FlexID - PragmatIC approach to printed RFID at pilot-production scale

Printed Electronics on substrates such as plastic, paper or metal foils has for many years been viewed as the next big wave of electronics with the ability to distribute electronics and create functionality where required, to reduce weight, increase robustness or create transparent electronics, amongst the many anticipated benefits. The printed electronics market is estimated to be £1.5B today, growing to £30B by 2021 and £200B by 2027 (IDTechEx).
During the past two years PragmatIC has developed printed logic technology, corresponding
to the printed equivalent of a silicon chip, and has now successfully transferred this to pilotscale
production at CPI’s National Printable Electronics Centre (Sedgefield). Radio-frequency
ID (RFID) tags operating at high-frequency (13.56MHz) and ultra high-frequency (850-
950MHz) have been able to move into item-level tagging due to the broader availability of RF
reading devices (including near-field communication in point-of-sale and smartphones) and
reduced cost/tag. However, the cost of integration and the silicon chips currently used
preclude widespread implementation of conventional RFID tags for electronic barcodes (i.e.
tagging of all retail items), security labels and consumer products to further the develop the socalled
“internet-of-things”. Printed RFID, based on PragmatIC’s proven technology platform,
can provide stepwide reduction in the cost of RFID tags. This project will design, fabricate and demonstrate the electronic building-blocks required to implement printed RFID using PragmatIC’s pilot-production facility for printed logic in addition to driving commercial exploitation in intermediate application along the development path.