Inaugural Hands-On RFID Lab At Oakton Community College

Oakton unveils the first college level RFID lab in the state of Illinois. Full course of study and degree program for RFID. Built in conjunction with industry experts.

Littleton, CO (PRWEB) December 20, 2005 -- Stratum Global today announced the first collegiate hands-on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) lab in Illinois at Oakton Community College, serving fourteen northern Chicago suburbs. The lab will be located at Oakton’s new Art, Science, and Technology Pavilion in Skokie. Stratum Global in conjunction with William Frick, Intel and Intermec Technologies Corp. is providing Oakton with the tools required to develop an RFID lab and curriculum that will give students the opportunity to study the dynamics of how RFID infrastructure, readers, tags, and software logic solve business problems.

“As RFID continues to emerge, Chicago and suburban businesses will need employees with tangible skills in this growing field,” said Robert Sompolski, acting dean, Mathematics and Technology, Oakton Community College. “Oakton’s objective in this partnership is to prepare students for RFID opportunities in the workplace. Our lab will give students experience in working directly with software, tags, readers, and infrastructure gaining knowledge to implement a full-scale RFID project. Students will not only learn the technology, but also be able to communicate with business value of an RFID implementation.”

Stratum Global’s TagNet® RFID solution suite will serve as the software application foundation for understanding the integration components and the dynamics between the infrastructure, tags and readers. Students will use the software to manage and configure readers, conduct remote diagnostics, commission and interrogate tags, verify tag reads against existing enterprise data and create rules to establish application level events.

William Frick, based in Libertyville, IL, specializes in tag and labeling solution offerings. Frick will assist in developing the tag curriculum as it relates to tag materials, tags for high impact or rugged environments, application of active or passive tags, high visibility tags as well as tagging location. Frick will provide the lab with a variety of tag types for the students to work with on different materials, in multiple scenarios. Students will have a firm understanding of the differences between tags types, where those types are applicable and how to effectively construct a tagging methodology.

Enterprise data will reside on an Intel® based P4 and Xeon Server infrastructure. Data will be used to commission tags, construct work rules and manage events. Stratum Global’s TagNet® will ensure a seamless flow of data within the RFID environment, between the Intermec Readers, antennas, tags and the Intel® platform.

RFID hardware will be provided by Intermec and will include Intermec’s IF5® fixed readers, IP3® portable readers, and a combination of Intermec Intellitag® antennas. Students will use the hardware to understand how physical readers, handhelds and antennas are used to develop portals, and how portal development impacts read rates and the dynamics of hardware configuration. The hardware and curriculum will prepare students for careers in RFID, with a firm understanding of the technology required for a successful implementation and how that implementation can bring continuous process improvement to the business.

“Oakton’s RFID lab and curriculum will have significant impact on many levels within the college, the community, and the business world,” said Bill Hood, chief operating officer, Stratum Global. “Students completing the curriculum will have the opportunity to pursue RFID as a career path, and those returning for continuing education will be able to increase their marketability with RFID skills. Oakton’s students will acquire the skill set to plan, research and implement RFID.”

“We are pleased to be working with companies of such a high caliber in establishing this program,” Sompolski added. “Given their professional expertise we have great confidence that our students will leave Oakton well prepared for careers in supply chain logistics using RFID.”

About Oakton Community College:
Oakton Community College [www.oakton.edu offers associate degree and certificate curricula for students preparing to earn a bachelor’s degree at a four-year college or university, as well as those preparing for employment in a variety of careers. Oakton is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association, Illinois Community College Board, and American Association of Community Colleges. For more information, contact Robert Sompolski at 847-635-1975 or email protected from spam bots.

About William Frick & Company:
William Frick and Company has provided quality signage, tags, labels, decals, safety products, nameplates and other indoor/outdoor durable products since 1975. As an identification innovator, William Frick strives to assist companies of various industries effectively and efficiently track assets. Our goal in partnership with all customers is to reduce shrinkage and loss with custom long lasting RFID SmartMark™ tags, labels, decals and enclosures. For more information about William Frick and Company and their products, visit www.fricknet.com or call 847-918-3700 to speak with a customer representative.

About Intel:
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.

About Intermec: Intermec Technologies Corp., a UNOVA Inc. (NYSE:UNA) company, develops, manufactures and integrates technologies that identify, track and manage supply chain assets. Core technologies include Intellitag® RFID, mobile computing systems, bar code printers and label media. The company's products and services are used by customers in many industries worldwide to improve the productivity, quality and responsiveness of business operations. For further information, please visit www.intermec.com, or call 800-347-2636. To learn more about UNOVA, visit www.unova.com.

About Stratum Global:
Stratum Global is a software solutions company and systems integrator that develops and markets TagNet®, a release supported, platform agnostic Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) solution suite. Stratum Global’s sole business is RFID. Our customers are realizing the benefits today of complete RFID enabled solutions for Closed-Loop, Asset Management and Compliance. Stratum Global delivers best-in-class RFID business solutions with a solid understanding of industry key issues, current trends and recognizing that each customer has unique needs and complex requirements. We provide complete implementation services including site surveys, hardware installation, enterprise integration, tags, services and education to support the total RFID solution.

Regardless of your RFID initiatives, Stratum Global has a solution that can bring immediate value to most organizations. Invest incrementally – scale your RFID solution as your business needs to. “Start Small, Think Big.” For more information call 303.730.7343 or visit www.stratumglobal.com.

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Contact Information 
Liz Roth
STRATUM GLOBAL
http://www.stratumglobal.com
630-424-0330