DASH7 is a new wireless sensor networking technology using the ISO/IEC 18000-7 standard for active RFID, operating at in the 433 MHz unlicensed spectrum.

DASH7 provides multi-year battery life, range of up to 2 km (potentially farther), low latency for tracking moving objects, small protocol stack, sensor and security support, and data transfer of up to 200 kbit/s. DASH7 is the name of the technology promoted by the non-profit consortium called the DASH7 Alliance.

What is The DASH7 Alliance?

The DASH7 Alliance was formed to advance the use of DASH7 wireless data technology by developing extensions to the ISO 18000-7 standard, ensuring interoperability among devices, and educating the market about DASH7 technology. Formed in 2009, the Alliance now has more than 20 members. Manufacturers, systems integrators, developers, regulators, academia, and end-users all work together to promote the use of DASH7 technology in a wide array of industries and applications. (source www.dash7.org)

The goals of the DASH7 Alliance are to:

• Develop improvements and extensions to the ISO 18000-7 standard
• Work to ensure that products claiming DASH7 capabilities comply with DASH7 specifications
• Encourage the development of products using DASH7 technology
• Educate consumers and enterprises globally about DASH7 technology

The DASH7 protocol combines a low power wireless sensor networking (like Zigbee) with RFID. It operates in the 433 MHz unlicensed spectrum, communicates at 100 kbps, penetrates concrete and water, and connects over long distances at low power.

The DASH7 protocol features:

• Multi-kilometer range and excellent penetration of walls, floors, and things made of water
• Extremely low power draw (measured in microwatts) and multi-year battery life
• A maximum bitrate of 200kbps
• Supports tag-to-tag or “multi-hop” communications, sensors, and public key encryption
• Multi-channel architecture for real-time locating capability
• Extremely low latency for tracking moving objects
• Operation in the license-free and globally available 433 MHz spectrum
• “Out of the box” interoperability using a single global frequency
• The brand given to the ISO 18000-7 standard for active RFID

]]> http://blog.testequipmentconnection.com/dash7-and-rfid/feed 0 http://blog.testequipmentconnection.com/new-industry-forum-collaboration-interoperability-test-tools http://blog.testequipmentconnection.com/new-industry-forum-collaboration-interoperability-test-tools#comments Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:42:57 +0000 http://blog.testequipmentconnection.com/?p=689 Read More →]]> Network Test Automation Forum brings together commercial testing vendors, test equipment vendors, and other industry experts to create interoperable testing solutions for service providers, network equipment manufacturers, and other enterprise organizations with large network deployments.

Fremont, Calif. – March 16, 2010 – Leading companies from across the communications and networking industries including BreakingPoint Systems, BT, Cisco, Empirix, Ericsson, EXFO, Fanfare Software, Ixia, JDSU, Spirent Communications, and Verizon today announced that they have joined forces to form the Network Test Automation Forum (NTAF), www.ntaforum.org, a global effort designed to promote interoperability between test tools and to simplify lab automation efforts. With representation from service providers, network equipment manufacturers and test & measurement vendors, NTAF advocates a customer-centric, device-agnostic framework that reduces time, complexity, and cost of product test cycles.

NTAF represents a fundamental shift from the stand-alone and proprietary approaches to an open lab automation approach. The forum asks test equipment vendors to collaborate with their customers to define an open and advanced automation framework. Through the agreement and adoption of multi-vendor technical architectures for test automation systems, test engineers and lab managers will benefit from accelerated deployment of next generation network products and services.

“Our goal is to provide complete transparency in the Forum’s activities and ensure a level playing field for all members.” said Keith Kidd, president of NTAF. “By encouraging industry wide participation, NTAF is working toward establishing
interoperable testing solutions for service providers, network equipment manufacturers, and other enterprise organizations with large network deployments.”

About Network Test Automation Forum (NTAF)
The Network Test Automation Forum brings together users, vendors, and other telecommunications and data communications industry experts for the purpose of creating interoperable testing solutions for service providers, network equipment manufacturers, and other enterprise organizations with large network deployments.
NTAF is professionally managed by Association Management Solutions (AMS). For over a decade, AMS has provided leading technology groups, associations and standards bodies with a powerful combination of experience, dedicated staff, internal technology development, event services and strategic marketing resources to meet its clients, goals. Some of AMS’ clients include: Broadband Forum, IETF, Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), MultiService Forum (MSF) and the Gaming Standards Association (GSA). (source ntaforum.org)