The 433 MHz band that DASH7 uses is available worldwide.

ISO 18000-7 contains several measures for expansion, already built into the standard.  These include the addition of custom commands and data elements.  DASH7 takes expansion one step further, providing a forum to discuss the integration of completely new features into the ISO 18000-7 standard.

A license is required for any active RFID hardware vendor who wishes to make, have made, or sell devices based on the ISO 18000-7 standard.  Semiconductor and other component vendors are exempt from this license requirement, as are systems integrators, software vendors and end users.  For more information on licensing for ISO 18000-7 please visit http://www.savi.com/partners/licensees/index.html

Different analysts have different ideas on the total market size for these sorts of wireless solutions, but we expect anywhere from 2 to 10 billion USD by 2011.  For a recent white paper on the topic, please see:  http://www.dash7.org/CR-SAVI-101%20March%2012%202009.pdf

All DASH7 members are also active ISO members and completely support the ISO 18000-7 standard.  DASH7 will aid the ISO process by addressing and resolving technical issues more quickly than can be accomplished through the ISO process.

Complete our membership application.

A manufacturer implementing ISO/IEC 18000-7 required capabilities does not guarantee DASH7 certification.
DASH7 certification requires that products pass a series of compliance tests established and executed by a DASH7 accredited test center.  DASH7 certified products will display a DASH7 certified logo.

Encryption over-the-air or within the tag is not currently part of ISO/IEC 18000-7, but DASH7 will address encryption.  Due to the power of modern silicon, both private key (i.e. AES 128) and public key (i.e. ECC, RSA) techniques are viable options.

WiFi and ZigBee technologies are designed to maintain high data rate, download-centric networks of relatively static devices.  They are not designed to elegantly address the BLAST model, which is more suitable for upload-centric networks like sensor nets, supply chain, asset tracking and others.

DASH7 solutions may contain a pool of companion technologies that each operate in their own ways, but the commonality between these is that they use a 433MHz silicon radio as their primary means of communicating with other DASH7 products.  433MHz was chosen for its worldwide availability and the inherently resilient qualities of the signal at this frequency.

DASH7 is the first successful attempt to organize active RFID technologies into a strong, global standard.

Yes.   DASH7 is a non-proprietary technology based on an open standard that anyone can use.

We have implemented RTLS capabilities that leverage ISO 18000-7 and have comparable or better precision than other RTLS technologies.

DASH7 is an aggressively low power RF technology-set best suited to uses that have bursty, asynchronous communication between devices.  In other words, you go in, you get the data you need, and you get out.  Examples of DASH7 applications include supply chain management, inventory/yard management, manufacturing and warehouse optimization, hazardous material monitoring, self-replicating light data networks.

The goal of DASH7 technology is to be simple, elegant and reliable for handling bursty, light-data, asynchronous, transient usage models.  We call this "BLAST" and it means that DASH7 is tightly tuned for dealing with inherently mobile devices that need to upload small bits of information reliably.  However, DASH7 is also a viable technology for non-mobile fixed devices as well.

1) Facilitate solution development between end users, system developers and technology suppliers;  2) Develop excellent facilities for certification, interoperability and feature cross-comparison; 3) Integrate new technologies into the ISO 18000-7 standard; 4) Identify, implement and certify companion technologies to ISO 18000-7; 5) Through improved standards and cooperation, increase the global market size for ultra-low-power RF systems of the sort addressed by DASH7 charter members.

DASH7 is the name we are giving to the ISO 18000-7 standard for active RFID to make it easier to remember and to save ink.  DASH7 is to the ISO 18000-7 standard what WiFi is to the 802.11 standards.

ISO 18000-7 is an ultra-low-power protocol and radio interface that contains means for automatic identification, scanning inventories, summarizing datasets, lightweight data-basing and other general purpose command-response messaging.

The DASH7 Alliance is a newly formed wireless industry consortium with the shared goals of making wireless devices based on the ISO 18000-7 (DASH7) standard more accessible to greater numbers of people and organizations, emphasizing DASH7's low-power and scalability, and cultivating a global network of DASH7 ecosystem partners.

Most importantly, DASH7 operates at 433MHz, which gives it exemplary signal propagation characteristics.  The tradeoff is data rate, but data rate does not really impact the effectiveness of BLAST usage models.