The new products are designed with customer safety and convenience in mind.
By Nathaniel Prince
Feb 15, 2017—
Vitamix, a blending equipment manufacturer based in Ohio, has integrated Near Field Communication (NFC) technology into its new ASCENT Series of blenders with the goal of improving customer convenience and safety. The company is installing NFC RFID readers into the bases of its machines and providing accompanying food containers with embedded tags, custom-made by Smartrac with air-coil wire antennas and NXP Semiconductors' NTAG216 NFC chips. The result is a feature that Vitamix calls SELF-DETECT.
When a user places a SELF-DETECT container on an ASCENT Series blender's base, the appliance reads the container's embedded NFC tag and can automatically change multiple operating parameters (as many as 140). The NFC solution can modify program settings, button functions, motor speeds, maximum time settings and other operating parameters, according to the company, making it easier to prepare hot soups, frozen sorbets, frosty smoothies and other fare.
