SIMPLE SETUP, CUSTOM PROGRAMMING On the software side of things, Nordic ID engineers faced two challenges. One was to develop demo software accessible both to developers and to store managers, employees and others with few technical skills. The result? User-friendly demo software that installs on any PC to quickly familiarize users with the device. The design is intuitive and getting into technical depth is simply a matter of drilling down within one easy-to-use control panel. 12 • Nordic IDea
The other software-specific challenge involved with the development of Nordic ID Sampo was making software easy for third parties to custom program. Thanks to a well-developed and modular application programming interface (API) and very detailed documentation, custom applications created in pure C, C++, C# and Java are simple to integrate.
written in highly optimized C, for interpreted languages. There’s just a small integrated layer creating an interface for the native API library.” The net effect? Speed. “Required CPU time is really low,” says Lähteenmäki. “And the faster the processing, the faster the communication, the faster the reading.”
According to Mikko Lähteenmäki, Lead Software Engineer at Nordic ID, it was a trial and error process. “There was a lot of experimentation, finding the best and fastest way,” he says. “The API we ended up with is completely
The API runs off an RFID module that Nordic ID developed, the Nordic ID UHF RFID reader NUR-05W. It’s the same RFID reader used in the company’s newer mobile computer units.
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