4

RFID Markets

Which business problems can RFID technology resolve? This is this key question that this chapter will try to answer

4.1. Introduction

The Internet of things (IoT) is emerging, and it will create a smarter world with objects connected to their environments and also to all of us.

There will come a day when a massive network of small intelligent devices will be aware of our needs and work for our actual benefit.

A number of technologies will enable IoT to be deployed widely, and the item-level RFID is a key technology that has already conquered a few applications.

To date, RFID has been used mainly for business-to-business (B2B) applications, but business-to-consumer (B2C) applications have started emerging with near-field communicating (NFC) already turning hundreds of millions of mobile phones into RFID readers.

The tipping point for RFID wide deployment is that consumers are using the technology for their own benefits.

4.2. Market inflection point: users

Although history never repeats itself the same way, it is possible to highlight some analogies between mobile phone, Internet and RFID.

In the early 1970s, the first e-mail was sent and the first handheld mobile phones appeared.

From there, it took 25 years to build a reliable infrastructure and another 5 years to build user-friendly tools. Also, when users start experiencing the importance of the technology to make their life simpler, this is the inflection point for fast technology deployment.

Figure 4.1.

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RFID is not yet widely used, but it is heading toward this ultimate point.

4.3. RFID: what for?

An RFID user can enjoy the benefit of driving without stopping at the RFID toll collection and paying “on the fly” with RF when very long queues line up at the toll collection booths with cards and cash (see Figures 4.2 and 4.3).

RFID enables instantaneous and automatic transactions at a distance.

Figure 4.2. Jammed toll collection

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Figure 4.3. Fluid RFID driveway

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RFID can have more applications. It can also process multiple items at a time with several hundred per second, without line of sight (RF goes through many materials), with no battery and at extremely low cost. All these features enable an item-level RFID (see Figures 4.4 and 4.5).

Figure 4.4. RFID cabin with up to hundreds of tags in a trolley

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Figure 4.5. RFID manual reader with up to hundreds of tags in a case

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4.4. Open- and closed-loop applications

4.4.1. Closed-loop applications

In the closed-loop applications, the item cycles again and again (see Figure 4.6). Examples of this application are:

1) books in the library space;
2) garments and linen in the textile rental business;
3) gas cylinders, etc.

A service company buys items and services them. The user utilizes the item, and the owner buys and services the items when cycling them back (washing textile, filling up gas cylinders, etc.).

4.4.2. Open-loop applications

In the open-loop applications, the items go in a straight line, as shown in Figure 4.7.

The supply chain is a good example of an open-loop application. It goes from production up to point of sales with billions of items manufactured mainly in Asia and transported to the stores all over the world for consumers to buy. RFID is used along the supply chain enabling a reliable logistics process.

Figure 4.6. Closed-loop application

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Figure 4.7. Open-loop application

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4.5. RFID return on investment

4.5.1. Introduction

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Return on investment (ROI) is at the heart of the RFID buying decision process. RFID technology must generate an ROI to trigger the associated investment.

In general, the RFID ROI is built on the cost reduction and sales increase, both generating a global ROI.

Handling millions of items moving across the world is a difficult exercise, for example, our personal laundry at home with a few hundreds of items only … but it is still a headache to pair socks (see Figure 4.8).

Figure 4.8. Laundry at home, a headache

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Although there are many barcode systems already in place to manage the flow of items, the gap between “which items are supposed to be there” and “which items are physically there” is significant.

RFID answers the question “which items are physically there” fully automatically and instantaneously.

Fully automatically and instantaneously: professionals use RFID to automate production, distribution center (DC) and stores. Compared to barcodes, it is of course more improved in speed and accuracy, but it can be more than that: it enables operations that were impossible before, such as:

1) Control of all individual items inside a case in logistics: with barcode, it is limited to sampling control.
2) Automatic and real-time store inventory: with barcodes, it is limited to the manual inventory, very time-consuming and performed only occasionally.

Fully automatically and instantaneously: users can very simply make it intuitive, enabling self-service kiosks such as:

1) In the library space, users borrow and return books on their own, simply by putting them on a table antenna and by returning them into a chute.
2) In the laundry space, users collect their clean garments from an automatic dispenser and return the soil garments into a chute.
3) In the luggage space, travelers drop their luggage on an automatic bag drop and the luggage automatically checks in.

4.5.2. Cost reduction

There are many sources of cost reduction with RFID:

1) Material cost reduction, for instance:
i) Gas cylinders with the exact amount of gas inside the bottle. To fill the required quantity of gas sold, we need to know each cylinder’s dead weight. With RFID, each bottle automatically declares this enabling an accurate filling. Without RFID, individual dead weights are not taken into account because of the task being too labor intensive and containing too many human errors, and gas cylinders are overfilled to ensure the minimum quantity of gas as per normal.
ii) Laundry washing machines operating in pull modes with the upstream information of the incoming items, generating higher efficiency. For instance, instead of washing a batch of “blue” items with only 60% of the machine capacity, it is preferable to wait some limited time if the information “blue items have just arrived” is available.
2) Labor cost reduction with item automatic sorting in production and logistics, for instance:
i) Garment sorters: garments have to be returned to the associated wearers. It means that a particular garment needs to be sorted out and shipped out to the right location and person. Automatic reading of the garment RFID tag enables labor-free, fast and accurate garment handling and sorting systems.
ii) Book sorters: books are returned in bulk by the users, and the librarians have to handle, sort and reposition the books on the shelves. Automatic reading of the book RFID label enables labor-free, fast and accurate book handling and sorting systems.
3) Human error cost elimination in logistics, for instance:
i) In fashion retail, DCs receive items in bulk from the manufacturers and ship the requested quantities of given items to stores. Automatic reading of the item RFID labels enables automatic check-in (incoming items from suppliers) and automatic check-out (outgoing items to the store), eliminating significant human errors.
4) Item loss identification, for instance:
i) In the textile rental industry, losses can be as high as 50% on a yearly basis with no clear responsibility between the users and the textile rental company. Automatic reading of the item RFID tags in the laundry enables automatic check-in (incoming items from users) and automatic check-out (outgoing items to the user), and therefore the misbalance can be attributed to the user without any doubt.

4.5.3. Sales increase

1) In the closed-loop applications, extra services are proposed to the users, with, for instance, RFID-based kiosks. It is very easy to use because RFID reads “on its own”, enabling 24/7 operation and eliminating long queues, consequently saving what we lack the most in life, i.e. time.
2) In fashion retail open-loop applications, item visibility and accurate store inventory increase sales mainly by eliminating out-of-stock situations. This starts with the RFID check-in of incoming goods when cases full of items are delivered to the store. It continues with the RFID inventory of items on the shelves and automatic overnight reordering of missing items to be ready to sell the next day. Typically, accurate store visibility generates proven sales increase between 7 and 12%.

4.6. Many RFID technologies

There are several RFID frequencies:

1) Low frequency (LF): this appeared in the mid-1980s and deployed with animals and car keys.
2) High frequency (HF): this appeared in the mid-1990s and deployed mainly in the library space.
3) Ultrahigh frequency (UHF): this appeared in the early 2000s and has been deployed in the fashion retail space; it is currently the dominant frequency.

On top of the frequency, RFID can be passive, battery-assisted passive (BAP) or active:

1) Passive means no battery at all, and the RFID chip is powered up by the RF coming from the reader.
2) BAP means a very small battery is required, just to power up the RFID chip (a few μW), not as for RF transmission (a few mW, 1,000 times more). Whether Passive or BAP, RFID chips are similar in technology; therefore, both are inexpensive and adequate for large deployments.
3) Active means a significant battery for RF transmission. It provides, of course, very large range but the battery limits the scope of applications significantly for item RFID.

RF sensing: RFID can be limited to the transmission of an ID, which is the case for most applications today. RFID can also measure physical parameters (temperature, pressure, heart beat, etc); in that case, RFID turns into RF sensing.

4.7. Examples

There are numerous RFID applications.

Let us briefly present the key applications:

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4.8. Next RFID: product-embedded and seamless infrastructure

4.8.1. Introduction

The fashion apparel retailers are driving the large adoption of UHF RFID. It started in 2005 with Mark & Spencer in the UK with the first significant volumes (100 Mu/y), and it is deploying further right now with the US retailers, hitting larger volumes (2,000 Mu in 2013).

4.8.2. RFID: “Slap and Ship”

As of today, RFID for retailers is named “Slap and Slip” (Figure 4.9):

1) The RFID label, mainly hanging label, is applied to the fashion apparel product at the end of production or in the DC, and the RFID label is then discarded after sales.
2) RFID is used:
i) in logistics (DC check-in and -out), enabling accurate logistics;
ii) in the store, enabling accurate inventory.

There is no use of RFID beyond the point of sales, which means no customer interaction.

Figure 4.9. Slap and Ship

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4.8.3. Next RFID: from cradle to grave

Next RFID will be used throughout the whole product life, from cradle to grave (see Figure 4.10).

It will require:

1) product-embedded RFID with the optional sensing capabilities; no more hanging labels disposed of after sales;
2) seamless and ubiquitous reading infrastructure enabling automatic store inventory; no more manual inventory with the associated human errors;
3) RFID-enabled mobile phones for the consumer to interact with the product.

4.8.4. Embedded RFID

4.8.4.1. Key constraints

Embedded RFID is a much more complex operation than just applying a hanging label onto a product.

The process must start right at the beginning of the product design to incorporate RF constraints and finally get a high-performing RFID.

Integrating an RF antenna into a product requires specific design rules as the product itself becomes part of the RF antenna.

Figure 4.10. Full lifecycle

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Key constraints are:

1) The size:
i) At UHF, the best antenna size is 15 cm, and it generates a 15 m range. Very often, it is not possible to embed such a long antenna into an item.
ii) With many zigzags, the antenna length can be reduced and the associated range will drop accordingly (see Figure 4.11).
2) Item content: it is metal of course, but also usual materials such as fabrics, leather and plastic. RF is sensitive to the medium that it is applied to, and a specific design is required.
3) Ruggedization: expendable RFID labels are usually based on flip-chip technology, which is a fast and low-cost method to attach a chip onto an antenna using glue. For embedded RFID, it usually does not provide the required ruggedization. In that case, wire-bonding technology based on soldering must be used.

Figure 4.11. RFID range versus tag size

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4.8.4.2. A smart embedded RFID solution

At this point, let us mention the smart concept named Stiletto, which was developed by TAGSYS, to dramatically simplify the embedded RFID.

1) It is based on the physical separation between the tag, which is very small in size, and its RF antenna, up to 15 cm.
2) The RF antenna can be carried by the item itself if this contains an adequate piece of metal; alternatively, a separate add-on RF antenna can be simply integrated into the item.
3) It enables outstanding features for embedded RFID:
i) a very small-size tag (see Figure 4.12);
ii) at the same time, rugged and flexible; it is rugged because the MuTRAK is based on a very strong microelectronic packaging and flexible because the RF antenna can be fully flexible and follow the item deformation as much as required (see Figure 4.13).

Figure 4.12. Very small tag

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Figure 4.13. Ruggedized and flexible tag

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4.8.4.3. Some practical examples

1) Textile tag: the RF antenna is made from a metalized thread woven into fabrics; it zigzags a little bit to reduce to overall 15 cm length. The tag, MuTRAK, is positioned in the middle of the RF antenna. The textile tag is very rugged, it survives laundry cycles and it is also fully flexible and therefore totally transparent to the wearer. It provides a range of 5 m.

Figure 4.14. Textile tag

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2) High-heel shoe tag: the RF antenna is made from the metal stiffener inside the shoe. The tag, MuTRAK, is integrated into the shoe sole in the middle of the metal stiffener. It provides a range of 5 m. This is an example where the RF antenna is found in the item itself (see Figure 4.14).

Figure 4.15. Shoe tag

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3) Bottle of wine: the RF antenna is made from the metal foil on top of the bottle and the tag is positioned tangent to it. It provides a range of 3 m. This is an example where the RF antenna is found in the item itself (see Figure 4.15).

4) Bra: the RF antenna is made from the metallic whalebone of the bra. The tag is positioned in the middle of the metallic whalebone. It provides a range of 5 m. This is an example where the RF antenna is found in the item itself (see Figure 4.16).

Figure 4.16. Bottle tag

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Figure 4.17. Bra tag

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4.8.4.4. RF Sensing

The RF antenna is of course the heart of the RF communication.

The RF antenna can have many applications. It can also tell us about the physical parameters of the item that it is applied to. Indeed, the RF antenna is sensitive to the medium it is applied to, and the medium can itself be sensitive to the physical parameters, such as temperature, pressure and humidity.

Therefore, RF sensing enables access to the physical parameters with no extra tag component and therefore no extra cost. Examples of this include human body temperature and heartbeat, and maximum storage temperature of a wine bottle (see Figures 4.17 and 4.18).

4.8.5. Seamless and ubiquitous infrastructure

Embedded RFID turns items into “smart items” for their whole lifetime.

Similarly, reading devices, whether mobile or fixed, will improve to become fully non-intrusive.

Figure 4.18. Human heart beat and temperature

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Figure 4.19. Storage temperature of wine bottle

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For user interaction, the mobile phone is of course the best platform (see Figure 4.19). As of today, NFC standard integrates the HF technology. UHF is likely to be integrated into NFC standards in the mid/long term.

Figure 4.20. UHF NFC phone

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As of today, RFID-fixed antennas are pretty bulky and 100 of them are required to cover a whole store area and perform store automatic inventory. For the fixed reading infrastructure to become seamless and ubiquitous, RF technology must leapfrog on two fronts:

1) RF antenna miniaturization;
2) RF range increase to reduce the number of antennas for automatic store inventory from 100 down to 10.

Figure 4.21. Seamless and ubiquitous infrastructure

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4.8.6. Software for business decisions

4.8.6.1. Introduction

There will come a day when a massive network of small intelligent devices will be aware of our needs and work for our actual benefit. Of course, we have not reached it, but the trend is in the right direction.

The physical world with RFID devices will generate a lot of RFID events, themselves creating the context.

From this context awareness, the logical world will provide answers to the following questions: how to react to this context? How to make the right business decisions?

4.8.6.2. ePCGlobal middleware

In the mid-2000s, ePCGlobal standardized the RFID middleware, inspired by the functioning of the Internet, with the following:

1) an edge server managing the RFID readers, collecting, filtering and reporting the data;
2) an electronic product code information system (EPCIS) repository to store these data structuring the what, where, when, why (i.e. “what” can be ePC number, manufacturing data (batch, expiration date, etc.), transactional data (shipment, invoice, etc.), and “why” can be: business process, such as receiving and shipping);
3) an object name server (ONS) operating as the domain name server (DNS) for the Internet and capable of finding the many EPCIS repositories (manufacturer, transporter and retailer) where a given ePC appears.

Very few ePCGlobal middlewares have emerged due to the overall system inadequacy.

4.8.6.3. Next RFID middleware

One complexity is coping with the huge quantities of events generated by the RFID. It starts with edge processing to keep only the pertinent data. Then, the data must be kept close to the decision point.

Finally, predictive analytics, needed to take the right decision, must combine real-time and historical data (see Figure 4.21).

Figure 4.22. Next RFID middleware

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