennas and application stations. Other lab
donors include: Motorola, Psion/Teklogix, Honeywell, Zebra, Shipcom Wireless, Radianse, and Identec
Solutions.
Upcoming RFID Course
“Disruptive Technologies” focuses on technologies that either fill a technology gap, or
overturn an existing technology. The course uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology
as an example of disruptive technologies. Junior and senior students in electrical engineering,
computer science, and business courses are able to take RFID courses at Merrimack. For more
information, contact the Electrical Engineering Department at Merrimack at (978) 837-5000 x4362.
Press Release Courtesy of Merrimack College
November 18, 2008
