Vision Technologies

RFID

The Easy Solution To Your Business Problems | RFID is in use all around us. If you have ever chipped your pet with an ID tag, used EZPass through a toll booth,

or paid for gas using SpeedPass, you've used RFID. In addition, RFID is increasingly used with biometric technologies for security.

Unlike ubiquitous UPC bar-code technology, RFID technology does not require contact or line of sight for communication. RFID data can be read through the human body, clothing and non-metallic materials.


CURRENT AND POTENTIAL USES OF RFID

Asset Tracking
It's no surprise that asset tracking is one of the most common uses of RFID. Companies can put RFID tags on assets that are lost or stolen often, that are underutilized or that are just hard to locate at the time they are needed. Just about every type of RFID system is used for asset management. NYK Logistics, a third-party logistics provider based in Secaucus, N.J., needed to track containers at its Long Beach, Calif., distribution center. It chose a real-time locating system that uses active RFID beacons to locate container to within 10 feet.

Manufacturing
RFID has been used in manufacturing plants for more than a decade. It's used to track parts and work in process and to reduce defects, increase throughput and manage the production of different versions of the same product.

Supply Chain Management
RFID technology has been used in closed loop supply chains or to automate parts of the supply chain within a company's control for years.

As standards emerge, companies are increasingly turning to RFID to track shipments among supply chain partners.

Retailing
Retailers such as Best Buy, Metro, Target, Tesco and Wal-Mart are in the forefront of RFID adoption. These retailers are currently focused on improving supply chain efficiency and making sure product is on the shelf when customers want to buy it.

Payment Systems
RFID is all the rage in the supply chain world, but the technology is also catching on as a convenient payment mechanism. One of the most popular uses of RFID today is to pay for road tolls without stopping. These active systems have caught on in many countries, and quick service restaurants are experimenting with using the same active RFID tags to pay for meals at drive-through windows.

Security and Access Control
RFID has long been used as an electronic key to control who has access to office buildings or areas within office buildings. The first access control systems used low-frequency RFID tags. Recently, vendors have introduced 13.56 MHz systems that offer longer read range. The advantage of RFID is it is convenient (an employee can hold up a badge to unlock a door, rather than looking for a key or swiping a magnetic stripe card) and because there is no contact between the card and reader, there is less wear and tear, and therefore less maintenance.

 

 

Inventory Control

  • Provides total asset visibility
  • Gives full inventory history
  • Allows reduced inventory-stocking levels
  • Facilitates "Just-in-Time" deliveries
  • Provides full process control for products in the facility
  • Reduces lead-time
  • Shortens cross docking time
  • Speeds up sort/pick rate
  • Reduces shelf space
  • Provides higher-level security
  • Reduces errors
  • Reduces overall cost of operations

 

Container And Pallet Tracking

  • Track the location of pallets and containers within the warehouse
  • Notify management and security when unscheduled movements occur
  • Reduce costs and time for check-in and check-out as containers and pallets enter and leave the warehouse

 

Airport Security

  • Secure passenger concourses and boarding areas for only authorized passengers
  • Secure restricted areas for only authorized employees
  • Quickly locate employees in critical environments
  • Streamline customer ticketing and boarding while maintaining a high level of security
  • Badge tamper sensor -- identifies when badge is removed and possibly swapped among employees or passengers

Hospitals

  • Continuously track each patient's location
  • Track the location of doctors and nurses in the hospital
  • Track the location of expensive and critical instruments and equipment
  • Restrict access to drugs, pediatrics, and other high-threat areas to authorized staff
  • Monitor and track unauthorized persons who are loitering around high-threat areas
  • Facilitate triage processes by restricting access to authorized staff and "approved" patients during medical emergencies, epidemics, terrorist threats, and other times when demands could threaten the hospital's ability to effectively deliver services
  • Use the patient's RFID tag to access patient information for review and update through a hand-held computer