RFID Basics
An introduction to the RFID technology In the following you find an overview over the basics of RFID and its fields of application.
1. RFID - Historical
The radio communication technology RFID seems to be a modern invention – but that is not so. The history of RFID started already during World War II when the US armed forces used an earlier version of this technology for identification, friend or foe, (IFF) of airplanes and warships. After the war this technology was nearly forgotten and mainly used to identify animals. Only in the 80ies the field of applications was extended and RFID was used for access control or in ski passes.
When the potentials of RFID were recognized decades after its invention new fields of application opened up, new components were developed and the technology was used with other working frequencies.
The great potentials of RFID regarding innovation and automation have triggered intensive research activities. RFID can be used, for example, to simplify complex and error-prone processes, to identify products and to control logistic processes. Currently, many data, e.g. in a warehouse, are collected manually. The RFID technology can drastically speed up the identification of goods.
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2. Standardisation / Electronic Product Code
The use of the transponder technology in the consumer goods industry opens up large potentials for logistic systems and processes. Trading companies and international suppliers of brands press ahead with the standardisation under the umbrella of GS1.
Especially on the retail market the data contents of the tags is determined by the European-American consortium EPCglobal on the basis of EAN (European Article Number) and UCC (Uniform Code Council). EAN is known by the barcode EAN13 which can be found on each milk box and informs about the country of origin, manufacturer and article number. An EAN13 barcode is clearly allocated to a certain article and the article number has to be applied for at EAN. This allows for a clear identification and billing of the article at the POS. In Germany EAN is represented by GS1.
When the global importance of RFID became clear the major standardisation authorities in Europe and the USA reached a consensus. The result was the so-called Electronic Product Code (EPC). This is a 96 bit code which, in addition to the standard information like producer, country and article number, also holds additional information like batch, serial number and many more.
The MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), which set the basis for RFID developments with its AutoID laboratory, found out that the range of EPC numbers is large enough to number each molecule on Earth. Thanks to the electronically saved EPC it is possible to identify not only the article but each single item.
Read more under Standardisation and EPC.
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3. Cross-sectional role of logistics
Up to now RFID has mainly been used in logistics. Whenever goods have to be shipped, stored or supervised the radio technology plays an important role. Many branches have used barcodes for these purposes.
Supply chain
RFID is more and more used to ensure the continuous tracking and tracing of food products along the supply chain. Thanks to a contact-free goods receipt, goods issue and inventory management boxes and pallets can be scanned without any manual handling (e.g. opening the packagings).
Container management
With RFID reusable containers and unit loads like pallets are managed and traced throught the different levels of the supply chain. RFID tags facilitate the identification of each container and are highly resistant against impacts during the transport or cleaning.
Goods receipt / goods issue / inventory
The picking and management of goods in a warehouse can be facilitated with RFID. Outer packagings or articles on a pallet can easily be scanned in just one step. It is no longer necessary to scan each single article. Before this technology is used, however, it has to be tested in an RFID laboratory if the technical requirements are met. Then, a software inventory can be made.
Production control / material flow control
Tags identify and supervise work processes. By updating the single production steps the current situation of the product can be determined. The material used during the production can also be tracked by means of RFID tags.
Tracking & tracing of consignments
With RFID the processing and shipping status of an object can be tracked along the logistic chain. Thus, products or consignments can be tracked during the transport and thefts and loss can be reduced. This makes it easier to document the goods transfer between the different stations in the logistic chain and to avoid faulty deliveries.
Temperature control
Transponders and sensors supervise and document the cold chain for food or drugs. Thanks to tags it is possible to measure temperatures at defined times and to compare them with predefined data. This technology is used for the transport and storage of fresh food, medical products or temperature-sensitive chemicals.
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4. Future of the Barcode
RFID is considered as a serious alternative to barcodes. The EAN code, which has been used for more than four decades, stood the test but the current EAN just allows for the identification of an article type but not of the individual product. Furthermore, the code cannot be rewritten as many other transponders can.
Here, the RFID technology is a good solution. In a ‘bulk scan’ several RFID tags on a pallet or an outer packaging can be scanned simulataneously, contact-free and without intervisibility. Thus, goods can be scanned and booked more quickly at the goods receipt.
Although RFID is a promising solution advantages of the barcode are its worldwide use and low costs. With a share of 87% in the consumer goods industry and 50% in the capital goods industry the barcode is by far the leading identification technology. In addition to this it is easily readable in combination with the plain writing and thus highly suitable for a manual identification. And it can easily be implemented in other systems.
According to latest market surveys regarding identification technologies the use of RFID will grow considerably, above all in the consumer goods industry, commerce and logistics. However, this trend is still slowed down by the high costs. Because of the mass production of relevant components RFID tags will soon be used in many areas, above all since they promise to increase the efficiency drastically.
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