Gillette to buy 500 million RFID tags from Alien

Nov. 18, 2002 — Gillette Co. plans to buy 500 million radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags from California startup Alien Technology, according to the RFID Journal.

The global maker of razors and other products for grooming and hygiene said it would tag pallets and cases with devices for tracking purposes. The tags, Alien’s first sale, are made in a process called Fluidic Self-Assembly. The NanoBlock circuits, fabricated in industry standard foundries and suspended in liquid, are flowed over a substrate where the devices settle into stamped holes matching their shape.

Gillette is expected to announce a strategic supplier relationship with Alien by month’s end, and shipments should begin by March, according to the report. It said the order is by far the largest for RFID tags, and estimated the figure is close to the total number of tags in use today.

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