Avery Dennison has launched its dual-technology AD-362r6-P inlay that combines item-level tracking and digital ID capabilities of a high-performance RAIN RFID (UHF) tag suitable for a wide range of retail apparel products and applications with the secondary loss prevention functionality of an EAS tag.

AD-362r6-P inlays from Avery Dennison are a unique dual-technology design that incorporates an UHF RFID inlay and an Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) tag in a single die-cut label. AD-362r6-P inlays are equipped with the Impinj Monza R6-P IC that provides interchangeable 96/128 bit EPC and 64/32 bit User Memory. TID memory is 96 bits with a 48-bit unique serial number.

A sensible solution for a broad EAS user base
The term ‘electronic article surveillance” does not stand for one clearly defined technology, but rather for a concept: There are, among others, Electro-Magnetic (EM), Acousto-Magnetic (AM), and Radio Frequency (RF) based EAS systems with specific advantages. The RF-based variation is technologically related to RFID, and the most popular anti-theft solution for retail, particularly in apparel stores, due to its low installation costs per tag: Countless stores have RF EAS gate readers installed which cannot work as RAIN RFID readers.

Enabling retailers to stay ahead of trends
The primary, RAIN RFID related feature of the new AD-362r6-P inlays enables retailers to benefit from improved inventory accuracy, enhanced brand security, and the ability to create a more satisfying shopping experience focused on maximizing convenience and utility.

The dual-technology inlay contributes to frictionless shopping as it enables (self-) checkout solutions that do not interfere with EAS-based anti-theft systems:

• When the inlay is scanned by a RAIN RFID reader during the checkout procedure, the EAS functionality can be deactivated automatically, abolishing the need for a manual detachment of the otherwise needed dedicated EAS tag.

“Listening to customers”
“Our new dual-technology AD-362r6-P inlay is proof to our ability to listen and quickly respond to our retail customers who need to leverage RFID capabilities with their RF EAS infrastructure including gate readers installed at store exits to mitigate theft”, said Hal Hikita, Head of Product Line Management, Avery Dennison Intelligent Labels.

AD-362r6-P inlays are approved by the RFID Lab at Auburn University and meet ARC performance and quality requirements. They are available in high volumes as of now.