Radio Frequency

Identification

A Business Revolution Providing Strategic and Competitive Advantage

Point of View

The Technology

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a wireless data collection

technology developed during World War II that has been used in

tracking and accessing applications for about a decade. The

technology transfers data wirelessly between a tiny transceiver and

atag. A tag is a combination of an electronic transponder with an

antenna that can be attached to items such as a razor blade, an

infusion pump in a hospital, a bottle of soda or a military tank. When

the tag comes within the range of the transceiver, anywhere from

inches to nearly three hundred feet, the transceiver decodes the

information electronically programmed on the tag. Advances and

standardization in the protocol, tags and RFID readers have brought

scale and prices to the point where use of the technology for asset

tracking and location services is feasible.

Tags include extremely small microchips that are about the size of a

pepper flake. However, the required antenna makes the tag about

1squareinch. The microchips listen for a radio query sent out by a

RFID transceiver. The chips then respond via a defined protocol by

transmitting their stored, unique identification code through the

antenna. The transceiver receives the data and decodes the signals.

Transceivers are usually integrated into handheld terminals. They can

also be part of readers fixed to a door or wall in a facility, or even

integrated into Wi-Fi access points. The data collected by the readers

are sent over a network, either wired or wireless, to host computer

systems. These systems could be in the same building or located

around the world.

Frequency Ranges

RFID technologies currently in use today generally fall into one of four

radio frequency ranges:

"Low Frequency Devices (125-134 kHz) areuseful for limited range

applications, such as animal identification and where metal items

aretagged (such as in warehouses)

"High Frequency Devices (13.56 MHz) would be used in environments

where moisture might be present

High Frequency Devices are used today for airline baggage

tracking and building access control applications

These devices do not work well with metal

"Devices that Operate in the UHF Range (868-928 MHz) may be

useful for pallet and container tracking and have a longer read-

range of over 1.5 meters

"Devices that Operate in the Wi-Fi Range (2.4 GHz) are useful for

longer read-range needs and are gaining wide acceptance with

healthcare providers for critical asset tracking

KeyPoints

" RFID technology has been in use for many years, but

is finding a mass-market application in supply chain

systems. Mandates to suppliers from large retail

firms and the government are accelerating adoption.

Standardization, which is occurring within the

EPCglobal organization, is also influencing RFID use.

"Technical and standards issues need to be addressed.

However, sufficient progress has been made so that

thereshouldbe widespread use of RFID for supply

chain applications within 2008-2009.

"Most supply chain applications have been at the pallet

level. Costs, operational issues and privacy concerns

have limited testing at the product level. Ensuring the

technology benefits accrue to the end customer could

alleviatesome concerns (i.e., receipt and warranty

verification).