Farsens has announced the launch of the Shadow, a new battery-less ambient light detector for monitoring exposure to light of tagged assets.

The battery-free RFID light detector tags from Farsens SL, San Sebastián, Spain, are compatible with commercial EPC C1G2 readers. The Shadow features a LPRS N5AC501085 Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) to detect exposure to light or darkness.

It has a 96-bit EPC number, a 32-bit TID and a password protected Kill command. Built in a PCB format, it is available in different sizes. The communication range is up to 1.5 m and the operating temperatures are from -30°C to +85°C (-22°F to +185°F). These ambient light detector tags are available in a variety of antenna design and sizes, depending on the specific application. They can be embedded in a wide variety of materials such as plastics or concrete and they can also be encapsulated in an IP67 or IP68 casing for usage in harsh environments. Evaluation kits are available.

The fact that the detector is fully passive makes it ideal for hardly accessible or restricted areas and those where the use of batteries is not recommended. The Shadow will never require a battery change, saving the costs associated to maintenance.

Shadow tags are used in automation applications where exposure to light of tagged assets change during the process. Monitoring the changes allows the user to programme a variety of procedures based on process time/status and the detector data. They are usually embedded in sealed places where exposure to light is scarce. Having an exposure is an indicator that a specific action is being taken or needs to be taken, depending on the specific application.

Farsens designs and manufactures full passive RFID sensor solutions. Their proprietary UHF RFID IC allows Farsens to develop long range solutions for asset tracking – via the unique ID – and monitoring – via the attached sensor – without the need of any battery on the tag.

The company displayed its industry-leading product portfolio including its battery-free RFID sensor products at Sensor+Test 2014, which was held in June in Nuremberg, Germany. 

Farsens showcased its latest development: the R-Meter. It is an EPC C1G2 tag to monitor the resistance value of the device connected to it. With a range from 100Ω to 10MΩ, users can play with a wide variety of resistance dependent sensors to develop their own wireless and battery-free sensor tags.

In addition, Farsens displayed a whole set of wireless, battery-free sensor solutions including:

• Pyros – UHF RFID contact temperature tag. Featuring a thermistor, the tag can wirelessly measure surface or contact temperature of items with temperature ranges from a minimum of -50°C to a maximum of +300°C degrees with accuracies ranging from ±0.5ºC to ±3°C degrees.

• Titan – UHF RFID bistable relay. Featuring a G6CU-2114P-US relay from Omron, it can wirelessly open and close electrical circuits (max switching voltage (AC) 380 V – max switching voltage (DC) 125 V – max. switching current 8 A)

-X32 – UHF RFID multiple switch monitor. It allows for monitoring the status of up to 32 switches with just one RFID tag.

• Magneto – UHF RFID magnetic field sensor. Featuring a LIS3MDL magnetometer from ST Microelectronics, monitors magnetics fields from ±4 gauss to ±16 gauss in three axis.