A new RFID prototype developed in Japan could eventually enable pallet operators to combine the advantages of active and passive tracking technologies in a single tag. Keio University’s SFC Research Institute, Japan Radio Co. and pallet pooling and logistics company UPR announced on September 9 that they have developed a prototype DXh tag for potential use with UPR’s Smart Pallet system.
The technology combines an active RFID device with a passive RFID chip that can communicate without relying on the tag’s battery. According to the developers, the result is a pallet tracking device that can retain the longer-range capabilities associated with active RFID while also allowing rapid battery-free reading and writing using passive RFID infrastructure.
UPR and JRC have already been using the earlier DX active tag as part of the Smart Pallet platform, which has been operating for nearly a decade, while the new hybrid configuration opens several potential operating possibilities.
By way of background, Japan-based UPR Corporation is a major provider of pallet pooling and logistics equipment rental services. Founded in 1979, the company operates a nationwide network of approximately 200 depots and manages about 5.28 million rental logistics assets, including pallets, nesting racks and roll containers. UPR has also expanded beyond conventional rental into smart pallets, tracking and pallet management systems, while extending its pooling network into Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. The company reported consolidated sales of ¥15.3 billion (approximately $US100 million) for the fiscal year ended August 2025.
According to the joint development team, the technology could allow operators to modify system parameters such as transmission frequencies, wake devices from ultra-low-power states, coordinate shipping and retrieval of pallets carrying conventional passive UHF tags, and quickly link RFID-tagged cargo to specific pallets for shipment tracking.
Those capabilities address an important issue in reusable packaging tracking. Passive RFID is inexpensive, requires no onboard battery, and is widely used for identifying pallets, totes, and other reusable assets. Active RFID generally provides greater communication range and additional functionality but requires batteries, incurs additional cost, and requires different infrastructure. Combining the technologies could eventually give pallet operators more flexibility in deciding how and when an asset communicates.
The partners describe the prototype as the first 920 MHz active/passive hybrid tag compliant with the ISO/IEC 18000 family of RFID standards, based on research conducted by the three organizations as of July 29, 2026. The sensor-capable RFID technology involved was approved as international standard ISO/IEC 18000-65 earlier this year.
It is important to reiterate that DXh remains a prototype rather than a commercial product. Keio, JRC and UPR said they plan to continue development with the goal of improving efficiency and convenience in logistics applications.
RFID-based pallet tracking has been available for years, but reusable packaging program operators continue to balance device cost, battery life, read range, infrastructure and the amount of information they actually need from each asset. A successful hybrid architecture could provide another way to make that trade-off.
Source: Keio University SFC Research Institute announcement
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Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and editor of Western Pallet Magazine. A supply chain journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in pallets, reusable packaging, material handling and related operations. Rick is co-author of Pallets: A North American Perspective and Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling 1922–1945. He is also an advisory board member of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design. Read Rick’s full bio.