Innovative i-Rose solutions at Drinktec

In mid-September, one of Drinktec’s most important beverage technology fairs took place in Munich. The fair, which takes place every four years, was attended by 1,405 exhibitors, including seven Slovenian companies – the most notable of which was the company i-Rose from Laško.

A company from a small town near Savinja presented its i-Track solution, intended for tracking and efficient asset management using RFID technology, at the fair. Needless to say, this solution was based on their domestic knowledge. According to the company, their i-Track solution can be used in a variety of industries where asset management is required. The company highlighted its use in brewing, especially in the field of beer kegs – this solution was also presented at Drinktec. It can also be used to track waste containers or gas bottles. The assets integrated into the system can be traced at any time. According to Miha Mirt, head of marketing at i-Rose d.o.o., the main advantages of their solution are not only lower costs, but also improved management, better responsiveness and, most importantly, improved business partner satisfaction. And how satisfied is the company with the number of visitors to their showrooms at the Munich trade fair? Mirt adds that there has been a lot of interest in the i-Track solution at Drinktec. “Our showrooms were visited by businessmen from all over the world, which was a pleasant surprise. Nevertheless, it is true that i-Track is presented at a time when the industry is trying to optimize all aspects of its management and is willing to invest in such solutions.

How i-Track works?
The most important part of the i-Track system is the so-called service-oriented architecture (SOA), which is responsible for the integration of the local ERP system, business process monitoring, analysis and integration of specific hardware. i-Track consists of three basic parts – modular software solutions, tracking terminals and RFID tags. The RFID tags can be active and/or passive; active RFID tags are used in case the funds are relatively large (garbage containers, bins). Passive RFID tags are only a few millimeters in size. They can use radio waves to identify the means to which they are attached. These labels are followed by special terminals – we distinguish between basic and mobile sensors. The sensors can be connected to a GPS receiver that allows location detection; they can communicate with i-Track using GPRS technology. In addition, BlueTooth allows communication with the user’s mobile devices.