2010.03.11
NTT Comware and Hitachi Joint Development of Hands-free Room Access Control Solution
- With "Hitachi AirLocation MJ Tag" the industry's thinnest *the battery-embedded semi-active tag -
NTT Comware Corporation (below, NTT Comware, Head office, Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Michio Sugimoto) and Hitachi Limited (below Hitachi, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer: Takashi Kawamura) jointly developed the hands-free room access control system solution. The system contributes to improve securities and usability for room access controls. The joint system development of NTT Comware and Hitachi employs Hitachi's industry first and thinnest card-type semi-active RFID less than 3mm in thickness and the new model of "AirLocation(TM) MJTag".
The services, applicable to the customers in various fields, will be first introduced to the room access control system of all NTT Comware offices for promotion, as well as wherever with safety and security needs.
* As of the end of February 2010 (Hitachi)
Background
With the increasing needs of security systems along higher social awareness to securities and safety, the room access control solution systems are recently applied to various facilities such as offices. The IC card system, which is currently available in a number of systems, scans IC cards with the reader to authenticate the room access to unlock and lock the doors. However, this system does not detect multiple numbers of visitors to enter the room at the same time once one of them unlocks the door and it is even unable to check whether the person who unlocks the door actually entered the room, although the IC card is authorized. Therefore, a hands-free room access control solution system has been introduced to the rooms with strict room access control is required, so that the system ensure the security of the areas.Outline
Since 2008, NTT Comware and Hitachi started the joint development of the hand-free room access control system to authenticate visitors and detect room access logs based on the NTT Comware room access control solution in use for their offices. A number of trial errors and studies revealed that users need thinner and portable tags, as well as that the card type tag should be in shape to facilitate printing some information on it. NTT Comware summarized the needs as the product specification for Hitachi to realize the new type ""AirLocation(TM) MJ Tag". In the process of development, the affluent resources of Hitachi, such as high performance metal materials and thin batteries, are used to realize the thin tag in thickness of 2.99mm, 17% reduction of size to conventional tags. This will further make the tag easy to carry for the users.Future Scenario
Hitachi's new type ""AirLocation(TM) MJ Tag" is currently applied to the room access control solution system developed by NTT Comware, which are further promoted for use at 17 locations, 30,000 users nationwide, including NTT Comware group companies. This system is also applied to access control and residence time reporting of visitors at event venues, called NTT Comware's "RFID Visitor Access Analysis Service".NTT Comware and Hitachi continue the joint development in cooperation to improve the performance of the products and services to contribute to further ensure securities and usability of the locations with high security and safety needs such as offices, factories and data centers.
* AirLocation is the registered trademark of Hitachi Limited.
* Names of corporations and products are either trademarks or registered trademarks of each corporation.
