Analysis of common problems of the hottest RFID pr

Analysis of common problems in RFID projects

when it comes to RFID, people will first think of the cost of tags, domestic standards and other issues. Here is an analysis of common problems in RFID projects based on my experience and other information. Please correct the deficiencies

is it applied to open loop or closed loop? Enterprises using RFID can be divided into closed-loop applications and open-loop applications, closed-loop applications (refers to the use within the company) and open-loop applications (to apply to the entire supply chain, the requirements for collaboration are higher, which may include packaging suppliers, contract manufacturers do not carry out these actions without cancellation, third-party logistics companies and retailers, etc.). The internal closed-loop system is characterized by a good entry choice, because the company can avoid problems such as industry standards and synchronization with external partners. At present, the main RFID applications are still closed-loop applications. Open-loop applications will bring huge benefits, but the implementation is also very difficult and costly. At present, the main open-loop application is the RFID project implemented by Wal Mart and other retailers, but it only involves the transportation link of the retailer supplier value chain. Suppliers are required to use RFID tags on every pallet sent to Wal Mart stores

RFID standard problem RFID application involves many technologies, which also involves a series of standard problems, from radio frequency, data format, coding, etc. At present, RFID has not formed a unified global standard, and the market is a situation where multiple standards coexist. However, with the beginning of the large-scale application of RFID in the global logistics industry, the unification of RFID standards has been widely recognized by the industry. RFID system is mainly composed of data acquisition and background database network application system. At present, the standards that have been released or are being developed are mainly related to data acquisition, including the air interface between electronic tags and readers, the data exchange protocol between readers and computers, the performance and consistency test specifications of RFID tags and readers, and the data content coding standards of RFID tags. At present, the background database network application system has not formed a formal international standard, and only a few industrial alliances have formulated some specifications, which are still evolving at this stage

the core of RFID standard competition is mainly in the field of RFID tag data content coding standard. At present, five major standards organizations have been formed, representing the interests of different groups or countries in the world. EPC global is jointly established by UCC product unified coding organization in North America and ean product standards organization in Europe. It has hundreds of members worldwide and is supported by multinational companies such as retail giant Wal Mart, manufacturing giant Johnson & Johnson, P & G. Aim, ISO and uid represent European and American countries and Japan; The members of ip-x are mainly from Africa, Oceania, Asia and other countries. Comparatively speaking, due to the integration of American and European manufacturers, EPC global has the relative advantage

at present, the main RFID technology in UHF (ultra high frequency) band in the world uses 860MHz ~ 960MHz band. The so-called standard competition mainly refers to the standard competition in this frequency band. Because it is most suitable for international logistics (1) project name: Bayer materials technology (China) Co., Ltd. 310000 tons/year TDI technical transformation and capacity expansion project management. Although China's standard has not been officially released (it is said that the state has approved Guangdong to pilot the use of MHz frequency band), the current domestic RFID applications are closed-loop applications, so the standard is no longer an obstacle

How can RFID and barcode coexist? Barcode and RFID will coexist for a long time. At present, the application fields of electronic labels are mainly containers, pallets, packing cases, or commodities with high single product value (such as HP sticking RFID labels on printers). The cost of an electronic label is about 20 to 25 cents. Even if it is estimated that the cost of an electronic label will drop to 1 to 5 cents in the next three to five years, compared with the extremely low cost of bar codes, electronic labels are still impossible to replace bar codes in the short term

therefore, in current RFID projects, RFID tags and barcodes generally exist at the same time, that is, RFID tags and barcodes are pasted at the same time. Therefore, RFID readers and barcode scanning equipment should exist at the same time. And the conversion between RFID tag and barcode identification should be considered. Both EPC code and barcode adopt C code. They are easy to convert

a Canadian company intelletto (released the solution of the coexistence of barcode and RFID, and developed the corresponding terminal equipment. Their design idea is mainly cheap and ingenious, which has a wide range of applications and markets in many fields.

EPC coding or user-defined coding? RFID tags can store any format of data, GEN1 is up to 128 bits, Gen2 is 256 bits, so you can save the code in line with EPC format on RFID tags, or you can save your own Semantic data. As long as it does not exceed the maximum length. Usually, only the unique identification is saved on the RFID tag, and its corresponding data is saved in the background data

another problem is whether to save only the code or other data on the label. Saving only the code makes it necessary to query the database in order to connect the identification on the label with specific business information, such as the product name, production date, manufacturer, etc. of the article with the label. If these data are saved on the label, they can be displayed or used directly without querying the database

how to achieve 100% recognition rate? Many technologies are not 100% reliable, but it does not affect our use of it, such as PC. Similarly, RFID readers cannot guarantee 100% of the tags read now, but we can achieve 100% recognition rate through good process design or compensation process

maximize the function of the collected data. If the data read by the reader is not processed and analyzed, it will not generate revenue. Therefore, RFID projects should make full use of the collected data, combine tag data with business data and business processes, and integrate with the back-end IT system, integrate the data into ERP, B2B, Bi, DSS, CRM and other systems, realize the visibility of data and the automation of processes, improve efficiency and reduce costs

at present, many closed-loop RFID applications pay attention to this point when the application of open-loop supply chain information standards is scarce. For example, some clothing stores in Japan and Shanghai adopt the CRM customer relationship management system of RFID technology, and the RFID ticket system of Beijing Workers' Stadium, which combines RFID information with customer information, points information and even customers' walking route information to create a more customized CRM system and enhance customers' high-quality service experience

tags and readers are often mistaken for the business objectives of epc/rfid. But in fact, the business objectives of epc/rfid go deep into the enterprise, and it is meaningful only to apply the original data to the enterprise workflow. When introducing HP's RFID experience at the third epc/rfid high level forum, HP vice president Lampman said, "the return obtained by using RFID technology is directly proportional to the number of times such tag information is used in the whole process." In other words, enterprises should pay more attention to the application that can apply epc/rfid data to the whole business process. They can't simply "shoot and send" RFID tags. The more epc/rfid data is read in the process, the more these data are used to analyze and guide business practices, the more your enterprise returns

in the future open-loop supply chain, the enterprise's neural network has the ability to extend to the whole process of the supply chain. With the installation of rfid/epc, a real-time "clairvoyant" and "ear of the wind", the enterprise's brain ERP and Bi will interact in real time. Just like us, more reading and reading will lead to more thinking. The massive real-time data brought by rfid/epc will help decision-makers make more effective judgments. Through the "detail data" brought by rfid/epc, manufacturers can produce more lean, businesses can care more about details, and logistics distribution is more immediate

the important role of RFID middleware RFID Middleware (i.e. RFID edge server) is a very important part of the RFID application framework recommended by EPCglobal. It is responsible for the information interaction and management with RFID hardware and supporting equipment. At the same time, as a bridge of software and hardware integration, it completes the information exchange with the upper complex applications. At present, EPCglobal has launched corresponding specifications (ale, application level events) to unify and standardize the software implementation at this level

rfid middleware acts as an intermediary, shielding the complexity of front-end hardware and sending the collected data to the back-end IT system. In addition to RFID middleware, for a complex application, other software is also needed to maximize the role of RFID. Maximize ROI. The following figure shows the complete RFID software solution provided by bea From RFID data reading, storage, processing, analysis, to the integration of other application systems. Access control through portal, etc

how to manage so many hardware devices? Unlike other IT projects, there are a large number of hardware devices in RFID projects, such as readers, RFID printers, barcode scanning devices, and many other PLC devices, such as LED displays, signal lights, sensors, etc. If you manage, configure, and monitor these devices. How to integrate these devices, make them work together, and optimize the data collection process. This depends on RFID middleware. As shown in the following figure, BEA RFID middleware provides drivers to shield the complexity of these hardware

cost analysis of RFID project when it comes to the cost of RFID project, many people immediately think of the cost of tag and think it is the most important factor. In fact, this is wrong. First of all, reusable assets are generally labeled now. For example, in the field of logistics, containers, pallets, and high-value items in asset management, labels can be reused. In addition, compared with the value of these items themselves, the price of labels can also be ignored

for example, Michiel Haarman, Chief Information Officer (CIO) of TNT China, doesn't think RFID is more expensive than traditional tags. He analyzed: the barcode scanner needs 1500 US dollars and its service life is about 2 years, while the RFID reader costs 4000 US dollars and can be used for 5 to 7 years. The general label price is now less than 0.2 US dollars. Plastic blow molding machines will continue to introduce advanced technology. So Harmen said that in total, the cost of RFID hardware and software implementation is not necessarily higher than that of barcode, and RFID can also save labor costs

Hangzhou cigarette factory also calculated the account: now the label cost used by Hangzhou cigarette factory on the pallet is more than 40 yuan, because both the pallet and the label can be recycled. If calculated according to 8000 pallets, the light label probably needs more than 300000 yuan of label cost investment. After the pallet transports the goods to the sales enterprise, the data in the recycled label can be cleared, read and written again, and enter the next cycle. Compared with the sales volume of 5million large boxes of goods and the sales volume of about 10billion yuan of Hangzhou cigarette factory in 2005, the input cost of RFID is acceptable

unlike bar code technology, RFID tag information can be written 100000 times. Using this feature, the closed-loop use of RFID tags in the internal logistics of enterprises can not only give full play to the technical advantages of RFID, but also its operation