Radio frequency identification or RFID is an old concept that has quietly become a large part of everyone's life. RFID has been around for at least 90 years and was initially put into practice about 70 years, but not many people realized it. These days, you yourself are most likely scanned every day by an RFID reader and the things you purchase are certainly scanned at least once a week.
So what is RFID? Well, you can think of it as the update of the bar code although in fact, it is older than the bar code by 50 or 60 years. Bar codes were developed in order to integrate stock control with point of sales processing.
Everyone has seen this and is used to it: the sales clerk at the till takes the goods from your basket one at a time, looks for the bar code, flashes a light or a bar code reader over it and the cost of the article is added to your receipt.
What you do not see is that the computerized stock records for that item are reduced by one and the sales price is noted along side it. That system worked well for 40 years, but now there is a need for more information to be recorded than a bar code can accommodate and there is need for greater stock control and even more speed at the check out. Nobody has any time any longer.
Enter RFID, an old technology revamped. RFID is the expertise that they used to put in Second World War aircraft in order to distinguish friendly aircraft to the RADAR-controlled anti-aircraft guns. The same equipment, basically, that they still use in aircraft today to identify it to air traffic control. The difference is that until fairly recently, these radio signal emitters or transponders were as big as a suitcase and cost a lot of money.
These days they are the size of the smallest coin in your change and cost about five cents. They triumph over the bar code because they can store loads of information, such as where and when and by whom an item was manufactured; how much it cost and how much it should be sold for; its colour, weight and description; which shelf and in which shop it should be kept on .... ad infinitum. The store owner can write anything on that chip by means of an RFID printer.
And when it comes to the cash register... No more scanning each separate item by hand, because each RFID chip or tag, as they are called in the industry, sends out its own data on its own exclusive radio frequency, so so long as the RFID scanner is within three or four feet of the trolley, it knows what is in there instantaneously. No more unloading, scanning and reloading the basket.
In fact, no more check out clerk. Most people pay with a credit or debit card these days anyway, so as you walk past the scanner with your basket, you are scanned; you swipe your credit card through another scanner; if you are happy with it, you approve the payment and the barrier raises for you to proceed to your car. You only have to have a check out clerk for the people who want to pay with cash. Cheques are being done away with soon anyway.
So what is RFID? Well, you can think of it as the update of the bar code although in fact, it is older than the bar code by 50 or 60 years. Bar codes were developed in order to integrate stock control with point of sales processing.
Everyone has seen this and is used to it: the sales clerk at the till takes the goods from your basket one at a time, looks for the bar code, flashes a light or a bar code reader over it and the cost of the article is added to your receipt.
What you do not see is that the computerized stock records for that item are reduced by one and the sales price is noted along side it. That system worked well for 40 years, but now there is a need for more information to be recorded than a bar code can accommodate and there is need for greater stock control and even more speed at the check out. Nobody has any time any longer.
Enter RFID, an old technology revamped. RFID is the expertise that they used to put in Second World War aircraft in order to distinguish friendly aircraft to the RADAR-controlled anti-aircraft guns. The same equipment, basically, that they still use in aircraft today to identify it to air traffic control. The difference is that until fairly recently, these radio signal emitters or transponders were as big as a suitcase and cost a lot of money.
These days they are the size of the smallest coin in your change and cost about five cents. They triumph over the bar code because they can store loads of information, such as where and when and by whom an item was manufactured; how much it cost and how much it should be sold for; its colour, weight and description; which shelf and in which shop it should be kept on .... ad infinitum. The store owner can write anything on that chip by means of an RFID printer.
And when it comes to the cash register... No more scanning each separate item by hand, because each RFID chip or tag, as they are called in the industry, sends out its own data on its own exclusive radio frequency, so so long as the RFID scanner is within three or four feet of the trolley, it knows what is in there instantaneously. No more unloading, scanning and reloading the basket.
In fact, no more check out clerk. Most people pay with a credit or debit card these days anyway, so as you walk past the scanner with your basket, you are scanned; you swipe your credit card through another scanner; if you are happy with it, you approve the payment and the barrier raises for you to proceed to your car. You only have to have a check out clerk for the people who want to pay with cash. Cheques are being done away with soon anyway.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on several topics, but is now involved with the RFID asset tracking. If you would like to know more, please go to our website at Active RFID Management.
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