Unisys $62 million contract with the Department of Homeland Security anchored by RFID technology

Reston, VA, 15 July 2008 – ODIN technologies, the leader in RFID deployments and automation software, was chosen as a lead RFID deployment partner for the $62 million Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) contract awarded to Unisys in January. The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) contract features radio frequency identification (RFID) combined with License Plate Recognition technology to secure our nation’s borders and streamline the border crossing process.  This program leverages RFID-enabled identification cards for faster border crossing identity verification. 

“WHTI represents one of the highest and best uses of RFID I can imagine – making our country safer, our borders more secure, and providing border protection agents with tools to make their job more efficient,” commented Patrick J. Sweeney II from ODIN technologies.  “Once again we are pleased to team up with our longstanding partner Unisys to bring a highly scalable, repeatable and physics-based approach to an RFID roll-out.”

WHTI specifies that RFID will be deployed at more than 300 border crossing lanes which inspect and process travelers into the United States from Canada and Mexico. Thousands of cars cross these borders every day.  RFID promises not only a greater level of security, but also a much more efficient process – saving time for travelers and reducing cost for the Customs and Border Protection operations.

“ODIN technologies has deep experience in large-scale, passive RFID rollouts,” said G. Michael Rodgers, Program Manager from Unisys. “ODIN’s methods and software leverage physics and best practices to achieve accuracy and scalability through automation.  We have worked on this together in the past and know that ODIN provides the kind of accuracy and scalability we require in an RFID partner.”