Parcel - January/February 2009 - (Page 30)

trends Understanding RFID R FID is e xtensive, but here are the basics BY IAN W. BOWDEN RFID (Radio Frequency Identiﬁcation) technology is not new. In fact, it’s been around for decades but has recently enjoyed a surge of media coverage. • How are the RFID tags going to be mounted onto the things they’re identifying? It’s relatively easy to envision how they might be afﬁxed to pallets, vehicles or documents — but just how are you going to put them on hand tools? • A given RFID system employs any one of four different radio frequency ranges and the tags and readers must be matched — otherwise it’s like trying to get an AM radio station on your FM radio! Each frequency has its respective pros and cons, which involve aspects such as read range; immunity to metal, liquids and other solids; and tag size. • Much RFID technology is proprietary in nature, so don’t necessarily expect Brand X’s readers to read the tags manufactured by Brand Y. This situation, through standardization, is becoming less signiﬁcant. However, a given standard isn’t always the “best” for a given situation — especially if it’s extreme or unorthodox in nature. • Liquids and metals can adversely affect tag readability, potentially even making an RFID tag inoperable. Various tag application strategies (e.g. installing each tag offset from the metal application surface) and new technology is working to get around this scientiﬁc hurdle. • Some RFID technologies allow multiple tags to be read simultaneously, perhaps as a cart or vehicle passes by a reader. Most expect a single read at a time. • A lot of people initially want the longest read range possible and then realize that perhaps they don’t! Unlike our eyes or barcode scanners, RFID readers read in an almost spherical pattern. So, the thing your RFID reader is seemingly aimed at might also be reading numerous other RFID-enabled things in a given area — which might be in adjacent rooms! Unfortunately, media hyperbole has represented RFID as “the imminent replacement to barcode technology” and a panacea for all of the industry’s item tracking quandaries. RFID has the potential to be a world-changing technology, as it already is in applications such as pet and livestock identiﬁcation and quick-payment systems (e.g. Esso’s Speedpass). But before plowing headlong into acquiring an RFID-based system, one should really know at least the following: • RFID is an identiﬁcation technology, not a ﬁnding technology. While RFID readers can be mounted in doorways and the like and can record what passed by them and entered a room at a speciﬁc time, they can’t tell you where exactly—or even approximately—in the room they’re located. A different RFID-based technology called an RTLS (Real-Time Locating System) employs many specialized networked RFID readers and uses RF-based triangulation to track objects to X and Y—and perhaps even Z—coordinates in real-time. • An RFID transponder (“tag”) is primarily made up of an antenna, a chip, a battery (if it’s an active tag) and a “ﬁxture” that houses the components that are speciﬁc to the application environment in which the tag will be used. A ﬁxture can be made of paper or any one of many different synthetic materials. • There are currently 50¢ (or less) RFID tags and there are tags that can be read from distances of 30m or more. The latter cost considerably more than half a dollar each! Generally speaking, the cost of the tags and readers is going to be commensurate with their performance. 30 JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2009 / www.PARCELindustry.com http://www.PARCELindustry.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Parcel - January/February 2009

Parcel - January/February 2009 Contents Editor’s Note Going Global Transportation ABCs Mastering Management Regional Alternatives Practical IT Best Practices Packaging 12th Annual UPS Rate Analysis Navigating Dim Weight Charges More than Just a Postscript Understanding RFID PARCEL Counsel New Products Reality Check

Parcel - January/February 2009

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