What is RFID?

RFID is the next evolutionary step towards automated asset tracking, inventory and supply chain management. It's basic elements are tags (or transponders), readers (or interrogators) and the air interface. Radio Frequency Identification is commonly referred to as RFID.

In this brief article I wish to examine the following key concepts:

• Building blocks

• RFID versus bar codes

• Radio Waves & Air Interface

• Singulation

• Basic RFID Categories: Passive, Battery Assisted Passive and Active

• Points of Distinction

Building Blocks

Tags are the devices to uniquely identify an item. We physically attach a tag to an item of interest. Readers are the transceivers used to automatically identify the tags and record their unique serial number. The air interface is the medium that the radio waves travel through to facilitate communications between the tag and the reader and vice versa.

RFID versus Bar Codes

Unlike its bar-coding precursor, RFID provides a unique identifier for each item tagged. This difference offers significant financial and operational advantages. For example, a product recall can be very specific using RFID. It allows for a certain batch made from a defined work cell by a specific employee on a specified day. Not so with a bar code! There is no need to conduct a blanket recall because you lack the ability to easily identify everything at the individual item level. This and many other advantages are allowing RFID to leap frog bar codes as the preferred Auto ID technology of choice.

Radio Waves & Air Interface

RFID is the automated process of retrieving stored data from the memory of an integrated circuit using radio waves. Radio frequency communication, aka wireless, is the basis for moving data from the memory of an RFID transponder or tag to an RFID interrogator or reader. This movement is through the air interface. Transmission range is generally determined by radio frequency, antenna size, power, and items creating path loss in the communications channel. An RF engineer refers to this as the link budget and can analyze and optimize each stage to yield best practices performance.

Every radio wave has two critical modes of operation known as far field and near field which is based on the wavelength of the frequency being used for the wireless RFID communications. In non-engineering terms this affects whether you are using the magnetic or electric component of the radio wave. Magnetic waves are better at penetrating most items but have dramatically reduced read range then the electrical wave.

Singulation

Under the EPCglobal or ISO 18000-6C specification the information stored in the tags memory is its 96 bit electronic product code or (EPC). It is this information that is transmitted via radio waves from the tag to the reader during singulation.

Singulation is the method by which an RFID system recognizes a tag with a unique identification number from multiple tags present in the system.

Basic RFID Categories

The three fundamental categories of RFID are:

1) Passive

2) Battery Assisted Passive (BAP)

3) Active

Let's take a look at how the basic categories operate.

Passive RFID systems function when a tag enters the field of view or read zone of an RFID reader. The tag becomes energized by the electromagnetic radio waves emitted by the reader. The tag uses this energy to modify the RF waves and reflect them back. The antennas of the reader then receive the modified RF transmission. The reader then uses hardware and software to interpret the changes. The key deliverable from this stage is the EPC information stored on the tag.

A passive RFID system typically includes:

A passive tag consisting of an integrated circuit, memory and one or more antenna element(s) which reflects energy radiated by a reader.

An RFID reader, comprised in part of one or more antennas, which energize the passive tag and capture the response.

An active RFID system typically includes:

An active RFID system still utilizes radio frequency communication; however the effective radiated power budget is different from passive systems. Active RFID systems typically have greater read ranges than passive RFID systems due to increased power. Active tags utilize a battery which helps the tag's transmitter to better broadcast the data stored within the tags memory to the air interface and subsequently to the reader.

Points of Distinction

Radio frequency communication does not require line of sight between devices. Thus, RFID tags can be read through packaging, shipping containers, and many other common materials. End user's should be aware that metals reflect radio waves and other materials which absorb radio waves provide the exception and create hurdles for RFID to perform.

Specialty tags are available which attempt to compensate for these difficult materials and thereby deliver acceptable performance.

Even under RF hostile conditions, RFID far exceeds conventional counting methods such as bar-coding in terms of survivability, speed and accuracy. For applications requiring heightened security, the radio frequency communication can be encrypted to ensure the integrity of the data passing between the tag and reader.

Wireless is Powerful!

We live in the best of times and the worst of times. For wireless this means cannibalization of old inefficient uses of spectrum to new spectrum efficient applications. Consider the billions that Nextel invested to perform a frequency translation of their spectrum. The vacvated spectrum is used by other new digital services.

Consider which side of the situation you're on.  Sunrise vs Sunset; Growth vs decay.

Just a few years ago dial up internet services where experiencing vibrant demand. Today that has shifted to wide-band DSL services. In the 60's you received your TV signal from the air via an Antenna, today most people receive it from the ground via Cable.

The revolution we have is the elimination of tethers using wireless technology.  Mobile computing and wireless data pipes allow decision making to be much closer to the source because relevent data is available now in real time.  To see more on this please see my YouTube talk.

If you, like me, are drowning in information then my talk on Ambient Information: DNA of Decision Making will begin to explain this new paradigm. I present a framework for decisions using concepts from Adam Smith, Bill Gates, Tragedy of the Commons, RFID, Isaac Newton, Facebook and Wikipedia. In this short talk, learn about Single Loops, Self Organizing Loops and Viral Expansion Loops. Get ready for the next paradigm!




Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKTuENmMO08


If you liked/dis-liked or just did not care about the ideas … regardless of view point please let me know. It would be great to hear your reaction.



By the way, if I did my job, you will find this presentation stimulating and innovative. Please pass it on to others.

RFID & China

Abstract
A first hand report on China’s RFID Standard’s and Strategy encompassing the Golden Card project and other existing Use Cases for RFID in China. Includes the authors comments on RFID Standards and how the Chinese agenda and their politics affect RFID.

Introduction
China is the manufacturing capital of the world as well as the most lucrative market for large scale technology adoption. If that did not get your attention then consider this fact: China currently has 95 million Internet users. With usage growing faster then 20 percent a year, China will have more internet users than any other country by 12/31/05. Additionally, China has the largest installed base of both land lines (314 million) and mobile telephones (334 million). Within this technology framework I believe China lays claim to being the largest potential RFID market in the world. The remainder of this blog backs up this viewpoint.

As a result of China's economic trading power, many countries, organizations and people are influenced by the perspective and decisions of the Chinese central government. In late April 2005, a group of senior government officials discussed their views at the RFID China Forum (RCF) in Beijing. The RCF was the largest and most influential RFID gathering in Mainland China, attended by the Chinese, American, and Korean Governments. It featured over 50 speakers from organizations such as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Savi, Nokia, NTT Data, ISO, UID, EPCglobal, CompTIA, the Korean Association of RFID and many more. Your blog author also participated as a key note speaker. The event was notable because it featured five key Chinese government officials, including the three department heads of the Ministry of Information Industry, as key note speakers.

Note: MII is leading the formation of China’s RFID standards. This is vital information for Western companies to understand as they form alliances and strategies for China.

RCF was covered by China’s top Media/Press including CCTV, Xinhua Finance as well as interviews with the New York Times and Bloomberg News. Over 500 dignitaries attended.

Standards and Strategy
Central government believes standard setting is a strategic activity to forge the following objectives:
Convert trading power to technology power
Develop intellectual property
Use RFID as an inflection point in China’s quest for hi-tech differentiation and infrastructure efficacy in the global market.

It is telling to understand that about half of China’s exports are viewed by a limited number of Chinese politicians as pseudo-joint ventures, where China’s value-add is essentially a processing center for Japan, United Sates and Europe. This restricts participation to the low end of the value chain because of China’s reliance on low cost labor. The central government’s ruling elite also recognizes that China lags developed countries in technology development thereby making China effectively controlled by developed countries. To improve this situation, China wishes to have intellectual property (IP) in technology and strong participation in the creation of standards. The Chinese realize that countries that own IP typically spend more on research and development. As a benefit of this investment they significantly influence standards to gain an economic advantage over rival countries.

So far, China has been an adopter of standards, not a setter. Since the standards’ bearer holds an economic advantage, the Chinese believe that they need to be involved in the setting of RFID technology. The country is already using the Golden Card project to facilitate its status as a leading adopter of RFID smart cards also known as the Integrated Circuit (IC) Card. So what is this golden card project?

Golden Card Project[1]
To help spearhead the transition to a developer of standards and creator of IP, the Chinese government has created the Golden Card Project. It is one of the government’s officially endorsed Golden series, whereby all state owned properties such as banks, driver license facility, public transit, etc. all use the RFID Integrated Card. The target is to develop IC cards as a method of payment for 300 million Chinese in 400 cities within 10 years.

China is a society in which cash is the traditional method of payment and, therefore, widely circulated (this is also the common situation in most other Asian countries). At the beginning of China's IC deployment, the concept was not well accepted by most Chinese people; however, there is a Chinese saying that "everything's hard in the beginning."

Initially twelve cities and provinces were involved in the pilot phase. IC cards have now been distributed and are in operation in Shanghai city, Guangdong Province, Hainan Province, Xiamen city and Wuxi city, Suzhou city and Nanjing city of Jiangsu province. After a slow start the IC cards are beginning to enjoy advantages in China due to the success of the pilot projects and the country's growing economic prosperity. Many companies, as well as the Chinese government, see Integrated Cards as very promising products. Thus far, about 200 million cards, of various types, have been issued.

Promoting the engineering associated with IC cards is another key aspect of the "Golden Card" project. In the country's Ninth Five Year Plan, the R&D of the basic chips embedded in the cards, the creation and improvement of card operating equipment systems (denoted COS), and the development of relevant software, are the engineering topics being emphasized by the government’s agenda. Furthermore, the associated network products such as routers, line concentrators, modems, network cards, display terminals, output equipment, charge machines, and automatic counter machines are also undergoing intense R&D. China intends to create intellectual property and accelerate the construction of an Integrated card industry using the success of the "Golden Card" projects to stimulate product creation and their usage by average citizens.

Existing Use Cases for RFID in China
The Labor Bureau of Beijing is adopting IC card and related computer technology, and is issuing labor cards to enterprise employees in a variety of labor-related businesses. The card can record an individual's basic data and job information, technical abilities, retirement information, etc. It is viewed as a wholly new and modern administrative technology that can be provided to labor departments and organizations needing employees. In addition, information to help with job-hunting, unemployment relief funds, pensions, etc., will be more easily obtained.

The Chinese government's Golden Card project also aims to create a nationwide, inter-bank credit card clearinghouse. Currently, a number of credit/debit cards can be used online, although the number of cardholders is still small. For example, China's online bookseller, dangdang.com, now takes eight kinds of cards issued by five Chinese national and regional banks, in addition to MasterCard, Visa, American Express and JCB cards, however, so far Golden Card has not significantly changed the most frequently used payment method from being cash.

Zhang Qi, Director-General of the Ministry of Information Industry, told the RCF conference audience that 44 million smart cards have been issued for public transit alone. China perceives that RFID will be a major contributor to its IT industry, and they wish to pursue strong and orderly development of this sector. “One billion smart cards are expected to be eventually deployed within this sector”, said Qi.

As an example of how RFID will be a major contributor to China’s IT infrastructure, consider the June 9, 2004 announcement from Sinopec Corp., Bank of China and the Construction Bank of China. Sinopec Corp. signed a framework agreement to build on the Golden Card Project with help of Bank of China and the Construction Bank of China. It is the first time in China that two major commercial banks joined with a major commercial group. Sinopec has the largest product-marketing network and market space in China. Currently it has 15,000 retail stations in 19 provinces, an 84% share in wholesale and 40% share in retail in its principal markets. One of the key partners, the Bank of China, has a long history in financial services and is very experienced in card management and issuance.

This cooperation combines Sinopec Corp’s advantage in resources and their marketing network with the strength of the banks’ settlement and services resources. The project will reform the oil product retail business and inject it with advanced IT technology, thereby upgrading the traditional marketing network which took hundreds of thousands of people 50 years to amass a sales volume of RMB 120 billion. It is expected that by the end of 2005 the number of retail sites will exceed 20,000, the sales volume of oil products will exceed 52 million tons, and the share in retail will be over 50%. The Golden Card Project will be executed in steps compatible with Beijing’s unified planning. The company will roll-out the IC cards to most of its retail stations. The goals are to create a Sinopec retail system with a uniform logo, a well-known brand, convenient services, and advanced management. The Chinese believe RFID technology will support flexible dispatching and optimum inventory management for its petrol stations and convenience stores.

Chinese RFID Standards
The government supports the deployment of RFID and desires an open environment for collaboration and absorption of technologies. Government speakers at the RCF conference repeatedly expressed a desire for harmonized development. To the Chinese, harmonized development means an international standard that is interoperable amongst China, Japan, US and Europe.

Xu Qin, deputy director of the Department of High Tech Industrial Development under the National Development and Reform Commission, has stated that the government will be involved with setting an RFID standard for China[2]. These standards authorities include ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 31/WG 4 for RFID technology standards, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 31/WG 2 for data construct standards, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 31/WG 3 for conformance standards, and the ISO TC 122/104 Joint Working Group (JWG) – Supply chain applications of RFID – for application standards. They are attempting such ISO coordination while being mindful of the continuing presence of EPCglobal initiatives.

It is important to recognize that the standard architecture itself is being criticized by the Chinese. They believe that the emerging EPCglobal standard should clearly demarcate the 7 network layers according to the International Standards Organization’s (ISO) Open System Interconnect (OSI) model.

Apply this multi-level approach to build standards that are tolerant of China’s domestic needs while using this paradigm to allow for top level compatibility of data. In this scheme the frequency, modulation and protocol used in the air interface are lower levels in the hierarchy. Thus when the Chinese state they desire an interoperable and international standard, they are stating they understand that differences in the lower layers are necessary for local issues of frequency assignment while the higher layers such as Layer 7 – The Application layer should be compatible to permit ubiquitous adoption of RFID. It is also at this level that the Chinese desire to create intellectual property.

Chinese RFID Agenda
China recognizes two important tasks on its agenda for RFID. First it must pursue ways to create and leverage IP rights by having a position in setting standards. In this regard, the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry (MII) and Ministry of Science are contributing to a white paper on RFID with 13 other countries. During the China RFID Conference, MII publicly invited other countries to join this initiative with the goal of avoiding the duplication of low-level work. The second item is to develop and promote technical skills which help create Chinese standards that are interoperable and global.

Dai Dingi, Vice Chairman of China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, told the RCF conference that “logistics modernization is a key driver for success in China’s retailing sector.” He also said “RFID will give China the infrastructure to reduce the percent of GDP that is consumed by logistics thus making China more efficient.” This is one area where China desires to develop its home market to purposely support the invention of intellectual property to improve logistics efficiency using technology like RFID.

Specifically, it is the development of standards[3] which demonstrates China’s compliance to WTO directives and their ultimate compatibility with the 860 – 960 MHz band of the ISI/IEC 18000-6:2004. This is a top priority for Beijing. Since a significant number of Chinese exports will be to countries complaint with the 18000 part 6 specifications it is important for China to assign frequencies within this band. Most likely it will also specify spread spectrum frequency hopping to offer noise immunity for the air interface.

By negotiating standards compatibility, China may then invent applications which have value in world markets. For example, the Chinese R1 Alliance is developing a solution to eliminate product counterfeiting by using the UID (unique identification) serial number embedded in RFID tags and coupling the UID with real time database transactions to authenticate products and certify their birth date and manufacturer location, lot number, etc. This would become a service with IP rewards for their Chinese sponsors. An outcome that the P.R.C. deems desirable.

Chinese Politics also affect Standards


Q. What does China's desire to play a role in standards mean?

Based on the comments made by all five key Chinese political officials at RCF, it is clear that China desires to be a standards co-driver, not a passive adopter of RFID standards. China does not want to yield an IP advantage or make royalty payments to any countries for its domestic RFID standard.



Tell me again! Why can't China join EPCglobal and develop RFID applications?

Perhaps one answer is EPCglobal in China is too much US-Europe centralism and, therefore, fails to satisfy technology sovereignty needs whose primary benefit is the avoidance of royalty payments to rival countries.

Consider that China has experienced 9 % growth a year for more then 25 years, the fastest growth rate for a major economy ever recorded[4]. Thus their politicians’ perspective is that China should be a standards setter not an adopter.

Joshua Cooper Ramo provides a fascinating picture of China's new foreign policy. "Rather than building a US-style power, bristling with arms and intolerant of others' world views," he writes, "China's emerging power is based on the example of their own model, the strength of their economic system, and their rigid defense of national sovereignty[5].”

Summary
Many people, especially western Caucasians, see China as a poor country offering low-cost labor for many years to come. The Chinese government, however, is determined to take steps to replace the ubiquitous label “Made in China” with a more prosperous “Invented in China.” RFID might well be enough of a disruptive technology to enable China to leap frog rival nations and achieve this next step in China’s economic transition.

Sources:
[1] Source: Craig Harmon, President QED Systems http://www.qed.org/, www.autoid.org
[2] Source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-10/24/content_385110.htm
[3] Most likely compatible with ISO 18000 part 6
[4] Source: Newsweek article by Fareed Zakaria within the May 9 issue
[5] Source: http://fpc.org. uk/publications/123

RFID LAMINATE TAGS aka Inlays

2004 Wireless RECAP

Thanks for the opportunity to shine some light on noteworthy technology. As you will see, my thoughts for 2004 focus on the wireless sector and how RF (radio frequency) helps to spatially and temporally increase the resolution by which we measure, monitor and analyze the world we live in. In other words, wireless is delivering profound changes to improve our lifestyle.

The technological prowess of the United States was shown to the world via wireless transmission while reinforcing our great passion for exploration. The reconnaissance mission to Mars by the probes Spirit and Opportunity used long range wireless transmission and gave space travel an extreme make-over. It was the best of reality TV, quenching our thirst to learn if tales of Martian life have any scientific basis. How exciting to see wireless feed the public's imagination and watch this technology deliver images showing the beauty of the Martian landscape over 34 million miles away. No other communications technology could rival wireless’ ability to deliver these images. In one second a radio wave travels seven times around the world. This means our round trip wireless communications to Mars took our speedy radio wave over 6 minutes. That is amazing!

Back at home, Mesh Networks Inc. gave us a different kind of reconnaissance. Their self configuring "meshing" networks create high-speed wireless communication systems; great technology for un-tethered applications requiring reliable ad-hoc information transfer. Until recently, this was a difficult technical challenge since dynamic network access points typically have unreliable wireless links to their peers. Expensive infrastructure was needed to overcome this limitation and offer sufficient link margin for adequate coverage footprints with acceptable bit error rates for reliable communications. By relaying data via neighboring nodes you reduce link infrastructure, speed deployment, and offer a system that is resilient to failure. This technology is creating systems to enable real time tracking of firefighters, a great example of how wireless increases the efficiency and monitoring of scarce resources. Public safety will receive a dramatic benefit while the risks for our heroes will be reduced.

New innovations from Tropos Networks Inc. are helping WiFi offer superior use cases while increasing access hot spots within a metropolitan coverage area. At the heart of their advance is the Tropos Predictive Wireless Routing Protocol (PWRP). Its job is to route traffic wirelessly, eliminating a majority of the fixed backbone hardware associated with WiFi access point solutions. Imagine smart WiFi cells which dynamically route traffic via the optimum throughput paths. This minimizes RF adjacent channel and co-channel interference, which in turn, increases capacity and improves mean time between failure by eliminating backbone hardware and access point problems. Look for an even stronger presence of the WiFi network as a result of PWRP. At a minimum, this progresses the quest of delivering Internet access anywhere, anytime via WiFi.

Alien Technologies builds their third generation RFID production line. Capacity increases over pick and place machines are impressive. It is capable of increasing yields of a silicon wafer from 15,000 dies to over 200,000 nanoblocks. The patented Fluidic Self Assembly process used by Alien yields a significant increase in IC output. Pick and place machines are capable of 10,000 IC’s per hour, therefore, it takes one machine over 11 years to make a billion IC’s. The Alien proprietary system reduces the process to less than 3 weeks. With demand estimates of 550 billion RFID tags per year this is an important increase in capacity. RFID is reinventing the supply chain and offering business a new paradigm known as the real time enterprise. Look for huge capital flows into this sector as businesses re-tool to meet RFID mandates from Wal-Mart and the DOD.

Another great development is taking wireless down to the micron level and using it for communications within integrated circuits. Sun Microsystems is leading this innovation by applying wireless data transfer amongst neighboring integrated circuits separated by less then a hair width apart. Sun thinks this technology may yield a 100 fold improvement in computing speed. Perhaps this will generate the greatest impact for the future mainly because it will add a new dimension to Moore's law. Not only will we be increasing the number of transistors on an integrated circuit every couple of years, we will also be bumping up the speed limit for internal communications. This has the profound potential to accelerate IC capability while lowering their cost basis. If wireless intra-IC communications become viable then wireless may be the legitimate heir of the most profound improvement in electronics since Jack Kilby’s invention of the integrated circuit in 1958.

Finally, we must make honorable mention of the life saving benefits of wireless communications during times of crisis. In particular, I'm thinking of Florida. This state survived the costliest Hurricane season ever recorded while giving us many examples of how wireless phones not only improve productivity but keep people from harms way. Wireless is a great life line!

I hope you enjoyed the niche technologies that I have highlighted. Happy holidays to you and the ones you love.


Bye for now,


Harold Clampitt

Tell me about this stuff!

Radio Frequency identification - RFid, the technology of tomorrow, is here — today. In fact, over 500 million tags are already in use worldwide, yielding benefits from livestock tracking to vehicle immobilization.

RFID is an automatic method of identifying unique items using radio waves. It is comprised of the following subsystems:

1. Tag aka Transponder
2. Reader aka Interrogator
3. Air Interface
4. CCC - Computer Command and Control

Typically, a Reader sends a radio signal over the air interface to a Tag. The tag maintains digital information in its microchip and responds back to the reader with its own radio signal sent over the air interface. For you geeks, think of a Tag as low power transceiver with an integrated database. Multiple Tags form a peer to peer distributed database. CCC is the layer of the system that includes a master computer and software which controls the Reader as a slave node. Since Reader's are essentially machine handlers they have no intelligence and always wait for CCC to tell them what to do. In effect, CCC is like the brain for the body and thus controls all activity for the local RFID infrastructure.

Its important to realize that RFID isn't just about the hardware, tags and receivers that comprise the physical infrastructure. It's also about the design and velocity of data that an RFID solution creates and streams. Clever integration of this data with your existing business processes can offer a huge payoff. After all, even the best technology is only as good as the process foundation it works from.

Unless you live in a cave, you know RFID is no longer a "coming soon" technology enhancement. Large enterprises like Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense have adopted RFID to reinvent how they perform. New standards and advances in antenna theory, semiconductors, semantic internet, and wireless have converged to create new applications for RFID.

In my opinion, RFID will create the world's largest information network in the next decade while simultaneously redefining the retail experience, supply chain management and a new paradigm known as the Real Time Enterprise. It's here, and it promises to establish its place as a fundamental component of your business tactics.

RFID vs BarCode

To understand RFID’s benefits this blog compares its capabilities to an existing industry standard, the Bar Code. Pundits for the technology claim that RFID will eventually replace the bar code. By understanding how RFID compares to bar codes you will gain an appreciation for its potential while learning more about how its works.

Note: Pre-requisite - I've assumed you've read my blog titled "Tell me about this stuff!"

So lets jump into the comparison ...


Physical Size
Tags range in size from a postage stamp to a book. The aspect ratio of a Tag’s length vs width is very flexible and not a significant factor for the Reader.
Bar codes are larger then the smallest tag and very sensitive to the aspect ratio for presentation to a scanner. The ratio of a bar codes length vs width is critical to its operation.
Lifespan
Tags have no moving parts and are embedded in protective material for an indestructible case and multi-year lifespan.
Bar Codes have unlimited shelf life but subject to degradation with handling.
Harsh Environments
Tags may be placed in extreme environments and perform to specification. Very robust to handling.
Sensitive to environment and generally degrade once used, stored or handled in a non-office environment.
Product Codes
Digital data is stored on the Tag and provides for a significant capability to encode:
1) Tag originator
2) User data as needed by the segment or application
3) Serial number as needed by the segment/application
Major vertical markets like Retail have standards which are excellent at coding product type and manufacturer. Additional information beyond these basic parameters is not feasible because the size of the Bar Code becomes to large.
Counterfeiting
Tags are produced with a unique identity code (UIC) or serial number form the manufacturer. This is embedded digitally on the microchip and may not be changed. Extremely robust to counterfeiting.
Bar Codes may easily be duplicated and attached to products. Easily counterfeited.
Dynamic Updates
Tags may be written to and offer on board memory to retain information. This feature may be used to store a product calibration history, preventive maintenance, etc. Updates may be made within the blink of an eye and automatically without human intervention.
Once a Bar Code is printed it remains frozen. The Code and the process of attaching the BC is not supportive of real time updates. It is a labor intensive process to update any information on a BC once printed.
traceable
The combination of UIC, user data, serial number and on-board memory makes it possible to track, recall, or document the life span of a single item. For example: With livestock this means the birthplace of the animal, its vaccine history, feed lots, slaughter house, processor, etc may all be tracked. This kind of information supports a complete pedigree for an item attached to the Tag. BC is limited to entire class of products. Unable to drill down to a unique item.
Not feasible to recall, track or document a single item.
Scanning
RFID - Offers a range from inches to hundreds of feet; does not require line of sight. This means individual Tags within a carton packed in a box stored on a pallet may be read. Do not have to open each box and present the individual item.
BC - Offers a range over inches; requires line of Sight to read the code. The Bar Code must be presented to the scanner in an orientation and distanced that is very limited. Individual reading requires each box on a pallet to be opened and the item pulled for presentation to the scanner.
Simultaneous Scanning
RFID - Standards have algorithms to support simultaneous reading of Tags at one time.
BC - Limited to one bar code at a time. Unable to support simultaneous reads.
Cost
High volume Tags are currently 25 cents each. Has potential to continue to drop per the experience curve. High volume bar codes are less then a penny. This is a clear advantage for BC unless you expand cost to be fully loaded. In this scenario the labor savings from items like physical counts, etc. give RFID greater feasibility.
Reusable
RFID - Yes
BC - No

What jumps out from this comparison is RFID’s capability to greatly amplify the benefits received from traditional bar coding. By eliminating the manual task of reading a bar code, RFID automates data entry. This permits new ways of processing items, events or transactions.

Summary
RFID technology is already replacing bar codes in niche applications with high value products. Companies like Gillette are moving forward with RFID and have garnered news because of their orders for RFID tags in excess of 100 million. Supporters have high hopes for this technology to be a universal replacement for the Bar Code. Just like photo-copiers that replaced carbon paper, RFID provides greater options and is rich with value add possibilities. Since it is based on digital electronics the cost will drop while the benefits improve. As a result, RFID is creating new processes, markets and opportunities.