NXP Semiconductors, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, has established a Reference Design Centre (RDC) with the aim of facilitating deployment and adoption of RFID technology. Based near Graz, Austria, the RDC improves the performance and reliability of existing RFID systems by thoroughly testing applications under real life conditions for various industries.


Working in collaboration with key industry bodies such as EPCglobal and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the facility will help the company and its partners to deliver RFID solutions with optimum read ranges and system configuration. The RDC will develop new RFID solutions with a ‘frequency agnostic’ approach, as wireless frequency ranges are assessed and recommended based on the exact needs of the individual application.

NXP’s RDC application specific analysis and optimization endeavours to transcend the simple design-in of products. All elements of the solution can be developed and evaluated from the first engineering sample to the middleware and the final product. Through collaboration with all stakeholders, this approach aims to ensure that systems integrators and end-users can rely on performance and benefit from improved return on investment.

“RFID technology fundamentally changes how organizations operate, so it is essential that, before implementing RFID solutions, all the elements are ready to use in your business environment,” said Jan-Willem Reynaerts, general manager, RFID, NXP Semiconductors. “An environment such as NXP’s RDC ensures these solutions are business ready, removing the need for beta testing, improving the calculation for the return on investment and providing an extra level of confidence for the customer.”