PowerID PowerT Tags Used at Races Around the World by RFID Race Timing Systems

PowerID, the industry leader in battery-assisted, passive (BAP) RFID technology, announced that hundreds of thousands of PowerT tags have been used successfully at races around the world by its partner RFID Race Timing Systems, a leading supplier of race timing systems.

RFID Race Timing and its timing partners have used PowerT tags attached to runners’ bibs with the ULTRA System in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Most recently, the PowerT tag was used with excellent results at the Riga Marathon, the HBF Run for Reason in Perth, the Five Mile Run in Dublin, the Singapore Run for Water, and the Tobacco Run in North Carolina.

Based in Australia, RFID Race Timing Systems provides a superior timing product based on three unique components: PowerT labels, a control box, and a mat antenna. One of the pioneers in the use of UHF for race timing, RFID Race Timing Systems released its ULTRA System in 2009 and was the first to successfully place a UHF tag on the bib.

“PowerID tags are in a different league than other UHF Gen 2 tags in both read range and read performance next to lossy materials,” said Andrew Peterson, CEO of RFID Timing Systems. “The ultimate goal is to have the tag placed on the race bib that an athlete wears in every major fun run around the world. This negates any user error by the athlete when fitting a tag to a shoe or ankle strap. Only PowerT tags give us the read performance required when the tag is right up against the human body, and we don’t need to use any special spacer or design to get the tag away from the skin.”

PowerT’s main advantage over existing label solutions is that it can be attached to the back of a runner’s bib, which can be mailed to the runner prior to the event. This obviates the less convenient application of disposable shoe tags and the bothersome task of collecting tags after an event. In addition, due to its price point and environment-friendly battery, PowerT is disposable. As for reliability, the new PowerT label provides high read ranges, easily read from antennas set up in mats or on gantries up to 9 meters away.

“We are very excited about the expanding use of PowerT in races across the world by RFID Race Timing Systems,” said Erez Kahani, CEO of PowerID. “Adoption of the PowerT tag has been rapid with hundreds of thousands being utilized in the past few months, and we look forward to its continued use in the race timing sector.”