Radio Frequency Study

Paper Summary:

This paper describes the history and uses of radio frequency identification (RFID). The author describes the history of radio frequency identification, especially as used during World War II. The paper further describes practical applications of radio frequency identification today, such as on toll roads and also in moving products to their destinations. The author uses Wal-Mart as an example, and also has several charts to demonstrate how RFID is used in industry. The paper concludes with potential uses for RFID in the future.

Outline:
History of Radio Frequency Identification
Fundamentals of Radio Frequency Identification
Exploring the type of RFID Tags
Active RFID Tags
Active Backscatter Tags
Passive Backscatter Tags
RFID's Future Applications
Figure 1: Comparing RFID Frequencies
Figure 2: Comparing RFID Tags and their Use
Figure 3: Exploring How RFID Works
Figure 4: RFID's Impact on a Manufacturer's Supply Chain
Table 1:
Mass customization manufacturing strategies which can be automated through RFID
Figure 5: Using RFID Technology to streamline the MRO Process
Figure 6: Authentication techniques using RFID to validate products using RFID

From the Paper:

"The 1990s were a significant decade for RFID since it saw the widespread deployment of electronic toll collection in the United States according to AIM (2001). From the lessons learned in transportation and the work completed by IBM engineers who developed and patented an ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID system according to RFID Journal (2002) which could be read up to 20 feet away., the foundation for reading tags in motion from a distance was of immediate interest to mass merchandisers including Wal-Mart. The pioneering work IBM had done in UHF RFID was sold off to Intermec when the computer conglomerate encountered financial difficulties in the mid 1990s. Intermec, an industry leader in bar coding and material handling applications, struggled to make the technology a market success. What were missing were data standards and the ability to create Master Data Management repositories that could be queried and used for analysis."

Sample of Sources Used:

• AIM (2001) - Shrouds of Time: The history of RFID. An AIM Publication. Retrieved from the Internet on January 29, 2007 from:http://www.aimglobal.org/technologies/rfid/resources/shrouds_of_time.pdf
• RFID Journal (2002) - The History of RFID Technology. RFID Journal website at www.rfidjournal.com Retrieved from the Internet on January 29, 2007 from:http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/1338/1/129/
• AMR Research (2003) - Configuration is the Heart of Customer Fulfillment for Complex Product Manufacturers. AMR Research Report. Monday March 31, 2003. Retrieved from the Internet on January 28, 2007 from: http://lwcresearch.com/filesfordownloads/ConfigurationIstheHeartofCustomerFulfillmentforComplexProductManufacturers.pdf
• Banks, Buckley, Jain and Lenderman (2002), Panel Session: Opportunities for Simulation in Supply Chain Management. Proceedings of the 2002 Winter Simulation Conference E. Yucesan, C.-H. Chen, J. L. Snowdon, and J. M. Charnes, eds. Accessed from the Internet on January 28, 2007 from the following location: http://www.informs-sim.org/wsc02papers/226.pdf
• G.T. Ferguson (2003) - Have Your Objects Call My Objects, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 80 No. 6, pp. 138-143, June 2003. Accessed from the Internet on January 28, 2007: http://www.manyworlds.com/default.aspx?from=/exploreCO.aspx&coid=CO650213101157

More papers on Radio Frequency Study:

• Research Proposal # 108022 : "Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)"
• Research Paper # 106693 : "Radio Frequency Identification (Rfid) Security"
• Research Paper # 108019 : "Cellphone Towers"

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