Rfid

Radio Frequency Identification RFID - what is it' Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a generic term used to describe a system that transmits the identity of an object in the form of a unique serial number using radio waves. It’s grouped under a broad category of automatic identification technologies. Auto-ID technologies use bar codes, optical character readers and biometric technologies, and reduce the amount of time and labor needed to input data manually and to improve data accuracy. Bar code systems often require a person to manually scan a label or tag to capture the data. RFID is similar to bar code technology, but uses radio waves to capture data from tags rather than scanning the bar codes on a label and transmits this data to a computer system all without needing a person to be involved. A typical RFID tag consists of a microchip attached to a radio antenna and these chips store as much as 2 kilobytes of data. The stored data can include product information, date of manufacture, destination and sell by date. RFID - a history. Radio frequency identification can be traced back to World War II. The Americans, British, Germans and Japanese were all using radar to warn of approaching planes which were still miles away. The problem was there was no way to identify which planes belonged to the enemy and which were a country’s own or allied pilots returning from a mission. The Germans discovered that if pilots rolled their planes as they returned to base, it changed the radio signal reflected back. This crude method alerted ground crews these were German planes and not allied aircraft, and was essentially the first passive RFID system. The British worked on a secret project that developed the first active friend or foe (IFF) system. Putting a transmitter on each plane, signals received from the radar stations on the ground were broadcasted back that identified the aircraft as friendly. RFID works on the same basic concept. A signal is sent to a transponder which wakes up and either reflects back a signal or broadcast a signal. Advances in radar and RF communications systems continued through the 1950s and 1960s. Companies began commercializing anti-theft systems that used radio waves to determine whether an item had been paid for or not. These electronic article surveillance tags are a 1-bit tag and are still in use today. The U.S. government also worked on RFID technology in the 1970s. A group of scientists came up with a concept of using transponders and readers used to develop a system for tracking nuclear materials. This system was commercialized in the 1980s when automated toll payments systems were developed, and have become widely used on roads, bridges and tunnels around the world. The latest attempt to commercialize the use of RFID started in the late 1990s when researchers at MIT began to research ways to track and identify objects as they moved between physical locations. This research centered on RF technology and how information held on tags could be effectively scanned and shared in real time. RFID – how it works. RFID technology has two components, the reader and the tag. The reader has two parts, a receiver and an antenna. The transceiver generates a weak radio signal that may have a given range from a few feet to a few yards. The signal is necessary to “wake or activate” the tag and is a form of energy that can be used to power the tag. The transponder is part of the tag that converts that radio frequency into usable power as well as sends and receives messages. Now that the transponder has power, it transmits the data stored on it. Tags are either passive or active and can be one of three types: read only with data pre-written, write once allowing data to be written one time and multi-use read/write. Data collected from the tags is passed through communication interfaces to host computer systems in the same manner data scanned from bar codes is captured and passed to computer systems for interpretation, storage and location. The amount of information a tag can stores can vary. Passive tags store about 1024 bytes of information and have read ranges of up to 18 feet dependent on the application. Physical sizes can range from as small as a thumbnail to as large as a brick. RFID tags can cost as little as 25 cents depending on the type of tag with the goal of a 5 cent tag still several years away. RFID – its use. Until recently, RFID has had limited use due to its cost. For many applications such as tracking parts for JIT manufacturing, companies could justify the cost of the tags by the savings the RFID system could generate. And when RFID was used to track assets or reusable containers within a company’s four walls, the tags could be re-used. But for tracking goods in open supply chains where RFID tags were put on cases and pallets of products by one company and read by another, the cost has been a major obstacle to implement. Tags must be disposable because the company putting them on cannot recycle them, and the tags get thrown out with the box or packaging they’re attached to. But the potential efficiencies created by RFID visibility are enormous. Companies would be able to reduce inventories while ensuring product is always in the right place at the right time. And because no humans would have to scan the tags, labor costs and errors would also be greatly reduced. This would ultimately flip the supply chain around. Today, companies make goods based on a monthly forecast then “push” the goods into the supply chain and hope they sell. If demand is greater than they forecast, they lose sales and if less than forecast, have excess goods on hand to be sold at a loss or thrown away. It would be much more efficient if goods were “pulled” through the supply chain based on real-time demand. RFID readers on the shelves would monitor how many products are being sold and when the shelves were low, signal the backroom for more inventories to be brought out. The same would apply to the backroom, when they were low on inventory, a RFID reader would signal the manufacturer to send more product and so on through the manufacturer’s suppliers. RFID – end of bar codes' Bar code and RFID technology are not mutually exclusive and one will not replace the other. RFID tags are an improvement over bar codes because the tags have read and write capabilities. RFID tags can be programmed and reprogrammed making them a dynamic part of a data collection solution where bar codes can be printed once and then must be reprinted each time the information changes. RFID tags can also hold 2KB of data far more than a typical barcode which represents just 10 to 12 digits. RFID – the benefits. RFID systems offer unique capabilities as an automatic data capture system in that they: * Provide real-time, wireless transmission of data without human intervention * Do not require line of sight scanners for operation * Allow stored data to be altered during sorting or allow workflow process information to be captured with the data * Work effectively even in harsh environments with excessive dirt, dust, moisture and extreme temperatures, and; * Tags are virtually impossible to copy or counterfeit. RFID – privacy concerns. The use of RFID in the consumer sector has raised privacy concerns. Wal-Mart recently announced it will begin tagging jeans and underwear with RFID tags. The company indicated their decision to do so was the first step in identifying inventory on the shelf and what was needed from the back room to replenish the shelf. Placing RFID tags on consumer products will allow Wal-Mart and other merchants to capture personal information about the shopper. Placing RFID tags on merchandise is essentially invisible to the consumer and may result in both profiling and tracking of consumers without their knowledge or consent. This violates consumers’ basic human rights and right to privacy. Ways to alleviate these privacy concerns include: - First, notifying the consumers - a notice on a checkout receipt would work - when RFID tags are present in what they're buying - Second, RFID tags should be disabled by default at the checkout counter -Third, RFID tags should be placed on the product's packaging instead of on the product when possible, and; -Fourth, RFID tags should be readily visible and easily removable. RFID – it’s Hot! The Department of Defense and Wal-Mart’s push to use RFID in the supply chain is a big reason why the technology is hot today, but it’s not the only reason. Advances in ultra-high frequency RFID systems are able to deliver the read range needed for supply chain applications such as scanning tags on products as pallets are moved through a dock door or scanning cases on a high shelf in a warehouse. The use of the internet is also a major factor as it can enable companies to share information about the location of products within the supply chain. Companies can also share information about the location of goods. It is the ability to share information about the location of products anywhere in the supply chain that makes RFID a potentially powerful technology. RFID – to employ' RFID is helping to cut errors, labor and costs from manufacturing, distribution, retailing, inventory control and asset management operations around the world today, but should it be employed by everyone' The answer ultimately lies with each company to determine whether the benefits received justify the cost and effort involved in implementing it. References Erick C. Jones and Christopher A. Chung, “RFID in Logistics: A Practical Introduction” 2007 Dennis Brown, “RFID Implementation” 2006 Michael H. Hugos, “Essentials of Supply Chain Management” 2002 http://www.barcoding.com http://logistics.about.com http://rfidjournal.com