RFID: A “Must Investment” for Process Plants

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The protocol works well for many supply chain operations, but it is not the best technology for all environments and applications. For example, 13.56 MHz high frequency (HF) technology excels at identifying individual items, especially those in crowded conditions.

EPC UHF is only one of the wide range of RFID technologies that are available, such as 13.56 MHz HF technology (more widely used than EPC Gen 2), RTLS tags that can communicate with legacy 802.11-standard networks, and other standard and proprietary systems that operate at other frequencies. Industry and international standards exist for these and other frequencies to help optimize performance in various usage conditions.

RFID Technologies – An Overview

The following provides an overview of the leading RFID technologies used in enterprise operations:

• High-frequency (HF) RFID systems operate at 13.56 MHz with a typical maximum read range of up to 3 ft (1 meter). Common HF RFID applications include item identification and asset management that require a short read range and high data precision. Other applications include file tracking, shelf management, tool crib check-in/checkout and sample identification. 13.56 MHz reader modules are popular for integration into machines used for sorting, dispensing, testing, and industrial process control.

• Ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID systems operate at multiple frequencies, typically between 860 and 960 MHz. EPCglobal Gen 2 is a leading standardized UHF protocol. UHF tags often produce read ranges of 20 ft (6 meters) or more, which is why they are popular for supply chain processes, such as shipping and receiving, container management, and warehouse inventory control. The UHF Class-1 Generation-2 air interface protocol V1.2.0 extends the item-level tagging capabilities of UHF Gen 28. In the new protocol, an indicator shows when there is formatted data in user memory. Furthermore, the addition of permalocking on a block level in user memory now protects previously written data from modifications.

• RTLS technology, developed and standardised at different frequencies, includes 433 MHz and 2.45 GHz systems compatible with 802.11-standard wireless networks, and 5.8 GHz Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology that offers exceptional location accuracy. RTLS is a long-range technology used to track the location of assets in distribution centres and large factory complexes, cargo containers in yards, medical equipment through the various floors and wards in hospitals, and even employees. RTLS is one of the fastest-growing segments of the RFID industry, in part because there are many well-documented business improvement results for RTLS asset management systems.

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