Mysterious RFID
The development to a certain extent is a spell. RFID is a typical example: a customer picks up goods full of purchase cars, when you go to the supermarket export, you don't need any bar code scan, a few seconds The total payment is clearly displayed on the screen clearly; when a customer wears "Nike" sneakers walk through a street LCD billboard, the originally played Coca-Cola advertisement suddenly switches into the tourist flames of the Alps, and draws the proud To this customer: "Go to such a wonderful place, or wear Nike shoes."
In fact, RFID itself is not a special advanced technology. RFID (RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION) is a wireless RF identification technology. Its main core component is an electronic tag, which is only 2 mm, and a radio wave transmitted by a few centimeters to a few meters away. The electronic tag can be read. Information stored in the store, identify the identity of items, people and appliances represented by electronic tags.
The US military began researching RFID technology as early as the 20th century, and this technology has been widely used on weapons and logistics management systems. The United States uses RFID in "Iraq" to use RFID to prepare weapons and materials very accurately, ensuring accurate supply of frontline ammunition and materials. Different from the previous "adequate" supply, modern management emphasizes accurate supply, which is to provide much, because excess supply will increase unnecessary management costs.
RFID technology can be widely used in the civilian field benefits from two promotion power: the first is that the chip manufacturing cost is greatly reduced, from the initial tens of US dollars to several cresses, so that the RFID electronic tag can be managed by the supermarket Accepted; the second is the wide acceptance of RFID technology. Europe's largest supermarket Madon and the United States's largest supermarket Wal-Mart tried RFID in 2003 and 2004 to accelerate the popularity of RFID technology.
RFID's driving power is a market, and this is different from other IT technology. However, because ordinary consumers have no clear impression, the focus of supermarkets and management agencies have made the people have a mystery, and there are still many people who don't understand new technologies began to doubt RFID's violation of privacy rights. As RFID's veil is unveiled, its huge business value is also known by the public, and the US legislature is also considering protecting the privacy of the people through legal forms, and RFID's application prospects are gradually clear.
Changed not just label
When it comes to the label, people will naturally began to start the barcode. The barcode played an important role in a considerable period of time. However, the popularity of RFID technology will greatly improve the original function of the barcode.
First, the barcode relies on the passive manual reading method, the staff needs a scan of the handheld read device, and the RFID read device utilizes radio waves, and can fully read a large number of labels information; second, barcodes belong to the fragile label, Due to physical and chemical reasons, it is torn, and RFID belongs to electronic products, which can be used in a harsh environment; third, barcodes are small, and internal embedded storage devices inside the RFID tag, the amount of information is huge; Of course, the problem with barcodes is that it will always be disposable, not changeable, and RFID can be written or modified.
The advantage of RFID will far beyond the layers of labels. We only have the effect of RFID on the logistics industry as an example.
Since the storage capacity of the RFID tag is 2, the logistics industry first discovered that they can represent every item in the world in the unique code. In the past, barcodes used, due to the limitations, the logistics industry can only define a category for each type of product, that is, a group of milk, no matter which day, they are the same in the mall, the mall cannot pass code Determine the exact inventory period of each product. RFID completely abandoned this limit, and now all products can enjoy a unique ID. This is a revolutionary breakthrough for ERP and SCM systems. The past material numbers cannot achieve tracking of single components, and today, the accuracy management of materials will extend the tentacles to every part of each part, regardless of It is quality control, automation management, and product lifecycle management will face the past that cannot be imagined in the past. For example, an analysis of product probability can position a source of defective sources at a certain point, and a product in the warehouse will not be placed separately because of excessive number of products.
The effect of RFID is not only these. EPC Global is a non-profit organization, which plans to build a huge "Internet of Things" around the world, which is the coding network involved in circulating items. The Internet of Things, which consists of many servers and the current computer Internet and wireless communication networks, constitute a new generation of network systems, people, computers, and goods to accurately position on the network, and the concept of calculation will also change.
Meeting this era, companies need to be fully prepared. RFID will enter the real practical phase around 2006. When this phase arrives, everything will change.
RFID getting closer
Like many of us are already familiar with advanced technologies, RFID is also experiencing a phase from technology maturity to wide application.
RFID has a wide range of applications: many companies, organizational access control systems, identity identification systems have used RFID technology; RFID technology can also be applied to property protection, automotive tracking, parking lot and highway pass axle paid; logistics industry RFID technology is widely used, from the production of products, the sales of products to the product will be intelligent. RFID will be applied to various fields such as automotive, drugs, food, transportation, energy, military. The business opportunities brought from people to the machine to the merchandise, the business opportunities brought by RFID.
This general market demand triggered technology development: The results of the survey show that 70% of the company has developed RFID's corresponding plans in the world's annual sales of 5 billion US dollars, and will be 18 Implementation within a month; 25% of companies said this year will invest 500,000 to $ 100 to popularize RFID technology.
At present, the RFID technology standard is not uniform, plus cost-off, and has not yet been formed in the environment in the market. Although this exciting technical revolution is still at the beginning. But we have clearly seen what kind of application experience is caused by RFID to users when the efficiency generated by the technology is greater than the user input. At the end of April 2003, the German chain giants, the world's third largest supermarket group Madon and IBM have established RFID technology concept stores, known as "future store" shopping malls, hoping to use RFID to reduce a large number of sales management costs. The US Department of Defense also uses RFID technology in many ways. For example, there will be an identification card in the hands of the US soldiers. The wristband with RFID is to apply RFID, and it integrates this soldier's identity, blood type, Drug resistance and basic rescue factors. Recently, the US Department of Defense selection IBM is responsible for helping to manage and support RFID tags - this strategy involves 430,000 national defense suppliers.
When using RFID technology, you can follow this idea: select the appropriate technology; design and define solutions; implement solutions; operation training; install RFID management system, install support and help systems; implement maintenance services. For the user, recognizing the advantage of RFID is only the first step, technological advancement, and cost reduction cost that will be successfully implemented, will further advance the implementation process. The conditions are mature, and RFID has been getting closer and closer to us.
