Nodle and Paragon ID have announced a partnership that combines battery-free Bluetooth tags with a crowdsourced smartphone network, opening up new possibilities for large-scale asset tracking across multiple industries.
At the heart of this collaboration are two innovative tags developed by Paragon ID, both of which operate without batteries and remove one of the biggest barriers to deploying tracking at scale.
The standout device is the XgenTag-R, which harvests energy directly from UHF RFID fields. This tag activates within 20 metres of standard UHF readers, drawing power from the RF energy already present in the environment. This makes it particularly well suited for tracking assets that are enclosed, hidden from view, or stored in areas where light-based energy harvesting is impractical. The ability to power a sensor and transmit data using nothing more than ambient UHF energy is a genuinely innovative approach. It means organisations can collect data on a massive scale without worrying about battery life, replacement schedules, or the environmental cost of disposable power sources. The potential applications are enormous, from monitoring thousands of pallets in a warehouse to tracking surgical instruments inside hospital storage units.
Alongside the UHF-powered tag, Paragon ID has also developed the XgenTag-L, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tag that harvests ambient light through organic photovoltaic surfaces. It transmits a signal once per second under normal lighting conditions and can still function in near-darkness at just 5 lux. The designed operational life exceeds ten years, again without any battery replacement. Both tags combine location tracking with basic sensing capabilities, including temperature monitoring.
What makes this partnership particularly interesting is the network side. Nodle’s ConnectX platform turns millions of participating smartphones into passive relay infrastructure. When an XgenTag broadcasts its BLE beacon, nearby phones running the Nodle app capture the signal, determine location data, and relay the information back to the cloud. Users earn NODL tokens for their participation. This crowdsourced approach eliminates the need for dedicated gateway hardware or cellular contracts, dramatically reducing the cost of deploying tracking across wide areas.
The use of UHF RF energy to power sensors and collect data at scale could prove transformative across several sectors. In logistics, it enables real-time visibility of pallets, containers, waste bins, and kegs. In healthcare, it supports tracking of surgical instruments and pharmaceutical shipments where maintaining cold chain integrity is critical. Construction firms can monitor scaffolding and tools across sprawling sites, while aviation operators can track baggage carts and unit load devices on airport aprons.
Field trials are already underway across three continents. In France, deployments are running at a logistics facility in Albi and at Nice Airport. Trials are also active in South America, covering Santiago and Sao Paulo, as well as in Africa.
As UHF RFID infrastructure continues to expand globally, the ability to piggyback sensor-equipped tags onto existing reader networks represents a significant step forward. Rather than building entirely new tracking systems, organisations can layer intelligence onto infrastructure they already have, collecting environmental and location data without additional power sources or connectivity costs.
Read more at https://www.paragon-id.com/en/inspiration/nodle-and-paragon-id-join-forces-to-redefine-what-can-be-tracked