Sun Microsystems today unveiled its latest radio frequency ID (RFID) retail technology, the Java System RFID Tag and Ship Solution and the Sun RFID Reference Architecture.

The firm also announced plans to create RFID industry reference architectures to meet the requirements of vertical markets including government, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and retail.

In addition, Sun and systems integrator SeeBeyond outlined plans for the forthcoming RFID Reference Architectures for Retail, which will offer complete integrated RFID systems designed specifically for retailers.

Tag and Ship is an entry-level system designed to allow customers to address RFID compliance requests, such as those from retailers including Wal-Mart, Target and Albertsons, as well as the US Department of Defense and other organisations.

It enables customers to process RFID tagged cases or pallets at the rate of one to two seconds per unit and is designed to help customers meet retail mandates in approximately one week.

The offering includes a Sun W2100z workstation and monitor, the Sun Java System RFID Software, a Printronix RFID printer, an RFID reader and a barcode reader. The Tag and Ship solution includes onsite hardware, software configuration and user training.

"Our new Tag and Ship and Reference Architecture, as well as our upcoming RFID Industry Solution Architectures, are designed to help our customers manage RFID data across highly dynamic business environments and to maximise the efficiency of their RFID systems and resources," said Vijay Sarathy, director of RFID product marketing and strategy at Sun.

"By using these solutions as a foundation for RFID deployment, customers can decrease their time to deployment and see increased levels of efficiencies and cost savings."