By Mirco Cadamuro, General Manager VeryFields

From left: TROI’s WoW-1, WoW-2 and Armored-RFID tag

Mirco:  Hello Patrick and thank you for this interview about TROI’s new products.
First of all, please describe in brief your new RFID tags: the WoW-1, the WoW-2 and the Armored-RFID tag in particular. Which are their innovative features? Which requirements are they designed to address?

Patrick:  The two series of RFID tags, Armored-RFID and WoW-1, WoW-2 is designed to provide additional features to the TROI Ceramics Series of tags OK-106, OK-17 and TMT-3. The original ceramics OK-106, OK-17 and TMT-3 is able to be imbedded, attached and exposed to extreme temperatures but there was an additional set of needs for even higher temperatures, more rapid attachment including to pipes, improved ruggedness and finally an ability to actually weld the tag to the part of interest.
Armored-RFID and WoW-1,2 address these ultimate and seemingly impossible requirements.

Mirco:  The Armored-RFID tag be considered a cousin product of the WoW tags, but which are its distinctive features?

Patrick:  Cousin is a good word. They both have the TROI ceramics DNA at the core but they have very different packages and means of attachment. The Armored- RFID is really designed for adhesive or welding and is expected to be “invisible” since it sorts of blends with the part to which it is attached. The WoW-1 on the other hand is extremely versatile and can be welded, cabled, screwed, adhesive attached or banded.

Mirco:  You told me that you tried to cover the Armored-RFID tag with a second stainless steel shell and realized that the tag continued working. Can the Armored-RFID tag be further reinforced?

Patrick:  OK. The mention of a second shell was more to impress you that the Armored-RFID is truly magic. If is already a tag inside a tag. By adding an additional shell the result is a tag inside a tag inside a tag which is amazing. Yes there may be a practical advantage especially if you are trying to get 1000°F type heat conditions and want additional shields but please appreciate the magic in my comments.

Mirco:  You say that the stainless steel shell of the Armored-RFID tag is an active element of the tag and not only a cover for protection. Can you tell something more about this aspect?

Patrick:  Both the shell for the WoW tags and the Armored-RFID tags actually are the tag. The shells are chosen to couple with the tag hidden deep inside the cavity.

Mirco:  I read that TROI’s new products provide also extremely low orientation insensitivity…

Patrick:  Yes. The WoW-1 can be read from all its six sides. The Armored-RFID would be similarly described as fully circular reading.

Mirco:  Is the Armored-RFID tag antenna a brand new design or does it share something with the antenna used for other TROI tags?

Patrick:  It is really new and only shares the “cousin” relationship to the WoW tags. The TROI invention and patent application are unique.

Mirco:  What about the advantages provided by the direct on-metal welding attachment method?

Patrick:  Some clients claim that they cannot weld without violating a certificate or warranty but for others welding is second nature and a wonderful way to add a tag quickly and reliably.

Mirco:  Could the Armored-RFID tag take on other shapes in the future?

Patrick:  Yes, square, rectangular and triangular in addition to round are already demonstrated but not available on stock.

Mirco:  Out of curiosity: did you start the Armored-RFID tag design process with the clear goal of creating a tag completely covered by metal or did you realize of this possibility a little at a time during your experiments?

Patrick:  That will remain my secret.
I will say that TROI’s advantage is a keen link between innovation and empirical observation often referred to as “bull’s-eye empiricism”.  I like to think that TROI is a leader in this field of endeavour and engineering.

Mirco:  How many people take part in the TROI’s tags design?

Patrick:  To be fair, all things start with a client challenge and especially from a difficult or urgent need. The resources applied are always needs dependent as well link by the “bull’s-eye empiricism’ approach. Resources can be current, historical or even drawn for unrelated industries all by TROI staff.

Mirco:  Have you already planned any evolution for the Armored-RFID technology?

Patrick:  Yes. The majority is to get TROI Super Heat tags past the two stable levels of 450°F and 600°F up to 1000°F and beyond and the Armored-RFID designs are key to that.

Mirco:  Are you working on other new exciting products?

Patrick:  Always. Do you have an impossible request with an equally impossible urgency to deliver?

Mirco:  Pat, sincere congratulations again. Looking forward to see new great RFID tags from TROI!

Patrick King is Technologies ROI’s (TROI) founder and president. A synthetic organic chemist, he has been an entrepreneur in printing, thermal imaging and automatic identification, among other fields. With some experience in RFID technology, he established TROI to initially provide consulting services, then joined the staff of Michelin Tires as a global electronic strategist—a position he still holds to this day. In that role, he has helped the tire and automotive industry develop RFID standards for tagging and tracking assets and work in progress.
(pictures and Patrick King’s profile credits: RFID Journal).