Dynamic Builds Scalable RFID Solutions

Dynamic Computer Corporation provides foundational RFID solutions. Our RFID experts can make your concept a reality, or work with you to design the most practical solution for your company’s unique needs.

Once the initial building blocks are in place in the form of a tested, scalable RFID solution, we can help you integrate a more expansive solution across your processes, departments and even throughout your enterprise.

Dynamic’s team is knowledgeable and practical, and our process-oriented system allows complete transparency to the client through each phase.

We pride ourselves on providing RFID education with no sales pressure or strings attached. You will find that we are efficient and reliable and understand your business problem from an RFID solutions standpoint. We respond to your needs quickly and thoroughly.

Some advantages of utilizing RFID technology:

• cuts costs
• increases productivity
• eliminates errors
• reduces human involvement
• automates processes
• provides visibility
• improves customer service
• shortens sales cycle
• reduces shrinkage

Allow us the opportunity to discuss a practical RFID solution that would offer these advantages to your organization.

Call 248-473-2200 for a free, no-hassle consultation, or to set up a tour of our RFID Demo Room.

Unparalleled RFID Logistics Trial a Success

Twenty-eight companies collaborated in an RFID logistics pilot, successfully tracking shipments of goods on their journey across the sea from China to the United States, according to a recent article on RFID Update.

The trial, sponsored by EPC Global, established that that the EPC Information Services (EPCIS) standard can successfully supply real-time global visibility for multiple companies in a supply chain. (Learn more about EPCIS from the original article.)

Several technologies interfaced to an EPCIS system, exchanging data among the manufacturers, logistics suppliers, associations, government organizations, and technology providers that participated in the pilot testing. Through EPCIS, the various organizations were able to combine and share data via passive and active RFID and EPCIS technologies that are usually implemented separately.

Gen2 passive UHF RFID tags were used to identify 120 pallets of goods split among three cargo containers. An active RFID tag identified each of the three containers.

The RFID tracking took place at the origination and destination ports, by trucking firms, cargo ship operators and multiple distribution centers.
EPCglobal is considering another pilot to expand on what was learned in this trial.


Could an RFID pilot help your company test a potential solution?

Dynamic Computer is a great source for RFID information and can help you evaluate how RFID could enhance your operation. We provide comprehensive and customized RFID solutions from concept, through testing, to implementation!

Visit the Dynamic Computer Corporation Web site or call 248-473-2200. We offer an RFID Demo tour where you can experience the technology in action! You can visit us and request a tour of our facility at 23400 Industrial Park Court, Farmington Hills, MI 48335.

RFID Revolutionizes Industrial Battery Recycling Program

Montreal, Canada-based logistics and engineering firm Can/U.S. Enviro-Energy, recently teamed up with Academia RFID to plan and implement an RFID solution that enables them to automate the battery tracking process in their industrial lithium battery replacement and recycling processes.

Early this year, after three months of testing, the RFID system was put into place. The system alerts customers in real time when their batteries have been accepted, then sends the customer an e-document verifying its receipt. This immediately qualifies them to apply for return credits.

Can/U.S. Enviro-Energy views environmentally safe battery disposal as an industry obligation. The RFID solution provides the company not only with the means to track the hazardous batteries throughout the recycling process, but also with the assurance that this industrial waste does not end up in landfills, damaging the environment.

This technology has revolutionized the service the firm has been offering for more than 15 years, serving large telecom and hydro-electric utilities companies in the transport, storage, handling and disposal/recycling of industrial batteries and power supply equipment.

Could RFID help automate tracking processes in your company?

Dynamic Computer is a great source for RFID information and can help you evaluate how RFID could enhance your operation. We provide comprehensive and customized RFID solutions from concept, through testing, to implementation!

Visit the Dynamic Computer Corporation Web site or call 248-473-2200. We offer an RFID Demo tour where you can experience the technology in action! You can visit us and request a tour of our facility at 23400 Industrial Park Court, Farmington Hills, MI 48335.

What does RFID have to do with the price of gas?

While they might seem completely unrelated, Mark Roberti, founder and editor of RFID Journal, points out that RFID implementation can help offset or reduce the amount of gasoline that companies and consumers require – cutting costs at a time when gas is predicted to reach $200 per barrel.

Companies must be efficient to remain competitive, given the rise in costs for producing and shipping goods. Costs need to be cut across their operations, including manufacturing and distribution processes. While producing more energy efficient products is good for business, it is not enough in itself to create sustainability in this market, he explains.

The following examples were used to demonstrate a few ways RFID can save fuel:

• Ensuring correct goods reach the correct store, thereby reducing truck trips
• Ensuring proper raw materials are sent to the correct factory
• Ensuring perishables are used on a first-in, first-out basis, reducing waste
• Reducing manufacturer errors by tracking work-in-progress better
• RFID data from stores could facilitate more efficient production, storage and shipping of products, reducing waste in the process
• RFID together with GPS technology could determine the most efficient truck routes, saving fuel
• Enhanced tracking of inventory in stores, ensuring customers can find everything they want in fewer trips
  

To read Roberti’s article in its entirety, visit RFID Journal.

Could RFID help cut costs across your organization?

Dynamic Computer is a great source for RFID information and can help you evaluate how RFID could enhance your operation. We provide comprehensive and customized RFID solutions from concept, through testing, to implementation!

Visit the Dynamic Computer Corporation Web site or call 248-473-2200. We offer an RFID Demo tour where you can experience the technology in action! You can visit us and request a tour of our facility at 23400 Industrial Park Court, Farmington Hills, MI 48335.

RFID poised to become a $9.7 billion industry by 2013

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) will grow to a $9.7 billion market by 2013, according to a new report by ABI Research.

Research Director Michael Liard explains that the RFID industry is growing strongly across a number of industries, in various forms, “including those applications that are unique to particular verticals, as well as those – such as asset tracking, security/access control, and supply chain management – that are common to a range of verticals.”

Many long-term RFID investments by large end-users account for the positive RFID market trends. For example, Sam’s Club / Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense have announced RFID compliance programs. The health care, energy and transportation industries are integrating RFID solutions for asset management, while many retailers are implementing item-level tagging applications.

Gelal, the largest sock manufacturer in Europe, is a recent example of the difference RFID solutions can make to the bottom line. The company has seen a 40 percent improvement in productivity after introducing an RFID-based tracking system in its Istanbul factory.

The 200,000 pairs of socks it produces per day for companies including Nike, Adidas and Reebok, used to require manual bar-code scanning in large cloth sacks between each of its 20 production stations, which was time consuming and sometimes delayed production due to bent or smudged bar-code labels. With the induction of Alien Technology’s EPC Gen 2 UHF tags attached to plastic totes, the company has reduced the personnel required for each shift from 20 down to 12 workers.

Examples like this demonstrate why rapid growth in the RFID industry is expected to continue at roughly at 15 percent annual rate for the period from 2008 to 2013.

ABI Research’s RFID Forecasts report offers “extensive data on RFID revenues and unit shipments, segmented by technology, application, and vertical market (aerospace & defense, automotive, commercial services, diverse manufacturing, government [non-military], health care/life sciences, retail consumer packaged goods [CPG], retail in store, transportation & logistics, and other),” as described on their Web site.

Could RFID help increase your company’s productivity?

Dynamic Computer is a great source for RFID information and can help you evaluate how RFID could enhance your operation. We provide comprehensive and customized RFID solutions from concept, through testing, to implementation!

Visit the Dynamic Computer Corporation Web site or call 248-473-2200. We offer an RFID Demo tour where you can experience the technology in action! You can visit us and request a tour of our facility at 23400 Industrial Park Court, Farmington Hills, MI 48335.

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) Appears to be Favoring RFID Over Barcodes

The Federal Drug Administration Amendment Act of 2007 (FDAAA) was developed when the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) was tasked with identifying specific standards. The portion of the FDAAA requires the FDA to create a standard and execution process to be able to uniquely identify pharmaceuticals at the unit-of-use level.

With only a little more than 2 years to accomplish this directive, the FDA began researching likely solutions and progressive technologies. A solution has not yet been selected and numerous technologies have not been discarded, it appears that the FDA is leaning toward Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to achieve their goals, according preliminary Federal Register notices.

FDA Tracking Goals Prescription Drugs:

Identification

Validation

Tracing

Tracking

Authentication

For drug pedigree and trace and track functions, the FDA seemed to favor RFID over Barcodes. The two obstacles standing in the way of RFID as a solution – well it appear to be a little superficial.

1. Barcodes are widely used and accepted in the pharmaceutical industry – less education required to implement.
2. Barcode systems are perceived to be less expensive to implement.

I wouldn’t call that a win for barcodes just yet either. The ideal solution will be the one that can accomplish the complete set of goals through automated processes. Accuracy will be a huge factor in the decision as well. Many enterprises claim barcodes and RFID compliment one another and perhaps the solution is made up of more than one technology.

However, the attraction to RFID seems to be the EPC system. EPC codes have the capability to assign unique serial numbers at a does-level, package-level as well as several other levels.

Until the “verdict” is in and announced, we won’t know what solution the FDA will select to meet the FDAAA directive. We’ll keep you posted.

Could RFID automate your processes and eliminate human error? Dynamic Computer is a great source for RFID information and can help you determine if RFID is a viable option for your needs.

Visit the Dynamic Computer Corporation website or contact us 248-473-2200. We even have a Demo area to visually show you RFID in action.

Dynamic Computer Opens RFID Demonstration Room

---If Your Company is Considering RFID & in the Southeastern Michigan Area...READ THIS!---

Dynamic Computer Corporation is pleased to announce the opening of their RFID demonstration room on Tuesday, May 13 2008. The demonstration room will be available to the public on Tuesdays and Fridays from 1PM to 5PM EST to allow industry professionals the opportunity to view Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) in action.

In the demonstration area, guests will be able to witness how RFID antennae, readers, tags and software operate together to achieve inventory control or asset management goals. Since RFID systems can accomplish many objectives for a number of industries, a variety of sample tags will be available for viewing and Dynamic Computer’s RFID Team will be on hand to answer questions and discuss use cases.

Dynamic Computer’s goal is to help RFID prospects get 100% read rates and a solid return on investment for their RFID implementation. By visiting the RFID demonstration area, guests will gain the advantage personal insight on how RFID works as well as how it applies to their company’s specific RFID strategy.

Anyone who is interested in RFID or would like to discuss their own upcoming RFID implementation is encouraged to call and reserve a seat for an open demo at 248-473-2200.
The RFID Demo Area is located at Dynamic Computer Corporation’s office at 23400 Industrial Park Court in Farmington Hills, Michigan. For directions, please call DCC at 248-473-2200 or email info@dcc-online.com.

RFID Equipped Shopping Carts; More Than Theft Prevention

What would you do if one of your $150-$200 ticket items added up to a loss of thousands of dollars every year?

An early solution was proposed by California Shopping Cart Retrieval Corporation (CSCRC), which takes on the responsibility of rounding up shopping carts for various retailers for a negotiated management fee. For example, many shoppers that live within walking distance from a store may take their cart all the way home with them. CSCRC will round up all those missing carts, or rather abducted carts, and return them to the store. They have 2,500 retail clients in California and Las Vegas and are responsible for returning approximately $8.5 million carts per year. Yes, that would be a potential loss of $170 million for the group or an average of $68,000 per client.

California Shopping Cart Retrieval Corporation is attempting to keep up with technology to better serve their clients and make their job more efficient. Their goal now is to prevent the shopping carts from going missing in the first place – introducing RFID to their niche service. CSRCR does not necessarily own this market, there are many RFID providers, such Dynamic Computer Corporation, that have the technology and expertise to implement a RFID tracking system for retail shipping carts.

As a basic program, the RFID tagged shopping cart can track the movement inside the store as well as in the parking lot. It can also trip a wheel-locking mechanism that stops the cart once it crosses a designated boundary. If the wheels won’t move beyond a certain point, the cart is rendered useless to those that used to take advantage of its functionality all the way home.

Where Can RFID Tagged Carts Go from Here?
If Microsoft has anything to say about it, RFID tagged grocery carts will have shoppers logging in via an on-cart scanner, utilize a virtual shopping list, receive printable coupon offers and much more. You might think it is all about enhancing the customer experience. While that is the primary goal, retailers will also be able to better track inventory, shopper behavior, loyalty trends and promotional efforts.

Think this all a bit too George Jetson-esk? MediaCarts are due to pilot in 2008.

If you think you may need more control over your assets and/or inventory, contact Dynamic Computer Corporation today to schedule an informational conference call!

www.dcc-online.com

248-473-2200

RFID Delivered a $12,000 Savings in First Month

Looking for a way to achieve a $12,000 saving in materials cost?

Consider a RFID Tracking System!

According to an article in RFID Update by John Burnell, a large commercial painting contractor implemented RFID tracking for inventory control and saved $12,000 in the first month. Vulcan Painters previously had issues keeping track of what materials were issued to job sites and what was returned.

In addition to inventory accuracy related to use, Vulcan’s new RFID system reduced misplaced and unaccounted for materials as well as reduced losses from expired paint.

HOW VULCAN IMPLEMENTED RFID:
Moderate to high-cost inventory items in the Vulcan facility were tagged with an RFID tag. Project managers use handheld computers integrated with RFID readers to select and load the items required for the job. The handheld application assigns the materials to the project manager and job site. When the workers leave the facility wit the materials, they pass through a RFID portal read which records all tagged objects as well as identifies any items that were not “checked out” by the manager.

When employees return to the facility, they scan the items they are returning with a handheld RFID reader and enter the storage location. The collected data allows Vulcan to keep real-time tabs on their inventory and also search by expiration, brand, color, etc.

EXPANDING RFID FOR VULCAN:
The article also indicated that Vulcan Painters could further their savings if they wanted to implement RFID tracking to the work sites themselves. Ford recently announced new RFID reader-equipped pickup trucks and work vans that could held further their tracking abilities. Currently they are only tracking materials as the leave and come back to the storage facility, but RFID is also a very viable solution for asset management (i.e ladders, scaffolding, etc.).

At time publish, Vulcan does not have plans to expand RFID beyond materials, but if they continue to save anything near $12,000 past month one…they just might want to further their savings as well as efficiency.

Have you considered RFID for inventory control or asset management?

Dynamic Computer is a great source of RFID information and can help you determine if RFID is an investment worth initiating. Visit the Dynamic Computer Corporation website or contact us 248-473-2200. We even have a Demo area to visually show you RFID in action.

Restaurant Industry Starting to Relish RFID

Some strong competitors in the restaurant industry are eating up the benefits that RFID technology is serving for three major reasons.

Reduce Loss

Better Control/Visibility of Stock

Enhance the Customer Experience

As professionals we are all faced with making our business profitable, which generally means seeking ways to increase profit while decreasing spending. Even though the restaurant industry rakes in more than $550 billion a year (2008 projection from http://www.restaurant.org/), each player in the pool takes significant losses throughout the year.

REDUCE LOSS:
The human factor is one of the primary reasons that restaurants experience financial losses. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to necessarily spark more self-serve restaurants nor do I want to be served by mechanical robots when I dine out. Of course, human error accounts for some stock depletion, especially considering 13.1 million employees are working in the industry. Over or under-cooked steaks get thrown out and often “comped” off the bill. Error is error and often accidental, but there is also something to be said about over-generosity too. For instance, bartenders are likely to “heavy pour” customers that tip well or are regulars. I am sure we have all received at least one free, unrecorded drink from a friendly bartender since hospitality industry experts estimate a near $7 billion loss due to “liquor shrinkage”. Well RFID tags are now helping restaurants keep their employees honest and within policy. With RFID tags placed in the liquor spout, liquor usage is monitored and tracked. This reduces or eliminates over-pours and keeps tabs on what is running low and needs to be restocked.

BETTER CONTROL/VISIBILITY:
I have known restaurants to have their liquor stored in fairly inaccessible places, like a basement. On a busy night, getting replacement stock can make a customer wait a bit too long for their drink. Using RFID tags on kegs and liquor spouts can alert bartenders, servers and/or managers of what is running low so they have plenty of time to restock without cutting into the customer’s experience.

ENHANCED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE:
Customers have also enjoyed faster service and more accurate orders since some restaurants have installed a hand-held RFID order system. I have noticed this to be a trend for VIP sections offering “at-your-seat” service in many sports arenas. This RFID technology has also allowed consumers to utilize “contactless payment”, where they simply wave their pay card over reader. This technology also offers better identity protection. Identity theft is a huge concern and your credit information is most vulnerable when it is taken out of your site. Therefore, tableside payment via RFID systems brings an increased sense of security to your customers.

Faster, more accurate service as well as a safer and more convenient payment method – RFID technology is enhancing the customer experience across the hospitality industry.

RFID can enhance your profit margin as well as your customer’s experience too. Ask Dynamic Computer Corporation how or visit our website at www.dcc-online.com.

2008 Boston Marathon Enhanced by RFID Technology

On April 21, 2008, the legendary Boston Marathon launched more than 22, 000 runners on a 26 mile adventure…with a RFID device securely attached.

Given more than 25,000 runners actually registered for the event and the weather was predicted to hit 80 degrees, Marathon officials knew that a concise and effective method was required to ensure the integrity of the event remained in tact.

The RFID (radio frequency identification) device assigned to each entrant is approximately the size of a $.50 cent piece and is secured to their shoelaces, ankle strap or clipped to a wheelchair. The chip holds the contender’s registration information as well as tracks his/her progress through the event.

How Does RFID Benefit the Boston Marathon?

1. Accurate Statistical Data: gets collected and is available to necessary personnel in real-time (i.e. media, etc.)

2. Fraud Prevention: Ensures all participants finish the race by hitting each check point. No short-cuts allowed, especially when cash prizes are involved!

3. Crowd Participation: Not only can Marathon officials track a runner’s progress, but so can spectators by logging online or having alerts sent to a mobile device.

4. Participant Safety: Not only can medical information be stored on the RFID chip, but should a “lost” participant need to be found, the search area can be narrowed to specific check point zones.


How Does RFID Work for Marathons?

Because RFID tags only need to come in close proximity to the reader, most large marathons use “Antennae Mats”. These mats are laced with antennae equipment which reads the chip number and sends the corresponding runner information to the data device, including the time at which the data was sent. Many RFID systems use antennae devices on either side of an entry or exit; I suspect the mats are used in large marathons due to the extremely heavy congestion at a starting line. Runners that may be trapped in the middle of the crowd still get timed since their device sparks upon stepping on the mat.

RFID Technology has been a favorable enhancement to large events, including marathons. Could it be a welcomed revolution to your business?

Feel Free to contact Dynamic Computer Corporation with any RFID questions.

A Letter from the GAO Regarding RFID

Today I stumbled across an interesting letter. It was written two years ago, by officials at the Government Accountability Office, and sent to Secretary Rumsfeld. Essentially, the letter reveals one of the major pitfalls of active RFID solutions: failure to create procedures for staff that will allow the organization to use the tags as planned.

The Department of Defense originally planned their active RFID system under the assumption that used active tags would be sent back to the Defense Logistics Agency for re-use. Unfortunately, according to the letter:

"Army, Navy, Air Force, U.S. Transportation Command, and DLA officials informed us that few active RFID tags were being returned or reused. Army and DLA officials estimated that rates of tag returns had been 10 percent before Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and 3 percent after."

The letter lists the price of the military's RFID tags at $100 each, which means that they are spending millions of dollars each year replacing tags which were intended to be re-used.

The letter goes on to beg Secretary Rumsfeld to change DoD policy to require tags to be re-used.

The really disappointing part of this is that the military's RFID program began in 1997, and this problem wasn't reported until nearly a decade later. This goes to emphasize the importance of planning in RFID deployments, and making sure all the players have bought into the program prior to the 'go live' date.

If you are interested, you can read the letter here: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06366r.pdf

New High Speed Proof of Concept

While we have been using RFID readers to track items moving through portals, in the past RFID users have needed to observe a careful speed limit in order to ensure a 100% read rate. This week, a new proof of concept was conducted with professional motorcycle racers!

For purposes of this experiment, the race track used standard Gen 2 UHF RFID tags, antennas, readers from Alien, Inc, and software to accurately track and time eight motorcycles at speeds exceeding 140 mph. Competition-prepared motorcycles were successfully time-stamp recorded passing several read points around the racetrack, simulating realistic race situations where multiple racers pass reader checkpoints. The professional racers’ machines were equipped with a total of two of Alien’s M-Tags each.

While this was a simulation and not an actual race, the goal is to be able to use RFID to provide exact time recording for high speed vehicles.

This will make reading a forklift of a semi-truck very easy in the near future!

Fitness through Judicious RFID Use

Here's a new one for you. In the Dallas Morning News yesterday there was a great article on ways RFID is expanding from government and logistics use cases into the mainstream of consumer life. The newest use case? RFID is helping women burn calories and get in shape. Curves, which is a nationwide chain of gyms based in Waco, Texas, has implemented RFID in approximately 10% of their locations so far. At each station, a woman flashes an RFID-tagged wristband over an RFID reader on the machine. The machine reads the woman’s workout program and gives the exerciser real-time feedback on whether she’s meeting her goals for that station.

At the end of the half-hour workout, each woman's wristband is read by reader at a desktop computer which creates a graphical display of how she did overall. Muscle groups targeted, reps completed and calories burned are all stored on the RFID chip and displayed on the monitor.

Gary Heavin, founder Curves, expects high-tech workouts to be a big trend in the fitness industry. “The consumer who is looking for the next big thing is going to have a computerized personal coaching system that designs a precision workout,” Mr. Heavin said. “It gives them moment-to-moment feedback, and it gives them a monthly report card that kind of holds them accountable for their diet and attendance in a positive way.”

Paris to Tag 3 Million Books

Once again, libraries are at the forefront of the asset tracking technology using RFID. The city of Paris, France, has announced plans to implement RFID at 42 of its library branches. The libraries intend to use RFID to better manage circulation and inventory, as well as to improve security. Also, at those branches with larger numbers of patrons, the city plans to implement RFID-enabled self-service checkout and return facilities to free up staff from the circulation desk, allowing them to better serve patrons in other areas of the library. The original plan calls for at least 3 million RFID tags, as well as kiosks, readers, portals and self-checkout systems that allow customers to check out and return items, and in some cases pay fees and fines, without staff assistance.

The Paris Library system will use France's national standard for RFID formatting in library book tags. This means if a patron requests a book from a library in Paris at an RFID-enabled library in Lille, the same tracking system can be used by both libraries to track the book. France is one of four countries that have established national standards for RFID data formats, and is therefore a leader in RFID implementation. National laboratories and the retail supply chain in France are already RFID enabled.

Bonjour from Paris!

Bonjour everyone! I, your intrepid DCC blogger am abroad this week, en route to Belgium and spending time in Paris.

Paris is at once a very old and a very modern place. Everywhere I turn I see RFID in use, most notably in the transit system. As a tourist I am forced to fumble through my pockets for stashes of paper tickets with magnetic strips. I must carry large numbers of them, because once they are used, they expire two hours later, and it is very difficult to keep track of when they will expire.

Parisians, however, have RFID devices that allow them to fly from one metro station to another without digging for tickets. They run their pass across the top of the barrier, and voila! They are in. There are special entrances only they can use, assuring they don't have to waste time waiting behind people like me who are digging for tickets among the lint in their pockets.

Best wishes to everyone, and au revior!

Exciting new RFID technology

A California company called Wirama (last syllable rhymes with gamma) has invented a new type of RFID reader software which seems to be a dream come true. Using an algorithm programmed into software that can be loaded on a mobile Gen2 RFID reader, Wirama can locate a passive RFID tag within 6 inches of its actual location. It does not require special hardware for either the reader or the tags. The read range for the algorithm software (or "locationing engine") is about 15 feet; that is, tagged objects more than 15 feet away from the current location of the mobile reader cannot be precisely located.

Current location software for passive RFID tags can locate objects within an area, but not as specifically as the Wirama software is promising. For example, with the industry's current software, Dynamic staff can use RFID to track whether an item is in our inventory area or not, but we can't tell exactly where in the area that particular item is located. If we were to use the Wirama code, we could zero in on the object's exact location within our inventory.

Wirama hasn't announced a production schedule or a time frame for bringing the product to market; but they do plan a public demonstration at a conference in April. I can't wait to see it in action!

RFID in 2009 Ford Trucks!

Ford's next generation of F-Series trucks will include an in-dash computer, which will use RFID technology to track tools stowed in the truck's box. The system is called 'Tool Link', and it's designed to prevent the types of losses Ford customers were experiencing on their job sites.

Developed with DEWALT and ThingMagic, Tool Link allows truck owners to mark and scan high-value tools, safety equipment, material inventories and other important assets using RFID tags. When the truck is running, a pair of RFID antennae, mounted in corrosion- and impact-resistant housings on the inside of the pickup box, scan the box for the items on a pre-programmed inventory list.

The data is transmitted to a reader mounted inside the cab and displayed on the in-dash computer screen, alerting the driver if any inventoried tools are not loaded on the truck.
"Tool Link increases productivity and saves money," said William Frykman, Ford Work Solutions product and business development manager. "It helps contractors and tradespeople guarantee they show up at the job site with the right tools for each job- and that they don't leave equipment behind."

Tool Link comes pre-loaded with several standard tool lists that are easily edited to reflect specific types of jobs. The system uses industry standard Gen2 RFID tags, which means the same tags may be tracked by other RFID readers outside the truck.

Turning On RFID

One of the great things about working with different companies on RFID solutions is the creativity and out of the box thinking that an RFID project brings out in people.

Eyes light up and mental wheels start churning when someone realizes that RFID can help solve major problems. How does RFID help solve problems? It shines a bright light on systems and processes within an organization.

Below are examples of some pretty straight forward ways of using RFID to solve real business problems.

Imagine “losing” valuable assets within your organization. You are fairly confident your area is secure but somehow you still have shrinkage. Turn on RFID and you can see where your assets are at all times.

Imagine trying to maintain a just in time inventory system by carefully assessing lead times for products and usage of products. You’re ordering the right amounts and your suppliers are shipping as requested but you’re still facing “out of stock” and “overstock” issues. Turn on RFID and all of sudden you see the problem—it’s at your dock door with product sitting waiting to be moved into the warehouse.

Imagine having to manage field personnel who write down time in and time out at job sites. You’re concerned because projects aren’t being completed on time. Turn on RFID and you can see exactly how much time was spent at the job site and how much time is unaccounted for.

When thinking about your RFID project ask your self “What is it that I can’t see that I wish I could?” Answer that and you’re on your way to leveraging RFID to solve your organization’s problems.

Heathrow starting small, thinking big

Heathrow airport is going to run RFID baggage tracking systems for one small airline on one specific route. I think this is the perfect way to start a project like this; we at DCC are always trying to get our RFID clients to pick one small way to get going with RFID, then branch out into larger projects. In the case of Heathrow, they are deploying RFID readers at key points along the journey of luggage belonging to passengers travelling the Emirates Airlines route from Heathrow to Dubai - from check-in desk to carousel.

Heathrow will use Motorola XR480 Fixed RFID readers in Terminal 3 to read tags on luggage entering and leaving the airport. In the past, Heathrow has used bar codes to track luggage, which has been a problem when bags do not have the correct line of sight with the reader. RFID readers will be a great help, because they can still function when a bag has tipped on its side, or when a stray strap has fallen across the tag.

RFID Passport transition

As the new rules for the US border with Canada came into play, I anticipated long waits as my teenage daughter and I returned from a weekend in Toronto. U.S. border crossings have been notoriously slow for years, and with new rules requiring travellers to have passports, I assumed we would be in for a long wait.

We plugged in our iPod, and were no sooner getting out our snacks when it was our turn at the window! My passport took a couple minutes for the border guard to check, but my daughter's, which was issued after 2006 and is RFID-enabled, took less than two seconds as he glanced at her photo, which popped up on his computer monitor as soon as I handed the passport into his shack.

He didn't even have to open her passport. Just glanced at her, glanced at his computer screen, and waved us along. The RFID reader in his shack picked up the signal from my daughter's passport, then brought up her photo and electronic passport records from the government's database.

Indeed, it seems to be a smooth transition to the new border rules, assisted in part my lenient enforcement, and in part by speedy RFID identification.

Another Combined RFID App

I really like the idea of combining RFID technology with GPS to create a comprehensive tracking and monitoring system. There's an article floating around online this week that Seimens has a good proof of concept for tracking shipping containers worldwide.

The idea is that they are using the RFID transponder to monitor the temperature in the container, and to document whether the door is opened or closed. GPS technology is being used to locate the container. In this case, the RFID reader in the container is relaying information to the satellite, too.

A box measuring about 8 inches wide by 11 inches long was attached to the two refrigerated containers used in the test on the ship, which spent about three weeks at sea while sailing from Shanghai to Singapore and back. The box contained an active RFID transponder wired to two sensors—one for documenting whether the container door was opened or closed, another for monitoring the temperature inside the refrigerated containers. Each container's RFID tag transmitted its ID number and sensor data to an RFID reader, which then forwarded that information via a GSM base station to an on-board control system, and via satellite to the ground system monitored by a central surveillance center.

This seems like a lot of fuss to make sure a container isn't too warm or prematurely opened, but in fact huge amounts of these containers are shipped internationally on a daily basis, and until now there hasn't been a method for monitoring them. This leaves them at risk for sabotage, theft, and mishandling.

BAP Tags

There seems to be a lot of confusion out there regarding BAP RFID tags. Just to clarify, here are a few key points.

BAP stands for "battery-assisted passive". This means that while the tag has a battery, it is not continuously using that battery, and therefore doesn't continuously transmit radio waves. The function of the battery in a BAP tag is simply to increase the distance the tag can transmit.

While there are standards for active and passive RFID tags, the industry has not settled on a standard for BAP tags. This means that we have to be careful in designing a solution around a specific BAP tag, finding an RFID reader that will be compatible with that specific tag.

BAP tags, just like active tags, will need to have their batteries replaced eventually. The life cycle of the battery will depend upon how often the tag is 'wakened' by a reader and forced to transmit.

Imagining the Grocery Store Afresh

I really don't have much time for the grocery store. I particularly don't have time to go through their weekly ads, pick up coupons from the paper, and figure out where the best buys are to help stretch the family budget. I'm kind of excited, therefore, to see ShopRite's RFID project with Microsoft.

The companies have combined forces to create a smart shopping cart. When the cart will display advertisements and discounts based upon location, which it will sense using an onboard RFID reader. So, if you push the cart into the detergent area, the cart will inform you that Tide is 2 for the price of 1 today.

The smart cart idea isn't a new one, really. Dynamic is working on one of these for one of our clients right now, although it will be used for marketing research, rather than customer service or sales.

Microsoft and ShopRite are funding the project with advertising, which seems to be a fairly common way to fund the transfer of information nowadays. I haven't decided what I think about that, because I am sure ShopRite could get ROI on their RFID investment in many other ways. Still, this is a step in the right direction.

My ideal grocery shopping experience:

I walk in, take what I want from the shelf, and walk out the door. No checkout lines, no wondering if the expiration date is okay, no need to get my debit card out of my purse. I walk past an RFID reader carrying the things I want, and my total purchase is automatically deducted from my checking account. That would be perfect!

Cool Video from ZDNet

This is a video of and interview with the CIO of PG&E, one of the nation's largest power companies. She mentions how they plan to  use RFID to make their systems more intelligent:

http://video.zdnet.com/CIOSessions/?p=237 

Santa uses RFID to Sort Out Photo Problems

Santa's house, in case you were not aware, is located in the Arctic Circle near Rovaniemi, Finland, where the North Star is overhead pretty much all the time. Every year, he gets many thousands of visitors from all over the world who meet his reindeer, explore his home, and soak up the Christmas spirit.

Although they speak many languages, the Elves were having some trouble with their photography projects. People would pay for a photo with Santa Claus, but then the Elves would have a hard time locating the photo in order to print it out.

On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, on RFID! The elves now hand each person an RFID-enabled ticket at the point of sale for the photography line. The ticket is tracked through the photo process and associated in a database with the picture file. When the guest reaches the printing area, simply dropping their ticket on the counter causes the database to recall the correct set of photo files. :-)

Near Field RFID testing in the Tube

London's public transportation system is one of the busiest in Europe, and all of the timetables and maps are still provided entirely on paper. This month, however, one thousand riders are testing the new VORTRIX system at the Blackfriars station. Using a phone equipped with an RF reader, passengers get information from 'smart posters' containing RFID tags, and located throughout the station. A custom application uses the phone's web browser to display exactly what trains, busses, and transfers to take in order to reach the right destination. If you don't enter a destination, it assumes you are from out of town, and suggests attractions and activities you can visit. If the test is a success, they plan to roll out to other stations, and then to integrate an RFID-based system so that passengers can pay for their fare by waving their phone.

Near field RFID is simply a different type of transmission, operating in the unregulated RF band of 13.56MHz commonly used for scientific instruments and medical devices. Near field RF devices have a much shorter range than the more ordinary RFID chips. The maximum distance a near-field device can communicate is about 8 inches. 

Great Disaster Response Solution, Texas!

This is a biased blog entry, of course. I love the idea of using RFID to track disaster evacuees. Dynamic created a publication for public health officials this fall informing them of ways RFID could help with disaster preparedness and response. So many people are afraid of RFID; I am pleased to point to yet another example of RFID harmlessly making society a better place.

If you haven't heard, Texas is going to be issuing wristbands with both barcodes and RFID tags to evacuees following a disaster. Readers on the evacuation vehicles will gather data as people enter and exit the vehicles. GPS devices on the busses will report realtime positions for each bus, and therefore all the tagged people within that bus will be tracked. The goal of the system is to help reunite families who have been separated by a disaster much more quickly, and to provide real-time location data in case loved ones cannot be immediately reunited. This should greatly relieve the distress which follows a disaster when families struggle to find one another.

The second reason I like the Texas solution is the clever way they are combining technologies. Using the bus as a container for multiple tags, and tracking a single GPS location for all the tags in the container is a great cost-saving idea, and one with a long-proven track record in the RFID world. Using container-level tracking is an old standby, and a very effective one.

Likewise, incorporating both barcodes and RFID tags in the wristbands is pretty smart, since it means that the wristband can  be read by whatever type of reader is available. This is, after all, a statewide system. There are clear benefits for using RFID in heavily populated areas, where benefits will outweigh implementation costs. Meanwhile the 20 inhabitants of Podunkville, Texas probably won't need RFID readers for their designated evacuation bus, since it would only take a few minutes to scan everyone's bar code by hand. Even so, this means Podunkville evacuees can be traced through the same system as their friends in urban Houston. Nice.

RFID in your own hands

Samsung has announced a very cool RFID reader consumers can use inside a mobile device! This is what I've been waiting for; something that might someday make shopping in a store easier. The reason I shop online is that I want specifications and comparisons at my fingertips, and I don't want to have to ask a pushy salesperson for information. I hope that in the future I'll be able to pull data from objects' RFID tags before making a purchase. I realize that's a long way off, but a girl can hope!

"We are enabling anytime, anywhere mobile access to information," said Dr. Chilhee Chung, senior vice president of Samsung Electronics' System LSI division, in a press release. "RFID chip reader systems allow consumers to pull context-specific information into their mobile devices while on the go. Our mobile RFID single-chip technology is an important step in the evolution of ubiquitous computing environments."

Really Tiny Chip

No, it's not a tick or a freckle. It's the smallest RFID chip on record. It's made by Hitachi, and measures 0.15 x 0.15 millimeters in size and 7.5 micrometers thick.  It can store enough data for a 38-digit number. It's pretty cool; hopefully it doesn't blow away in a stiff breeze, though. I'm betting Hitachi spent a bit of money on this one.