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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

RFID Technology: Ten RFID Myths and Realities PART-V

This is the last series of Ten RFID Myths. It was quite interesting to know about complete understanding of RFID technology from its mode of operation to its Myth.

Myth #8: RFID spells the end to privacy.

RFID in consumer products and retail is seen as a potentially invasive technology. People are afraid that the items they buy in stores will have the radio chips on them and then people can "see" what they have purchased by driving by their house and using an RFID reader. As RFID evolves from an emerging technology, so will the privacy protection systems. Consumer products have “kill” software which renders an RFID tag useless once it leaves the store. This is similar to the security devices you see used on many DVD's and CD's in electronic stores, once purchased they are killed so they don't alert the security sensors at the front of the store that they are "stolen".


Myth #9: RFID is easy to deploy.

Demonstrations are easy to set up, but production deployment in distribution centers, warehouses, retail stores or manufacturing facilities can be challenging and frustrating, even for the most experienced professional. The entire environment must be analyzed, including the types of shelving (metal), types of lighting, and sources of radio interference. Even legacy 900MHz phone systems can interfere with RFID tags and readers. In order to successfully deploy an RFID system in a warehouse, a wireless site survey is required to identify all possible sources of interference and signal attenuation

Myth #10: I can afford to wait.

It’s better to get a deployment right than to be first. Barcoding Inc. recommends starting early, proceed slowly, and learning step-by-step. You want to avoid rushed, catch-up deployments necessitated by competitive pressure. Many large companies are waiting to see how Wal-Mart's tracking of cartons and pallets works, but they have already begun the investigative process so they can be ready when the time comes.
Do not put yourself in the position of having to tag products for your customers, without being able to derive value from those tags within your own operations.

I will start with some interesting technical topic or series from next week.

-Shahnawaz

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