Agreement Brings Together Printed Electronics, Near Field Communication and Cloud Software to Make Everyday Objects Smarter by Connecting Them to the Web
Thin Film Electronics ASA ("Thinfilm") (OSE: THIN.OL), a leader in the development and commercialization of printed electronics, today announced a collaboration agreement with EVRYTHNG, the Web of Things software company that makes physical products smart, by connecting them to unique digital identities on the Web.
Through the agreement, EVRYTHNG will integrate its cloud-based, software-as-a-service platform with Thinfilm's suite of printed electronics products, including the Near Field Communication (NFC) Barcode and Smart Label product families. Together, the companies will deliver intelligent product solutions that connect and manage online Active Digital Identities™ for a wide range of physical objects. With combined expertise spanning printed electronics, NFC, and scalable cloud-based software, Thinfilm and EVRYTHNG can deliver an integrated end-to-end solution that extends the boundaries of the Internet of Things to encompass everyday items, including consumables.
"EVRYTHNG has built a powerful software engine and intuitive interface to help companies create and manage engaging digital extensions of physical products," said Davor Sutija, chief
executive officer of Thinfilm. "Its cloud-based software, real-time analytics tools and rich APIs, combined with Thinfilm's printed memory, sensor-equipped Smart Labels and NFC Barcode technology, will enable digital and mobile interactivity in applications where connectivity was previously neither economical nor practical using existing technologies. Our shared vision in bringing intelligence and digital interactivity to the billions of physical objects in the world makes EVRYTHNG an ideal partner for us."
"Our partnership with Thinfilm extends EVRYTHNG's ability to make physical products smart, interactive, and trackable by connecting them to the Web," said Niall Murphy, founder and chief executive officer of EVRYTHNG. "Thinfilm is leading a paradigm shift in the way digital interactivity is delivered to the market – even at the level of disposable items. The use of printed electronics specifically addresses the traditional cost and scalability barriers, while NFC connectivity significantly improves the ease of initiating interaction with a connected product. We look forward to working alongside Thinfilm in our efforts to enable a broad and inclusive Web of Things."
Thinfilm's NFC Barcode product – either on its own or as a component of a Thinfilm Smart Label – will connect to EVRYTHNG's software through NFC-enabled mobile phones and tablets to address a wide range of important markets, such as healthcare, manufacturing and consumer goods, for applications such as brand authentication, grey-market (diversion) detection, product serialization, asset management, and track-and-trace monitoring.
Thinfilm's NFC Smart Label platform combined with EVRYTHNG's software will enable organizations to address markets in which globally unique identifiers are combined with real-time sensor data to add a new dimension to mobile data collection and user interactivity. Temperature sensing labels, for example, can be used to monitor shipments of vaccines, insulin, and other sensitive pharmaceuticals. On the ground, mobile devices provide a real-time window to product batch information and temperature conditions, while scanned data is simultaneously pushed to the cloud to enable analysis and reporting of actionable insights. Likewise, perishable foods can be monitored to improve overall safety, enhance supply chain diagnostics and reliability, and give retailers – and even consumers – a new window into the history and status of certain products.
www.thinfilm.no
