| Type | Private, venture-funded |
|---|---|
| Industry | High-tech, RFID |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Founder(s) | Carver Mead and Chris Diorio |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Products | UHF RFID devices including RFID tags, RFID readers, RFID reader chips, and RFID antennas |
| Employees | 140+ as of April 2011[1] |
| Website | www.impinj.com |
Impinj, Inc. is a manufacturer of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The company was started based on the research done at the California Institute of Technology by Carver Mead and Chris Diorio.[2] Impinj currently produces EPC Class 1, Gen 2 passive UHF RFID chips, RFID readers, RFID reader chips, and RFID antennas.
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Impinj was founded in 2000 based on the research of Carver Mead and his student Chris Diorio. The name Impinj stands for "Impact-ionized Hot-electron Injection".[3] In 2006, Impinj became the first company to introduce products based on the EPCglobal UHF Gen 2 standard.[4][5] Bear Stearns reported in 2006 that Wal-Mart issued contracts to Impinj and Alien Technology, including them as significant suppliers for a total 15,000 RFID readers needed for Wal-Mart stores and distribution centers. The report invited speculation but was not confirmed.[6]
In the same year, Impinj created new partnerships in Asia. In February, Impinj signed an Original Equipment Manufacturer agreement with the Hong Kong based company Convergence Systems Limited (subsidiary of the Chung Nam Group of Companies).[7] In December, Impinj partnered with Korean company LS Industrial Systems (part of LS Group) to create RFID solutions targeting the Korean market.[8]
In June 2008, Impinj sold its non-volatile memory business to Virage Logic.[9] Also in 2008, Impinj acquired the Intel RFID division, including an Intel-developed RFID reader chip. Impinj renamed the chip Indy R1000.[10][11] In 2009, Coca-Cola unveiled their Freestyle soda machine that gives users one hundred different possible drink combinations. The Freestyle soda machine uses Impinj Monza tag chips and Indy reader chips to determine user preferences and to monitor the dispensers.[12][13] Mexico has certified the Impinj Speedway reader to be used by state agencies in the electronic vehicle registration initiative beginning in Mexico in July 2010.[14]
In April 2011, Impinj filed with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering.[15]
Introduced in April 2005, Monza tag chips were the first UHF Gen 2 RFID tag chips. [16] Upon their introduction, it was announced that Impinj would be selling 50 million Monza tag chips that year. These 50 million chips were sold to nine different companies, including competitors Alien Technology and Texas Instruments.[10] [16] [17] In 2010, Impinj introduced its Monza 4 tag chips with increased read and write capabilities and more memory options.[18] These chips also have innovative privacy features and Impinj's patent-pending True3D technology, which allows tags to be read regardless of orientation.[19] In April 2011, Impinj released their new Monza 5 chips which are designed to speed item-level encoding, with fewer errors. The Monza 5 can boost encoding speeds by up to 220 percent compared with other RFID technology on the market.[20]
Speedway is a registered trademark of Impinj. Speedway products include Speedway Revolution RFID Reader and Speedway xPortal RFID reader.
The Speedway RFID reader was first introduced in 2005 as the first RFID reader sold by Impinj. Designed to meet the RFID Gen 2 standards, Speedway was one of Impinj's GrandPrix products alongside Monza.[4]
The Speedway Revolution RFID reader was introduced in 2009. The Speedway Revolution is 80% smaller than the original Speedway RFID reader, measuring 6.75 x 5.5 x 1 inches.[21][22] The Speedway Revolution introduced Autopilot technology, which enables the reader to reconfigure itself as the environment shifts.[23]
Introduced in 2010, the Speedway xPortal is a RFID fixed reader that combined the Speedway Revolution with Dual-Linear Phased Array technology, with a smaller design than previous reader portals.[4][24] Whereas previous portal readers weighed about 150 lbs, the Speedway xPortal weighs 6.5 lbs and measures 40.5 x 8.72 x 2 inches.[25]
Impinj's RFID antennas with operation optimized for item-level applications enable superior system performance for a variety of deployments, especially when paired with Speedway RFID readers and Monza RFID tag chips. Key features include: Tightly controlled read zones to minimize reading of stray tags; Application-optimized read ranges—short range (near field), long range (far field), or a mix; and Application-optimized beam width (angle within which most intense energy emanates).
In 2008, Impinj acquired the Intel RFID division, including an Intel-developed RFID reader chip which Impinj renamed Indy R1000.[10][11] By combining many electrical components on one microchip, RFID reader chips can minimize size and costs of RFID readers.[26] As of 2008, 40 to 50 manufacturers had developed readers utilizing the R1000 chip.[26] In 2009, Impinj unveiled the Indy R2000 reader chip, with increased performance designed for use in high-end readers for more challenging applications.[27] In 2010, Impinj further expander their reader chip portfolio by introducing the Indy R500 reader chip, a lower cost chip for applications that don't require high performance.[28]
In 2011, Impinj announced its STP Source Tagging Platform, a combination of a reader and firmware designed for mass encoding of RFID tags.[29] The platform consists of two systems: bulk encoding for tags already attached to items, or in-line encoding before tags are applied to products. The STP platform is capable of encoding up to 1750 tags per minute using the in-line system, and 1100 tags per minute encoding in the bulk system.[29]