Guides-- RFID
What is RFID?
Radio Frequency Identification is a data collection technology that involves tags that emit radio signals and devices called readers that pick up the signal. It is an experimental technology, with no best practices or process templates.
When to use?
- Use RFID in processes where other data collection technologies have failed to capture reliable enough information to manage the process
- When bar codes are unfeasible
- For processes that require the counting of items or assets
- When the data collection process is relatively chaotic - hospitals, retail shops and battlefields
- Exact configuration of goods must be maintained
- For critical processes that require fail-safe systems, such as drug administration
Issues hindering widespread adoption
- Price
- Standards
- Deployment Challenges
- Immature technology
- Intellectual Property
- Privacy Concerns
The Technology
RFID relies on radio waves to automatically identify tagged items,
and to transfer data from a transponder to a reader to a database.
An RFID transponder is a paper-thin tag composed of a data storage
chip and an antenna. When the transponder (tag) enters a reader's
radio frequency field, the reader's signal activates the tag to
transmit its data.
Information from tags is routed in real time to a database. Data
is written onto the tag for permanent storage. Every tag has a basic
identification code that is permanently stored on the tag to be
read by RFID readers.
The tags are designed to perform consistently for the life of
the item they identify. Unlike bar codes, RFID tags do not require
line-of-sight or physical contact in order to be read. This means
that more than one tag can be read simultaneously while they're
in a reader's field, a characteristic referred to as "anti-collision."
Anti-collision enables you to take inventory simply by walking down
an aisle of merchandise with a hand-held RFID reader.
Industry Applications
- Transportation
- CPG
- Manufacturing
- Retail
- Government Agencies
- Healthcare
Case Studies
- Wal-mart has been working on RFID since the 1990s. In November, 2003 Wal-mart required its top 100 suppliers to use RFID. A Dallas pilot project commences in 1Q05.
- Benetton, Procter & Gamble, Gillette and McDonald's
- U.S. Dept of Defense, Department of Homeland Security - "Operation Safe Commerce" and US-VISIT
