NFC pet tags digitize missing pet information to speed rescue

Losing a pet is a common but painful experience for owners. This painful experience does not end until the missing dog
or cat returns home. According to the ASPCA's 2012 survey report, 15% of pet owners who lost their pets in the past five
years never recovered their "fur babies." Among them, the proportion of pet cats that could not be found was higher than
that of pet dogs that could not be found.

PetHub, a Washington state based tchnoloy company, has developed an animal based NFC pet tag and server
solution that stores pet ientitieis and pet owner pofiles in the cloud. Users can then acess pet iformation by scanning
the QR code on the animal's tag or drecty using the Near Field Communication (NFC) function. This solution uses an
Iso 1444 compliant 13 56 MHz chip and is widely used in bunesses that manage pets on a large scale such as dog
day cares and bars.
In 2010, an average of 10 mllion cats and dogs were missing in Noth America each year. July is Msing Pet Prevention
Month, a campaign launched by PetHub to draw atention to the isuse of missing pets.

The first thing most people do when they find a lost pet is to check the pet's collar tag, which usually has the pet owner's
name and phone number on it. However, the numbers and letters on the collar tags have become blurred due to long-
term wear, making them difcult to read. Using QR code technology or pet tags with NFC functions, users can scan the
QR code printed on the front of the NFC pet tag with their smartphone to obtain more data about pets on their mobile
phones.
First, users create an online profile of their pet, including information such as name, breed, age, medications and
allergies, as well as contact information for multiple emergency contacts. The user then gets a QR code that embeds the
pet's profile on the tag, and the pet owner needs to pay a monthly or annual fee for the missing pet search service,
whether for a pet or a pet family. A well-meaning person who finds a lost pet can find information about the pet owner by
simply visiting the tag.
Using this short-range transmission version of RFID technology, the biggest challenge is to incorporate the technology
into the metal tag so that the tag can store and transmit data reliably. Therefore, the NFC chip is wrapped in thick epoxy,
and the NFC epoxy pet tag with a metal ring to increase its durability.