Australian company Syscan International has announced a system that creates ad hoc RFID networks by enabling tags to communicate with other tags. The system, called iCE (intelligent Communication Enabled), is designed to resolve RFID constraints such as read reliability and range and energy consumption.

The system uses a master–slave relationship, with the master tag able to read the slave tags that are assigned to it. The slave tags report to the master which in turn reports to an iCE UMCD (universal monitoring and communication device) or an iCE reader. This inter-relationship is used to improve performance, battery life and range. Syscan claims iCE can achieve up to a 350-metre read range with this arrangement.

The UMCD developed for the system offers two configurations. The iCE UMCD-G sends the information it has gathered to a Syscan server using a GPRS Cellular network or Wi-Fi network, the iCE UMCD-E uses a company network or internet connection to forward the information to the server. Email, text messages and phone alerts can be added as an option with either configuration.