RFID

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• RFID readers and their actual consequences on project costs

• 
  Patrick Bonneau

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  RFID readers and their actual consequences on project costs

  Hi there,
  
  Those past ten years, my partners in crime and I have experimented and supported with relevant arguments the good points of each RFID technique, EPC, wireless sensors network, contact-less smart-card, WiFi_ID, Polymer IC, SAW tags, Smart Dust sensors,…, proving again the utopian scenario of an one-size-fits-all professional RFID solution.
  
  When “fortunately” (yeah, well, more by experience and after hundreds of hard tests!) for a full-blown Supply-Chain you’ve selected the right mix of different RFID components, sometimes coupled with existing barcodes solutions (Don’t throw them away yet, they can become more efficient with RFID tags and they are well accepted by Warehouse and Manufacturing operators), you have ascertained after a time-and-motion study the sensible installing points for the fixed RFID readers (while taking care of not disrupting the natural flow of raw and finished products), with a seamless network cover (wireless or wired), while making sure your databases are ready to accommodate for a continuous and steady flow of data acquisition, now you can go for RFID readers shopping, this from a comprehensive list of suppliers.
  
  Nowadays, when it comes to cost and performance, RFID readers will make or break a project.
  
  Without even mentioning readers’ interoperability, just be careful, all readers are actually far to be equal in performance, and the supplier “reputation” isn’t yet a serious criterion.
  
  Some readers are considered more intelligent than others, as they’ve got SAP SCM/ Oracle Applications Server/major ERP middleware “built-in” features.
  
  By the way, all different versions for SAP (NetWeaver or not), Oracle (Fusion Middleware or not), IBM Websphere, Sun Seebeyond,…, are far to be equal in integrating seamlessly RFID data acquisition. So beware of version updates, supplementary middleware which can influence badly your project cost.
  
  Some fixed readers are more mobile than others !!
  Some might have forklift rack mounting, truck battery charging features and multiple antennae you could position in sensible spots where truck moving parts couldn’t interfere in tag reading.
  This at different heights when you simultaneously want pick-up or drop zone tag reading, embarked pallet, embarked cartons on pallet, embarked items in cartons,…, tag reading, this without asking the driver to waste his time in directing the forklift for better reading as we do in similar barcode scenario.
  
  So actually it isn’t good enough to take care of appropriate RFID techniques as we do for barcode symbology; you have be aware of the RFID readers’ inferred costs.
  
  I hope this helps,
  Patrick
  
  • 02 Mar 2006, 05:15 am
  Patrick Bonneau wrote: > Hi there, > > Those past ten years, my partners in crime and I have experimented > and supported with relevant arguments the good points of each RFID > technique, EPC, wireless sensors network, contact-less smart-card, > WiFi_ID, Polymer IC, SAW tags, Smart Dust sensors,…, proving again > the utopian scenario of an one-size-fits-all professional RFID > solution. > > When “fortunately” (yeah, well, more by experience and after hundreds > of hard tests!) for a full-blown Supply-Chain you’ve selected the > right mix of different RFID components, sometimes coupled with > existing barcodes solutions (Don’t throw them away yet, they can > become more efficient with RFID tags and they are well accepted by > Warehouse and Manufacturing operators), you have ascertained after a > time-and-motion study the sensible installing points for the fixed > RFID readers (while taking care of not disrupting the natural flow of > raw and finished products), with a seamless network cover (wireless > or wired), while making sure your databases are ready to accommodate > for a continuous and steady flow of data acquisition, now you can go > for RFID readers shopping, this from a comprehensive list of > suppliers. > > Nowadays, when it comes to cost and performance, RFID readers will > make or break a project. > > Without even mentioning readers’ interoperability, just be careful, > all readers are actually far to be equal in performance, and the > supplier “reputation” isn’t yet a serious criterion. > > Some readers are considered more intelligent than others, as they’ve > got SAP SCM/ Oracle Applications Server/major ERP middleware > “built-in” features. > > By the way, all different versions for SAP (NetWeaver or not), Oracle > (Fusion Middleware or not), IBM Websphere, Sun Seebeyond,…, are far > to be equal in integrating seamlessly RFID data acquisition. So > beware of version updates, supplementary middleware which can > influence badly your project cost. > > Some fixed readers are more mobile than others !! > Some might have forklift rack mounting, truck battery charging > features and multiple antennae you could position in sensible spots > where truck moving parts couldn’t interfere in tag reading. > This at different heights when you simultaneously want pick-up or > drop zone tag reading, embarked pallet, embarked cartons on pallet, > embarked items in cartons,…, tag reading, this without asking the > driver to waste his time in directing the forklift for better reading > as we do in similar barcode scenario. > > So actually it isn’t good enough to take care of appropriate RFID > techniques as we do for barcode symbology; you have be aware of the > RFID readers’ inferred costs. > > I hope this helps, > Patrick