Innovation: Patented a 'smart' label to monitor product conservation
9/4/2020
ENEA patents a wireless temperature gauge.
Researchers from the ENEA Portici Center (Naples) have patented a wireless temperature indicator to monitor the conservation status of perishable products in the agri-food, medical and pharmaceutical sector. The indicator, inserted in the label, does not require batteries or sensors and can signal with a simple "yes-no" the exceeding of a predetermined temperature threshold and store the data to view it at a later time.
The indicator, a sort of hi-tech thermometer, works with high frequency RFID technology (Radio-Frequency Identification) and does not affect the transfer of information between the product label and a conventional scanner.
This innovative system can be used in the management of the cold chain and in the movement of biological samples, in the field of logistics of perishable goods and when it is necessary to detect the exceeding of a storage temperature.
"The system we patented has a low production cost and, unlike other passive tag devices – e.g. without a battery - can detect the thermal event even when not near a reader, storing the information relating to a peak of unwanted temperature the instant it occurs, "Riccardo Miscioscia, researcher at the Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Devices explained.
"The challenge now is to integrate one or more sensors into the RFID tags to ensure that the properties of the tracked object were not voluntarily or involuntarily altered by external causes," Miscioscia concluded.
For more information please contact:
Riccardo Miscioscia, ENEA - Nanomaterials and Devices Laboratory, riccardo.miscioscia@enea.it
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