Radio-Frequency Identification, or RFID for short is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify people or objects.
An RFID system may consist of several components including tags, tag readers, edge servers, middleware, and application software.
The purpose of an RFID system is to enable data to be transmitted by a mobile device, called a Tag, which is read by an RFID reader and processed according to the needs of a particular application. The data transmitted by the tag may provide identification or location information, or specifics about the product tagged, such as price, color, date of purchase, etc.
RFID is used for everything from tracking cows and pets to triggering equipment down oil wells. It may sound trite, but the applications are limited only by people’s imagination.
The most common RFID application is for tracking and management. This includes pet and livestock tracking, inventory management and asset tracking, cargo and supply chain logistics, and vehicle tracking as well as collect payments at tolls. RFID is also being used today at local hospitals in multiple applications.
RFID-tagged goods can be tracked easily through warehouses.
In the supply chain for improved visibility and distribution and in security situations for access control.
It may sound trite, but the applications are limited only by people’s imagination.
RFID will help improve the supply chain to its maximum efficiency. This means less money spent on tracking, and more money in profits.
Yes. Many companies around the world use RFID today to improve internal efficiencies. Companies such as Wal-Mart have started the trend by requiring all suppliers to use RFID technology.
RFID can be used to track work in progress and can speed up the flow of goods in a warehouse. The main objective of RFID technology is to reduce the cost of labor used in tracking goods, reduce errors in shipping and overall inventory levels, and to increase the overall efficiency in any field.
RFID is not necessarily "better" than bar codes. The two are different technologies and have different applications, which sometimes overlap. The big difference between the two is bar codes are line-of-sight technology. That is, a scanner has to "see" the bar code to read it, which means people usually have to orient the bar code towards a scanner for it to be read. Radio frequency identification, by contrast, doesn’t require line of sight. RFID tags can be read as long as they are within range of a reader. Bar codes have other shortcomings as well. If a label is ripped, soiled or falls off, there is no way to scan the item. And standard bar codes identify only the manufacturer and product, not the unique item. The bar code on one milk carton is the same as every other, making it impossible to identify which one might pass its expiration date first.