Avery Dennison prepares to commercialise GE's RF sensors

General Electric’s RF sensors can detect toxic industrial chemicals (TICs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), biological agents and physical parameters.

Developed by a team of scientists and engineers at GE Global Research, the sensors are capable of providing selective quantification of chemical agents with low detection limits and can operate in the presence of ambient humidity.

The sensors comprise HF RFID tags laminated with unique films and work in combination with a proprietary reader, which interrogates the tag to read both the RFID tag data and the complex RF waveform associated with the chemical, biological or physical specimin that is being measured.

Jack Farrell, vice president and general manager at Avery Dennison RFID, said: ’Through our technology development with GE, we have successfully demonstrated that RF sensors can be manufactured using a standard roll-to-roll process. This achievement makes RF sensors a commercially viable solution for high-volume applications across our diverse base of customers.’

In the upcoming months, GE and Avery Dennison will collaborate on technical field trials of the RF sensors in pharmaceutical, food assurance and agricultural applications.