Each chip has a unique serial number (UID or TID) that is only assigned once worldwide. This guarantees clear assignability at the individual product level and complete product individualization.
The future of RFID technology and its advantages
You may have read the abbreviation RFID more and more frequently for some time now. But what exactly is behind it and how can it benefit us? Our article about RFID technology will explain this to you. The industry sees great opportunities in the small radio chips that are already widely used. RFID technology particularly expands the possibilities in the logistics industry, as barcodes no longer necessarily have to be used. The invention of the integrated circuit in 1958 made it possible for the first time to produce small transponders, for example for electronic article surveillance (EAS) in clothing stores. The economy has been using RFID systems and chips more frequently since the 70s and 80s, for example for identifying pets and farm animals, in container logistics or in automatic production. Toll station operators have also discovered the technology and have been working with RFID chips since the 90s. The number of RFID applications has been increasing rapidly since the end of the 20th century. Due to the cheaper production of the chips, even comparatively cheap goods can be tagged with RFID tags. Some international retail companies, such as Wal-Mart, Tesco or the METRO Group, are already using RFID intensively. But not all areas of application have been developed yet. Currently, RFID-based NFC (Near Field Communication) technology is being used for a variety of applications in cell phones. For example, mobile phones can be used for mobile payment or e-ticketing. By using complex RFID systems, shopping can be simplified with RFID tags on the products. For example, equipping household appliances with RFID technology can make organizing shopping easier. The refrigerator would be able to analyze how many yoghurt cups and expiry dates are still available and provide suggestions for the shopping list via a display. Additionally, it could indicate what should be consumed as quickly as possible.
But what does the abbreviation RFID actually stand for? A short and understandable explanation
RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification and describes a method of reading and storing data without having to see or touch it directly. So-called transponders, the actual RFID chips, are used for this. Theoretically, they can be attached to any object. RFID is just the generic term for the entire technical infrastructure.
An RFID system includes:
• the transponder (chip),
• the transmitting/receiving unit (reader) and
• the IT system operating in the background, such as cash register or merchandise management systems.
Data transmission between the chip and the reading/receiving unit takes place using electromagnetic waves. Depending on the version, an RFID chip can store different amounts of data. Depending on the frequency range, transmission strength and location-dependent environmental influences, data can be read from a distance of a few centimeters to several meters.
Advantages in application
Small radio chips for many applications
Breweries equip their barrels with radio chips to make it easier to determine their location on the premises and to be able to assign the returned empty barrels to exactly one customer. Logging companies can use RFID labels on tree trunks to track the transport of the trunks and reduce loss. Here, RFID is used for very specific tasks with a comparatively high expected benefit.
Passport – Electronic fingerprints for ePassport chip
Since November 2005, the passport in Germany has been equipped with an RFID transponder on which a passport photo is stored in digital form and, since November 2007, fingerprints (both index fingers). The data in the ePass should be protected from unauthorized access by Basic Access Control. In order to read the RFID transponder, access to the optical machine readable zone (MRZ) of the ID card is necessary. Citizens can view the data stored on their e-passport via display devices at the passport authorities.
World Cup tickets
As always, tickets for the World Cup in Germany are in great demand. If you are one of the lucky ones and have a ticket, you may be surprised when you enter the stadium: there is no stadium steward anywhere to tear off a corner of the ticket to check before the game starts. Instead, there are electronically controlled turnstiles that football fans have to pass through to get inside the stadium. A technology that many people know from winter holidays and ski lift access. This is made possible by RFID chips that are integrated into the World Cup tickets.
And this is how the folderless admission control works: The viewer's data is stored in the ticket chip. Every single admission ticket is personalized. To ensure smooth control at the stadium entrance, the necessary data is transferred encrypted using the ticket system to the access control system of the respective stadium. The RFID chip serves as a key to this data and the comparison with the access control data.
Metro Group Future Store: Self-Shopping
If there is one area that is most likely to be associated with RFID, it is supermarket checkout use. In the future, the customer will simply drive the shopping cart slowly past the terminal and radio technology will enable the purchase amount to be transmitted in a time-saving and labor-saving manner.
If one of the computers on the shopping cart points out the current special offers, products are advertised via video or have electronic price tags, then the customer is in the Metro Group's Future Store in Rheinberg near Düsseldorf. It is the result of the Metro Group Future Store Initiative, which, together with partners such as IBM, SAP and Intel, provides impetus for technological change in retail. Goal: More service, information and convenience for the customer.
But the real driving force is to increase efficiency along the entire supply chain. The Metro Group uses RFID in the Future Store primarily along the process chain and in goods management.
All product pallets and boxes for the store are equipped with so-called smart chips, whose data is given a time stamp and collected in a central computer. Products can be identified and localized directly - from transport to the sales area. When the goods arrive at the Future Store, they are read by an RFID reader, registered as “received” and later marked as “dispatched to the market”. At the end of the chain, when the customer has purchased a specific product, a de-activator at the exit of the market ensures that the electronic number code is deleted - the chip has become permanently unusable.
RFID in the Future Store is intended to bring these advantages to customers, retailers and the consumer goods industry:
The discussion about the specific application of RFID in practice currently covers three areas:
Process optimization in the healthcare industry: The coded patient
Radio chips already play an extremely important role in healthcare. In a pilot project in hospitals, patients have been recorded with RFID labels on their arms since mid-2005. A solution that saves time and reduces mountains of paper. Since then, patient mix-ups due to manual incorrect entries by hospital employees and the resulting incorrect treatments have become a thing of the past. The radio technology allows the doctor to access the medication system within seconds and can check a medication for intolerance.
CONCLUSION:
RFID vs. BARCODE
With RFID, professional and private life becomes easier and simpler in some areas. The general willingness to use RFID in the areas of manufacturing, trade, services and public institutions is very high. After many years of targeted technical improvement and with extensive experience through countless pilot projects in various industrial sectors and applications, RFID has developed into an established, reliable identification technology that can demonstrate its advantages over barcodes if the application conditions are carefully examined and a cost-benefit is determined -Invoice was carried out. RFID projects can offer crucial process optimization, especially in process control and warehousing.