SANTA CLARA, CALIF. June 5, 2006 Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW) today announced that it has combined its RFID Test Center with the Sun Advanced Product Testing (APT) environmental test laboratory to meet the growing demands of customers to test multi-vendor RFID and sensor solutions for the ability to withstand extreme, “real-world” environmental conditions.
Companies from around the world have used the Sun RFID Test Center to simulate thousands of RFID and sensor deployments to verify that multi-vendor solutions are interoperable and meet industry technical standards and mandates. Sun is reorganizing the RFID Test Center into its Colorado-based Sun APT lab to add the ability to test RFID and sensor solutions under adverse environmental conditions such as excessive heat and cold, shock, humidity, vibration, altitude and pressure. The new facility is called the Sun Advanced Product Testing Lab for RFID and Sensors.
“Our previous RFID Test Center has been extremely successful helping customers take their first steps toward implementing comprehensive RFID solutions that are interoperable and meet industry standards and mandates,” said Jim Del Rossi, RFID facility director, Sun Microsystems. “Combining our RFID Test Center with Sun’s premier APT environmental test lab lets our customers take that next step – to conduct real-world, industrial-strength tests to verify whether RFID solutions can withstand the harsh field environments found in military, shipping, aerospace, medical and other settings.”
Sun’s new APT Lab for RFID and Sensors will be collocated with Sun’s existing APT facility in Longmont, Colo., with additional operations in Sun’s nearby Louisville campus in suburban Denver. The facility, which will begin operations immediately, is the world’s first to combine “industrial-strength” environmental stress testing with comprehensive interoperability and standards-compliance testing. More information about Sun RFID solutions and the Sun APT Lab for RFID and Sensors is available at www.sun.com/rfid.
“We have utilized the extensive testing facilities of APT for Coors products since 1991 and the premier services of the Sun RFID Test Center since 2004,” said Ray Toms, senior packaging manager at Coors Brewing Company. “We look forward to the integration of these test functions for enhanced future testing.”
About RFID Technology
RFID (radio frequency identification) technology uses small tags attached to everyday objects that can be read by sensors to capture data about the object. Integration of this data within the enterprise or with partners or customers can help companies lower costs, improve processes and gain business efficiencies. RFID solutions are being used increasingly in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, retail, health care, pharmaceuticals, transportation, security and government. The U.S. Department of Defense and many large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target have established requirements that vendors use RFID to help reduce the cost of delivering products and to improve supply chain management.
About Sun’s Advanced Product Testing (APT)
Sun’s Advanced Product Testing is an ISO-9001-certified, independent, fully equipped environmental test lab located in Longmont, Colo. APT employs the use of vibration, shock, altitude and temperature/humidity test machines to perform evaluations on products and package systems. All are designed, built and utilized to perform testing in accordance with NEBS, ASTM, ISTA, MIL-SPEC 810, RTCA/DO-160, UN/DOT HAZ-MAT and other specifications. Sun’s APT can be found on the Web at www.aptesting.com.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
A singular vision — “The Network Is The Computer” — guides Sun in the development of technologies that power the world’s most important markets. Sun’s philosophy of sharing innovation and building communities is at the forefront of the next wave of computing: the Participation Age. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at sun.com.