New technology can sometimes make a rapid and major impact, such as mobile phones and MP3 players which evolved in a relatively short space of time. But the speed at which technology evolves does not necessarily dictate the impact it will have.
RFID (radio frequency identification) has evolved relatively slowly, but it is anticipated that it will have an enormous impact in a variety of different areas in future years.
Major players in electronics, computing and telecoms are interested in the technology, with Intel, Omron, Cisco and Microsoft being just a few heavily committed to the technology.
RFID is sometimes referred to as the radio barcode which is a useful way of thinking about it. In simple terms RFID employs data embedded in a chip which can be read remotely without the use of a barcode scanner.
The precise origins of RFID are disputed but there is a consensus that the IFF (identification, friend or foe) systems used by the RAF from the early days of the war represent a major early use of the system. Electronic payment systems using RFID technology were introduced in Hong Kong in 1977. Back in 2002 Marks & Spencer tagged 3.5 million returnable delivery trays to improve supply chain management.
Supporters of RFID predict that it will displace barcodes and everyone will increasingly experience the effects of the technology. However, barcodes will continue to be used in a number of areas for some time because of the investment already made in the current systems. And especially where economics do not justify an expensive tag for a low cost item.
RFID tags are ideal where items are moving, or where stopping or pausing is not ideal. Access control, including ticket automation, road tolls, items on conveyor belts, are all examples.
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Counting pies
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Barcodes have limitations such as low storage capacity, vulnerability, short read range, plus they require direct access and line of sight.
A major advantage of RFID is that many items can be read at once. The RFID Centre in Bracknell, a permanent exhibition of RFID technology, has a powerful example of multiple reading from Dutch firm Scanology.
The company has attached an RFID tag to every card in a pack of playing cards. If a card is removed and the pack replaced then the missing card is immediately registered.
To read all 52 cards with a barcode scanner would be laborious, while being able to read all the cards virtually instantaneously points to many important applications.
Standards for RFID are emerging and ancillary services are growing around them. In Europe ETSI regulates the RF aspects; EPCglobal develops standards for the electronic product code (EPC) to support the use of RFID and ensure interoperability; and ISO (International Standards Organisation) is also setting industry standards.
EPC is a simple, compact “license plate” that uniquely identifies objects. It uses a hierarchical system to express a wide variety of different numbering systems. There are four main parts: header; manager number, which identifies the company or company entity; object class, a stock keeping unit or SKU; and serial number.
Additional fields may also be used as part of the EPC in order to encode and decode information from different numbering systems into their native (human-readable) forms.
CE marks for EMC, radio performance and electrical safety have been set and companies like RFI Global Services are offering certification.
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RFID tags in medical
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So where is RFID being used?
“It seems that more effort is put into writing about RFID’s promises than actually implementing them in the real world,” says Peter Morgan, principal consultant at PA Consulting, but he adds that PA’s work in the healthcare industry is one of the exceptions. Counterfeit drug interception is an increasing problem and PA are implementing a scheme where drug packaging will be tagged by the manufacturer and the product authenticated at the dispensing stage.
A spokesman from Domino similarly remarks that, “RFID is not ready for widespread deployment”, although it has a number of demonstration initiatives.
However, a number of systems are quoted by people in the RFID industry, with supermarket Wal-Mart frequently referred to. The company now requires its 100 largest suppliers to put RFID tags on shipping crates and pallets. In 2006, this mandate is being extended to the next largest 200 suppliers.
Another often repeated story, which may be apocryphal, relates to Gillette Mach 3 Razor Blades which are alleged to be the most shoplifted item.
Nokia is incorporating RFID readers in its handsets to enable field personnel to send information on location, work time or task status from the field, or receive service instructions or work assignments.
So RFID is being adopted in many areas and many major companies are producing goods and services. The only reason for a lack of deployment will be a failure to innovate and invest. There is one other worry - data protection and the fear of ‘Big Brother’ - but in spite of a number of stories the consumer is protected by the Data Protection Act 1998. With any worries discarded there is no foreseeable reason why RFID will not have a major impact.