(Click here for larger image)According to Symbol, the XR400 allows end users and partners to easily develop applications that can be hosted directly on the reader. The company will provide a development kit to assist in creating custom Windows CE-based applications that target the device.
Symbol XR400 Rear Panel
(Click image for larger view)Symbol says the device supports all Electronic Product Code (EPC) Generation 1 tags -- both Class 0 and Class 1 -- and will offer full support for the EPC Generation 2 (Gen 2) protocol via a future firmware upgrade. It also integrates a range of general-purpose input/output and connectivity ports including:
- 10/100 Base-T Ethernet
- USB host and slave
- RS-232
- 12-bit I/O control port
The XR400 is based on an Intel XScale IXP family processor with 240 MIPS (million instructions per second) performance, equipped with 64MB RAM and 64MB Flash memory, according to Phil Lazo, general manager of Symbol's RFID Infrastructure Division.
The device is essentially a re-architected implementation of an earlier model (the AR400), with the electronics partitioned into two subsystems controlled by two independent processors. A DSP (digital signal processor) handles the RF baseband processing subsystem, while the Intel XScale processor running Windows CE 4.2 serves as an application processor, resulting in a high level of available bandwidth for custom applications and continually-evolving RFID technologies, Lazo said.
The dual-processor architecture based on an industry standard application processor and embedded operating system will protect customer investments, by enabling new firmware to be downloaded into the devices to support emerging RFID standards as they become available, Lazo added. Additionally, the devices can be remotedly managed and updated, making it unnecessary to remove the devices from their installations for updating.
"We want to make this the defacto platform for RFID," Lazo said.
The device measures 8.75 x 11.75 x 2.0 in., weighs 4.85 lbs., and is packaged in a die-cast aluminum enclosure. It provides LEDs for power, activity, and error status.
Symbol unveiled the XR400 this week at Microsoft's TechEd conference in Orlando, Fla. It will be sold in the $2500-3000 price range.
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