Tokyo, Japan, December 1, 2010 ---Teijin Fibers Limited, the core company of the Teijin Group's polyester fibers business, announced that a three-month field trial at Chiba University Library in Chiba, Japan has demonstrated the effectiveness of a new book-management system using CELL FORM, Teijin Fibers' two-dimensional data-communication sheet, and ultra-high-frequency (UHF, 952 – 954 MHz) radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. Based on the successful result of the trial, Teijin Fibers now aims to introduce the system as a solution for libraries to manage books, including protecting them against theft, and hopes to see the system adopted as a de facto standard in the library field.
The trial demonstrated that Teijin's system, which ensures stable transmission of signals via the UHF band within a controlled range around the CELL FORM sheet, reads signals with an accuracy rate of over 99%. The system records how many times books are removed from the shelves, including when they are not actually checked out of the library, unlike conventional systems that are used only at loan-out counters and entrance/exits.
A separate study at Teijin's Osaka Research Center has demonstrated that removal of multiple books from a shelf can be accurately monitored simultaneously, even when using RFID tags as small as 2 mm, meaning that the tags used in this system can be made much less conspicuous.
CELL FORM combines a data communication technology called @CELL, developed by a University of Tokyo spin-off venture company called CELLCROSS Co., Ltd., and specialized materials and manufacturing know-how developed by Teijin Fibers. The system employs an entirely new technology that confines electromagnetic waves to a cell within and around a special thin, flat sheet. When a microwave signal is transmitted through the sheet, a shorter-wavelength signal wave seeps out from the surface into the vicinity of the sheet. This highly localized signal, known as an evanescent wave because it is not dispersed widely, helps to prevent signal theft sometimes associated with signals used in wireless local area networks (WLANs). The evanescent wave, which is the point of interface with external signals such as those from an RFID tag, enables a secure, high-speed, low-power connection between the tag, sheet and computer.
RFID is a technology for transmitting data via radio signals to and from a non-contact IC chip, for purposes such as the identification and management of merchandise. An RFID tag attached to each book sends a signal via the UHF band, which enables stable transmission of signals up to a distance of roughly several meters. Special sensors attached to library entry/exit gates, as well as CELL FORM sheets attached to each bookshelf, detect each book's RFID signal and then transmit the information for secure book-processing.
Conventional electronic systems for book management in libraries use mainly barcodes or high-frequency (13.56 MHz) RFID tags attached to books. Such systems, however, can be time-consuming since each barcode must be read separately, and errors can arise if barcodes are soiled. High-frequency RFID systems also have a short signal range, so entry/exit gates are restricted to 90 cm in width. In addition, the tags are rather large and visible, making it relatively easy for book thieves to remove them.
About the Teijin Group
Based in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, Teijin is a global technology-driven group operating in eight main fields: aramid fibers, carbon fibers, polyester fibers, plastics, films, medical & pharmaceuticals, fiber products marketing and IT businesses. Teijin Limited, the holding company for the Teijin Group, is listed on the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges. The group had consolidated sales of USD 8.5 billion (JPY 765.8 billion, USD 1=JPY 90) in fiscal 2009 and employs 18,778 people worldwide, with 156 companies around the world.
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