Jacob Roberts and Dr. Joseph Ekstrom, Information Technology
RFID, Radio Frequency Identification, is a technology that is beginning to attract the attention of large business. These businesses have complicated and expensive supply chains. RFID promises to streamline asset tracking and reduce supply chain costs.
RFID consists of a small paper tag embedded with a radio receiver which modulates and retransmits a radio signal broadcasted from a scanner. The tags return signal contains the tags ID number. Because scanning uses radio wave the tag does not have to be visible to be scanned.
Big business hopes to reduce asset inventory time and misplacing assets. It also hopes to automate tracking location changes of assets as they move from warehouse to retail locations.
Small businesses could benefit significantly from this technology as well. The Asset Tracking System team has evaluated RFID technology in the context of small business and has developed a prototype tracking software for accelerating asset tracking and inventorying.
The prototype software consists of a Windows application supported by a Postgres database backend. The software performs four major functions requested by the supporting client, the Information Technology Program. These functions include: asset data viewing and editing, room inventorying, batch asset updates, and an asset Check-out system.
The software was created using a modular design that allows easy adaptation to new hardware and software support systems. The software was tested and evaluated using a barcode scanner and matching tags. Once RFID equipment became available it was tested against the barcode scanners performance.
The RFID development kit tested consisted of a USB handheld scanner with a 3” to 6” scanning range and several pre-coded ID tags. The system successfully scanned without line-of-sight through materials such as cardboard and paper. Denser or thicker materials reduced the scanning accuracy significantly. Up to 5 tags could be read simultaneously even when tags overlapped.
Testing showed that when tags were affixed to metal objects that the object either interfered with or absorbed the radio signal preventing tags from being read at any distance. Tag orientation also had significant affect on scanning accuracy. Tags were read successfully when scanned toward the tags flat surface. However, when turned perpendicular the tag became invisible to the scanner.
The prototype software performed well and satisfies the Information Technology Program’s requirements and expectations. RFID, on the other hand, did not meet our expectations. The scanning range and accuracy did not justify the cost over simpler tagging systems such as barcode. A well setup bar coding system, where all bar codes are visible, performs equally as well as the RFID system, but at a much lower cost.
The IT Program intends to continue research and development of the project, expanding its capabilities. We believe that RFID will develop into a viable technology for small business over the next 5 to 7 years. Costs associated with the technology will decrease as businesses like Wal-Mart push forward in implementing RFID in their supply chains. As accuracy improves and prices drop medium and small business will be able to benefit from the time savings and automation that RFID promises.