RCM3100 Helps to Save Lives

Rabbit Semiconductor helps Scan Technology, Inc. to provide life saving age verification systems.

RCM3100 offered performance and a low-cost in a mini physical form. The complete computer function along with memory, internal clock, and multi-serial data ports closed the deal.

—Ray Steckenrider, Scan Technology Inc.

Drinking and driving has always been a daunting problem that has resulted in many deaths. A much more disturbing statistic is that the number of these deaths is a result from underage drinking and driving. In most instances, those responsible for selling alcohol usually will take a look at person’s ID to verify legal age. Yet the prominence of forgeries is making it much more difficult to verify a person’s age. Ray Steckenrider of Scan Technology Inc. with the help of Rabbit Semiconductor aims to develop age verification system to help save lives.

Scan Technology Inc. is a product of Mr. Steckenrider’s commitment to help curb under aged drinking. As a teen in high school, Steckenrider remembers some of his friends driving under the influence, and being instantly killed after hitting a train. The mangled remains of the old Ford and the fatal incident has stuck with Ray ever since.

Several years later Steckenrider started Scan Technology which specializes in data collection devices that can be attached to PC’s. One of the first products to be produced is an age verification device. “There were other such devices on the market at very high prices and my goal was to make one more affordable,” says Steckenrider. Tobacco and alcohol vendors would benefit greatly as well as customers requiring age verification systems. Not only did Scan Technology need a cost effective solution, they needed a processing unit that can quickly decode encrypted barcode or magnetic information and display age and date immediately.

The age verifier comes in different flavors, depending on the application required for the customer. At the heart of the age verification device is the RCM3100. When a customer wishes to purchase an age sensitive product, an ID is required at the point-of-sale. Most states now either employ a barcode or magnetic stripe that contains this information on issued ID’s. The sales associate will then scan the card with a serial scanning device, which then sends the information to the RCM3100. The RCM3100 then decodes the scanned information and send the result to a display which quickly indicates a customer’s eligibility. The age verifier can either be a standalone product that runs on battery power, or connected to a PC for data-logging. Information can be sent from the age verifier to a PC, which then allows for reports of fraudulent use.

The key to Scan Technology’s Age Verifiers is the RCM3100. Initially Steckenrider used an Intel 895C2, but was not satisfied with the performance. “I needed a more powerful CPU system to handle all the features of the evolving verifier design. I needed to increase function and reduce real estate without the time delays and cost of designing a better CPU system.” Later it was recommended to Steckenrider that the RCM3100 had all the features he needed for his application. “RCM3100 offered performance and a low-cost in a mini physical form. The complete computer function along with memory, internal clock, and multi-serial data ports closed the deal.” For his new verifier, Steckenrider integrated the RCM3100 with successful results. “The RCM3100 has performed in flawless fashion and has been ultra reliable. The ultimate test is found in the speed of the device that allows it to decode encrypted barcode data in a timely fashion.”

Rabbit Semiconductor’s RCM3100 provided Ray Steckenrider and Scan Technologies, Inc. the best solution for their application. The small form factor, the right amount of features, low-power, and low cost enabled Steckenrider to provide products that can continue to help save lives.

For more information on Scan Technologies, Inc., visit: www.scantec.com

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