Myruns, the RFID hardware maker based in San Sebastián, has launched the R1 Series: two fixed RAIN RFID readers built on the Impinj E710 reader chip, with support for Impinj’s Gen2X extensions. The MB R1 is the company’s new flagship and the MB R1-Lite a cheaper sibling with fewer features. The commercial launch was announced on 10 November through the RAIN Alliance and on Impinj’s channels.
The radio specification is four 50 Ω TNC antenna ports, RF output adjustable from 5 to 31.5 dBm, an 840 to 960 MHz range that covers every RAIN region, and up to 1,100 reads a second, according to the launch announcement. A dedicated multiplexer port lets one R1 drive up to 16 antennas. Gen2X support means the reader can use Gen2X-enabled tag chips, which Impinj says brings faster inventories, longer read range and stronger data protection. As with any Gen2X reader, those gains depend on Gen2X being on the tags as well as the reader.
What sets the MB R1 apart from most fixed readers is what sits behind the radio. It runs an internal Linux system on an NXP i.MX8 processor, and its side panel carries PoE Ethernet, HDMI, USB-A, USB-C and a 5×2 GPIO terminal block alongside the multiplexer port. The HDMI output shows the reader’s own interface, so a self-checkout or kiosk screen can be driven from the reader itself. Reads go out by MQTT or HTTP POST rather than through a proprietary SDK, and the GPIO is there for buzzers, light stacks and sensors.
In practice that is a reader that can be most of a small RFID system on its own. Commission it, plug in a screen, point its output at a broker, and the PC that so often sits beside a portal or a counter becomes optional.
The MB R1 ships with Myruns’ MC Manager commissioning software pre-installed. It covers live read monitoring, filtering by EPC or by a name given to a tag, antenna and power settings, and the inventory parameters an integrator usually needs to reach: Tari, BLF, encoding, region, session and Q. A separate cloud platform, MC Station, monitors Myruns devices remotely, shows each reader’s status and recent activity, maps the layout of an installation, and lets antenna and power settings be changed without a site visit.
The MB R1-Lite swaps the i.MX8 for an NXP i.MX RT processor. Myruns describes its performance as similar to the R1’s at a more competitive price, aimed at logistics, in-store retail and production lines where the extra computing is not needed.
Then there is the box. Myruns has deliberately walked away from the conventional grey industrial enclosure: the R1 is a ribbed case with deep blue end caps, 148 by 103 by 56.5 mm and 800 g, and rated to operate from -20 to 60°C. “The R1 Series is the product of years of work and an obsession with precision,” said Daniel Gutiérrez, Head of Operations at Myruns. He calls it “a truly disruptive product, in both form and design”, and says building on the E710 and Gen2X lets customers get the most out of RAIN RFID from day one.
Design rarely makes a reader’s specification sheet, but it matters more than the industry tends to admit. A reader that sits in view of shoppers at a self-checkout or a kiosk is part of the store fit-out, not something hidden in a ceiling void, and a box that looks as though it belongs there is an easier conversation with a retailer’s design team.
Myruns was founded in 2014 by a group of telecommunications and electronics engineers specialising in RFID, and its first products were for sports timing, where a missed read means a runner missing from the results. It now designs and builds its own hardware and software across four lines: MyBuild readers, modules and antennas for logistics and industry; MyPlay point-of-sale and anti-theft systems for retail; MyID inlays and labels; and MyControl software. It acquired the materials and substrate specialist Evolgene in 2023 and is a member of the RAIN Alliance.
Myruns lists the R1 Series for self-checkout and self-service kiosks, inventory and warehouse management, intralogistics, fleet management and asset tracking, across retail logistics, fashion and food retail, and industry. Prices have not been published. More detail is on the Myruns website, including the MB R1 product page, and in the Myruns listing in the RFID News directory.
Disclosure: Voittaa Ltd, which publishes RFID News, is set to become a UK distributor for Myruns. This article was written to our usual editorial standards, and our coverage is never conditional on a commercial relationship.
