There are many different ways to identify objects, animals, and people. Why use RFID? People have been counting inventories and tracking shipments since the Sumerians invented the lost package. Even some of the earliest uses of writing grew from the need to identify shipments and define contracts for goods shipped between two persons who might never meet.[*] Written tags and name badges work fine for identifying a few items or a few people, but to identify and direct hundreds of packages an hour, some automation is required.
The bar code is probably the most familiar computer-readable tag, but the light used to scan a laser over a bar code imposes some limitations. Most importantly, it requires a direct "line of sight," so the item has to be right side up and facing in the right direction, with nothing blocking the beam between the laser and the bar code.
Most other forms of ID, such as magnetic strips on credit cards, also must line up correctly with the card reader or be inserted into the card reader in a particular way. Whether you are tracking boxes on a conveyor or children on a ski trip, lining things up costs time.
Biometrics can work for identifying people, but optical and fingerprint recognition each require careful alignment, similar to magnetic strips. Facial capillary scans require you to at least face the camera, and even voice recognition works better if you aren't calling your passphrase over your shoulder.
RFID tags provide a mechanism for identifying an item at a distance, with much less sensitivity to the orientation of the item and reader. A reader can "see" through the item to the tag even if the tag is facing away from the reader.
RFID has additional qualities that make it better suited than other technologies (such as bar codes or magnetic strips) for creating the predicted "Internet of Things."[*] One cannot, for instance, easily add information to a bar code after it is printed, whereas some types of RFID tags can be written and rewritten many times. Also, because RFID eliminates the need to align objects for tracking, it is less obtrusive. It "just works" behind the scenes, enabling data about the relationships between objects, location, and time to quietly aggregate without overt intervention by the user or operator.
[*] This term was originally attributed to the Auto-ID Center. We will discuss both this term and the Auto-ID Center in more detail later in this book.
To summarize, some of the benefits of RFID include the following:
Alignment is not necessary
A scan does not require line of sight. This can save time in processing that would otherwise be spent lining up items.
High inventory speeds
Multiple items can be scanned at the same time. As a result, the time taken to count items drops substantially.
Variety of form factors
RFID tags range in size from blast-proof tags the size of lunch boxes to tiny passive tags smaller than a grain of rice. These different form factors allow RFID technologies to be used in a wide variety of environments.
Item-level tracking
Rewritability
Some types of tags can be written and rewritten many times. In the case of a reusable container, this can be a big advantage. For an item on a store shelf, however, this type of tag might be a security liability, so write-once tags are also available.
No comments:
Post a Comment