Impinj Revolutionizes RFID Readers

Impinj claims the Impinj Speedway Revolution RFID reader meets or beats every specification of the current Speedway only with lower power consumption and a much smaller form factor. In this edition of The RFID Network, we’re going put that claim to the test and see just how revolutionary the Impinj Speedway Revolution really is.

Impinj Speedway Revolution UHF RFID Reader

Product Rating: Best-in-Class Award

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Product Overview

The Impinj Speedway Revolution, also packaged as the CSL CS462, is an EPCglobal UHF Class 1 Gen 2 and ISO 18000-6C compliant reader. Impinj has built upon their current Speedway reader by adding hardware features including better receive sensitivity, interference rejection, and item-level carrier cancellation.  It is also is 80% smaller and consumes 57% less power. It also includes:

• Power over Ethernet (PoE) (Standard IEEE 802.3af)
• 2 USB ports
• Optically isolated General Purpose Input Output ports: 4 in 4 out

UHF RFID Reader Comparison of Features

When compared to other EPCglobal UHF Class 1 Gen 2 / ISO 18000-6C compatible stationary RFID readers, the Impinj Speedway Revolution has an impressive set of features. The below table provides a side-by-side comparison or the more common readers in the same class.

Our RFID Reader Performance Benchmark Tests

RFID Tag Read Distance Test

Our team tested a variety of different passive and battery-assisted passive RFID tags and labels. All tests are designed based on real-world scenarios that a tag will encounter. At least three trials of every test is performed. When possible, a different tag is used for each test in order to account for production variances. This also eliminates having a really good tag or a really bad tag that skews the results. Although tags may read briefly at further distances, each tag must maintain a 3 second read before the distance results are recorded. In some cases a tag would be read very briefly at a much greater distance than the recorded result demonstrates. Our team selected 3 seconds because it helps to eliminate tags reads resulting from stray reflections. After several weeks of extensive testing by our team of experts at RFID Global Solution, Inc., the results were captured and the averages are calculated and published below.

The Speedway Revolution achieved some of the furthest read distances we’ve ever seen.  On cardboard, the Revolution offered great performance across the board with the more popular passive RFID labels.  When we tried a Battery Assisted Passive RFID label, the Revolution set a read distance record of 157 feet with the PowerID PowerG. That’s the furthest we’ve ever seen a Gen 2 complaint label read. On metal, the Omni-ID Ultra was read 135 feet away and the PowerID PowerM RFID label was read 153 feet away.

Our team attributes these distances to the Revolution’s outstanding receive sensitivity of -82dBM. Simply stated, that means the reader can hear even the quietest tag responses.

RFID Portal Tests: Item Level Receiving, Retail Apparel

For our portal tests, our team created a scenario that replicates the front of a retail store with two doors. In RFID-enabled retail environments, tagged inventory is read automatically as it’s received which eliminates the need for staff to scan new stock manually with bar code guns. We tested 150 tagged pieces of apparel in boxes on a hand truck. The Speedway Revolution read all 150 tags as they were pushed through the door in 5 out of 5 tests.

RFID-Enabled Table Tests: Item Level, Retail Apparel

In addition to portals, staff can also use an RFID enabled table to receive goods or to perform periodic inventory checks. In 45 different test cases which include tagged apparel in both boxes and pouches, the Speedway Revolution did not miss a single tag.

A Best-in-Class Award for the Impinj Speedway Revolution

Overall, the Speedway Revolution does significantly improve upon the previous Speedway reader.  Specifically, the Revolution is:

• 80% smaller
• consumes 57% less power
• Supports Power Over Ethernet (PoE)
• has better receive sensitivity
• and includes the new Autopilot features.

All of these features earn the Speedway Revolution a 5-star rating. Since Impinj has set the Speedway Revolution four antenna port model at $1,585 and $1,385 for the two port model. we have to give them a Best-in-Class Award.

For more information on our product review ratings, read Our Product Review Rating Explained.

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