Making RFID available to all, the Tego way One of the main issues stopping RFID becoming all pervasive has been the cost of the software and hardware needed. I had a briefing with Tego, who have just released a new product, TegoDrive, which may be the answer to the cost conundrum.
Who are Tego? Tego are a RFID solutions provider focused on high-memory applications that gather and store information on tagged assets. Based on their experience in the aviation industry, they have developed tags that can carry the entire life history maintenance records on aircraft parts wherever they go, accessible through any standard RFID reader. The company is based in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA and was founded in 2005. Timothy Butler, President and CEO of Tego explained "'Beyond ID' is Tego's theme of RFID achieving more than barcode applications. The standards, protocols and systems that support RFID are actually aspects of a powerful wireless communications network that can now be exploited for more than just identification."
What solutions do they provide? A wide range of rugged industrial high-memory tags are available from Tego and its partners for many applications. The TegoChip is available as three distinct product families, with memory size options of up to 32kBytes, and is fully interoperable with the UHF Gen 2 RFID infrastructure.  
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XM product family provides high memory capabilities for applications, including record keeping and security. XL product family provides similar capabilities to the TegoChip XM, but with enhanced memory retention and the ability to survive harsh environments, including high temperatures and radiation. GW product family provides the capability to interface to sensors, controls and e-ink style displays, or for any application where the tag includes an interface to an external device such as a temperature sensor.
Tego Radion tags provide track and trace functionality for items that are exposed to radiation, including use in X-rays, gamma sterilization and nuclear applications. The TegoChip XM family is the commercial grade version of technology used in aviation and other industries to store asset history information. Fully compatible with standard Gen 2 infrastructure, the chips can store not just an EPC identification code but also up to 32KBytes of user data. The tags are supplied to end users in the standard smart card size of 3.370" by 2.125" and are available as short range tags that operate at a few inches or as long range tags that can be read at ranges of a few feet.