What is RFID?
Radio frequency identification (RFID) is the latest emerging technology to compliment the Automatic Identification and Data Capture industry. RFID technology sees data sent via radio wave from a transmitting device (RFID tag) which is then read by a device (transponder), which interprets the data and converts it into useable digital information. Whilst some analysts have touted RFID is the death of the barcode, we see the two technologies coexisting for quite some time into the future. Each has specific strengths and suits certain environments and applications.
The RFID revolution.
Some of the major players in the US retail market (Walmart, Gillette and others) kicked off the RFID frenzy in the early 2000's mandating their top 100 suppliers apply RFID tags to identify all pallets entering the Walmart supply chain. The good news for industries outside of retail is that the girth of the Walmart project has provided the critical mass for the RFID hardware vendors to hone their skills and get their product offerings right. This also applies to the vendors providing RFID tag technology, which is now at a price point where a Return on Investment equation is starting to make good business sense for specific industries and applications. This fact has been well reported in the business section of leading papers. So it is only a matter of time before your senior management team asks you about RFID and why you are not using it.
What are the benefits of RFID?
RFID can provide all of the typical benefits of other AIDC solutions and technologies such as barcodes which includes, improved data accuracy, increased efficiency/productivity, and reduced data entry costs, amongst others. However RFID has the following advantages: -
- ‘non-line of site' data capture
- Ability
to maintain larger data stores and strings of information e.g.
manufacturer's codes, calibration dates, use by dates, batch and lot
numbers, last test date....
- Traceability and visibility of product
- Satisfy of health and safety standards requirements (HACCAP, OH&S)
- Counterfeiting
- More robust than a barcode
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