ThingMagic Mercury6 Reader Upgrade

ThingMagic M6 Reader (POE)

ThingMagic recently released a firmware upgrade to its Mercury6 (M6) RFID reader. The upgrade features support for the EPCglobal Low-Level Reader Protocol (LLRP) v 1.0.1, custom LLRP extensions, and reader-hosted applications—providing partners and users with application programming flexibility and "plug-and-play" access to the capabilities of the M6 reader. Note: this firmware upgrade applies to both the Wi-Fi version and the Power-over-Ethernet (POE) version.

Support for the EPCglobal Low-level Reader

Protocol LLRP provides a flexible and extensible industry-standard interface for operating network-connected RFID readers. With support for LLRP v 1.0.1, the ThingMagic M6 can interface with a wide range of popular enterprise infrastructures and business systems, offer increased scalability, and lower the cost and technical barriers associated with RFID adoption.

The upgrade also offers custom extensions to the standard implementation of LLRP. These include support for Gen2 Tag extension commands from several leading RFID chip and tag vendors, and “policy-centric” read plans that allow users to define how to interact with tags and then apply the same policy to any antenna deployed with the reader, rather than forcing users to follow the LLRP “antenna-centric” model.

Offering additional flexibility to its developer and user communities, ThingMagic customers now have the option of operating M6 readers with the ThingMagic MercuryAPI or LLRP depending on their project requirements. Existing M6 customers can take advantage of LLRP by upgrading to the new interface without changing how their current host programs interact with the API.

Reader-Hosted Applications

Also included in the upgrade is a Linux-based operating system capable of hosting on-reader applications. This feature allows the M6 reader to perform application-specific actions independently, providing solution developers the opportunity to differentiate their offerings to the enterprise market.

Mercury6 Adoption

Driven by the Mercury6e(M6e) UHF RFID reader module, the M6 is a low profile, high-performance 4-port RFID reader designed for both indoor and outdoor applications. Since its introduction in early 2011, M6 readers have been deployed by customers in a variety of industries such as construction, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation.

Availability

The firmware upgrade is expected to be available beginning November 15, 2011. Existing ThingMagic M6 customers with a current support contract can acquire the upgrade at no additional cost.