RFID Applications:
- Retail Inventory Control - Product inventory, theft detection, point-of-sale verificatioin.
- Manufacturing - RFID can track how far a product has progressed through the manufacturing cycle. RFID technology can tie an individual product to its current physical location and track when it was manufactured, whether it was received and where it is located.
- Logistics & Supply Chain - RFID can have a significant impact on every aspect of supply chain management, including moving goods through loading docks, to managing terabytes of data as information about goods on hand is collected in real-time.
- Pet Tracking - Embedded ID tag
- Toll-Booth automated toll collection - EZPass
Point of Sale cash-less payment - SpeedPass
- Biometric Security
- Container / Pallet Tracking
- Drug Authentication
- ID Badges and Access Control
- Fleet Maintenance
- Equipment/Personnel Tracking in Hospitals
- Parking Lot Access and Control
- Car Tracking in Rental Lots
RFID Vs. Bar Code Technology:
| Bar Codes: |
RFID: |
Bar Codes require line of sight to be read |
RFID tags can be read or updated without line of sight |
| Bar Codes can only be read individually |
Multiple RFID tags (perhaps hundreds) can be read simultaneously |
| Bar Codes cannot be read if they become dirty or damaged |
RFID tags are able to cope with harsh and dirty environments |
| Bar Codes must be visible to be read |
RFID tags can be read even when concealed within an item |
| Bar Codes can only identify the type of item |
RFID tags can identify a specific item |
| Bar Code information cannot be updated |
Electronic information can be over-written repeatedly on RFID tags |
| Bar Codes must be manually tracked for item identification, making human error an issue |
RFID tags can be automatically tracked, eliminating human error |
RFID Application Advantages:
- Provides total asset visibility
- Provides access to asset lifecycle history
- Reduced inventory-stocking levels
- Facilitates "Just-in-Time" deliveries
- Enhances process control
- Reduces lead-time
- Speeds up sort/pick rate
- Better security
- Reduces human errors
- Reduces overall cost of operations
RFID Limitations:
The development of standards for encoding and processing information on RFID tags will be critical to making the technology as widely accepted as bar codes currently are.
RFID Headlines: | 
