ANN ARBOR — Evigia Systems and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory announced today that they have finalized a licensing agreement under which Argonne’s patented, application-specific radio-frequency identification sensor/seal technology and its custom-developed ARG-US software suite will be further developed and marketed as a comprehensive nuclear and hazardous material handling solution.
The system, jointly developed by Evigia and Argonne, adds sophisticated sensing, monitoring, and communication capabilities directly to drum-type packages, using attached battery-powered RFID tags that combine a full-range of sensors, onboard memory, and secure wireless communications (based on the ISO18000-7 international standard).
The award-winning ARG‑US RFID system is based on Evigia’s EV3 wireless sensor platform. It provides continuous, near-real-time tracking and monitoring of the status of packages during transport, in-transit stops, and storage. The system integrates ARG-US RFID tags, interrogators, control computers, software, a database, and satellite and cellular-based communications.
The licensing agreement between Evigia and Argonne highlights the value of ARG‑US technology to industry, “Our initial goal was to develop RFID tags to support DOE in reducing operating costs, modernizing its management of the life-cycle of nuclear materials, and enhancing safety, safeguards, and security for years to come,” said Yung Liu, a senior nuclear engineer at Argonne.
“However, the need for ARG-US technology has grown beyond the initial application as a result of demonstrated performance, ongoing development and industry recognition of the technology’s value in the broader market. Our licensing agreement with Evigia will facilitate technology transfer to the marketplace, one of the key goals of the DOE national laboratories encouraged by Energy Secretary Chu.”
According to Dr. Navid Yazdi, president of Evigia, the agreement “enables us to immediately enter new markets with the Evigia EV-3 platform and Argonne’s ARG-US technology and deliver a complete, readily deployable wireless sensing solution for these vitally important nuclear material transportation and storage operations.”
Argonne’s development work is sponsored by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management in support of its Office of Packaging and Transportation Packaging Certification Program.
For more information on Evigia, visit http://www.evigia.com.
