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The
possibility of not only knowing about a product but also being
able to pinpoint its location without seeing it is beyond the
scope of bar-code technology.
What makes
RFID and the EPC so exciting from a data warehousing standpoint
is their combined ability to deliver information rapidly and continually.
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Products that speak for themselves
Stephen Poole
WHAT
DO LOST PETS, CARGO CONTAINERS and library books have in
common? All can be tracked using radio frequency identification
(RFID), a technology that was first developed more than 50 years
ago-and which now stands poised to radically alter the way
commerce will be conducted in the years to come.
The basic RFID concept is quite simple. An RFID
tag, which consists of a transponder and an embedded silicon chip
with encoded data, is placed on an object -any object. When
the tag passes within range of an antenna broadcasting radio waves
on a specific frequency, the transponder "wakes up"
and sends the chip's data to a transceiver. From there the
data passes on to a decoder. The decoded data is sent to a computer,
which records the chip's data and the location where it
was read. The resulting information can be used in any number
of ways.
The antenna, transceiver and decoder can be
combined in a single unit called a reader. Place enough readers
in the right places and enough tags on the right products, and
it becomes possible to locate any item at any time. Clearly, the
potential for such a system to revolutionize supply chain management,
inventory management and related fields, is astounding, particularly
when compared to limitations of the older, more-established UPC/SKU
bar-code system.
For instance, the chip's data can contain
an individualized serial number for even high-volume items such
as cans of soda or packages of hardware components. What's
more, RFID tags can endure extreme environmental stress and can't
be torn or obscured like paper bar-code labels. They can be re-written
and re-used thousands of times, whereas bar-code labels are most
often used just once. They also are automatically activated without
the need for line-of-sight laser beams and human interaction.
And they are fast: With readers scanning at ultra-high rates of
speed (currently under 100 milliseconds), it's possible
to scan the entire contents of a shipping container in just a
couple of seconds, the contents of a cargo container in just minutes.
| All
radio frequency identification tags are not created
equal
RFID
TAGS AREN'T
"ONE SIZE FITS ALL."
Their applications and limitations are determined
by two factors: whether the tag has an internal power
source and what type of chip is embedded inside it.
RFID
tags can be active, passive or semi-passive.
Active
tags carry
a battery that powers the chip's circuitry and
broadcasts the data to a reader. Passive tags draw
all their power from the reader's electromagnetic
wave. Semi-passive tags are a hybrid-they use
a battery to run the chip's circuitry but draw
their broadcast power from the reader.
Typically,
active and semi-passive tags are equipped with
read-write
chips-thus the need for a battery to power the
chip's circuitry. The data on a read-write
chip can be modified or overwritten when the tag
is within
range of a reader or when it receives new data from
another source such as a sensor, which is often built
into the tag.
The
combination of a read-write chip and a sensor
lets you track
not only the location of an item, but also its
condition. "With a read-write chip and a sensor, I could
track how a machine on a manufacturing line is performing,
the characteristics of a vital engine part or the
temperature of something in a moving vehicle," says
Teradata Chief Technology Officer Stephen Brobst.
Although
an active tag with a read-write chip and a sensor
isn't
cheap (in some cases they run more than $100 each),
it's well worth the expense if it prevents
a major mechanical breakdown or the loss of an entire
shipment of perishable goods.
Passive
tags, on the other hand, carry read-only chips
whose data
cannot be modified (although some read-only chips
called EEPROMS can have old data overwritten with
new read-only data). The read range of passive
tags
is also much shorter-say, 10 to 20 feet compared
to up to 300 feet for some specialized active tags.
But they are small and cheap, and because they do
not rely on a battery, passive tags never "die." |
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Practical matters
So why isn't RFID as commonly used as bar codes
and UPCs? Three major factors come into play: the current high
cost of tags and readers, as well as their limited ranges; the
lack of a uniform standard like the UPC; and the process of transforming
the RFID data into a format that crucial enterprise data warehouse
applications can readily utilize.
As with all silicon chip technology, the first
of these issues will resolve itself over time. Helping make current
costs more acceptable, says Teradata CTO Stephen Brobst, is the
long-term reduction in labor costs.
"Readers are a one-time expense whose
costs are significantly defrayed over time," he says. "Today,
a worker typically opens a big carton, starts pulling items out
and individually scans every piece. An RFID reader, on the other
hand, could be pointed at the carton to automatically bring every
single item in the crton into inventory (management systems)."
Costs are also relative. "No one would
spend 50 cents to put an RFID tag on an item that costs a dime,
but they would spend 50 cents to locate a $500 suit that's
been misplaced in the warehouse or left in a dressing room by
a customer," Brobst points out.
That possibility-to not only know about
a product but also to pinpoint its location without seeing it-is
beyond the scope of bar-code technology.
Then there's the issue of a uniform standard.
In the past, RFID vendors tended to create proprietary systems
that were perfect for in-house operations but useless elsewhere.
Enter the electronic product code (EPC), a universal standard
that can deliver an unprecedented abundance of knowledge about
any single product.
The EPC, which is still in development, is based
on a set of numbers, similar to an IP address on the Internet.
The numbers, which are stored on a RFID chip, reveal four pieces
of information: the EPC version number, the manufacturer, the
product and an individual serial number. Although that data is
important, it doesn't tell everything you need or want to
know about a product. For instance, just having the serial number
for a gallon of milk doesn't tell you where it was produced,
how long it was in transit, what environmental conditions it has
"experienced" or its expiration date.
But the EPC offers a point of access to that
information, thanks to Savant software and Physical Markup Language
(PML), which is based on the widely used eXtensible Markup Language
(XML). These newly developed tools will not only manage the flow
of RFID data, but theywill also make it easy for enterprises to
bring that information into an enterprise data warehouse.
| From
dairy farm to shopping cart: How RFID tracking actually
works
IT'S ALL WELL
AND GOOD TO DISCUSS RFID
and the theories behind its development. But how will
it play out in real-world applications? What can you
actually do with it? Here's a glimpse into the
not-so-distant future of radio frequency identification.
Yum-Yum Dairies
places an RFID tag containing a unique EPC on every
carton of milk it produces. The cartons go into crates
that are themselves tagged with a unique EPC. A number
of crates are then loaded onto pallets that have been
tagged in a similar fashion.
As the pallets
leave the dairy, a reader activates all the tags and
they begin to broadcast the EPC information. The reader
"reads" the EPCs in sequence and sends
them to a computer running Savant software, which
uses distributed architecture to avoid overloading
private and public networks.
Next, Savant
sends a query over the Internet to a database on an
Object Name Service (ONS), which matches the EPC with
an address on a PML server maintained by the manufacturer.
The address points to a PML file that contains highly
detailed information about every tagged Yum-Yum item.
The PML files
can be altered by Savant, so each time the tags pass
a reader wired to a Savant system-as the products
they are attached to are placed in containers, unloaded
at warehouses, shipped to grocery stores and so forth-the
PML record is updated. And because readers also transmit
their location information along with any tag data,
the PML also records which dairy farm-or even
which production line-is responsible for each
carton of milk.
Finally, the
Yum-Yum milk reaches a Save-A-Bundle distribution
center and is trucked to a Save-A-Bundle supermarket.
Both the distribution center and store location have
their own readers and Savant systems, enabling them
to track shipments and monitor environmental conditions.
If temperatures rise above a safe level, the tag knows
it.
What's
more, the supermarket's shelves-both in
the storeroom and out on the sales floor-have
integrated readers. When a sales shelf is empty, the
storeroom is notified to replenish it, and when storeroom
inventory is depleted to a certain level, Save-A-Bundle's
supply chain management software automatically places
an order for more milk. In turn, Yum-Yum's data
warehouse can use predictive analysis and logical
data models to determine production levels, arrange
procurement of raw materials and optimize logistics.
This supply-chain
example doesn't even begin to explore the consumer
applications likely to develop with RFID, but the
possibilities are virtually endless. The ability of
the EPC, PML and RFID to deliver vital information
and value to manufacturers, distributors, retailers
and, yes, even customers is limited by only two things:
the current state of technology and our imaginations.
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PML is intended to be a universal standard for
describing not only physical objects but also environmental changes
and other events that might have affected an item. PML files can
be updated by Savant-enabled computers, which receive data from
readers. With the right type of tag, for example, a PML file for
a crate of produce could be updated every 15 minutes to record
the temperatures during the course of its shipment and distribution.
It also records the location of a tagged item each time it's
activated by a reader.
What makes RFID and the EPC so exciting from
a data warehousing standpoint, however, is their combined ability
to deliver information rapidly and continually. As Brobst notes,
"The power of the Teradata enterprise data warehouse is
truly leveraged when there's a continuous acquisition of
information, and RFID provides it at whatever rate that's
needed. Once the data is in the warehouse, software-based 'event
detectives' automate the process of figuring out which events-supply
levels, delivery times, etc.-you really care about."
Implemented properly, RFID, EPC and a real-time
enterprise data warehouse provide enormous benefits, such as the
elimination of out-of-stock items, reduced inventory costs, faster
deliveries, lightning-fast product recalls, the prevention of
product tampering or counterfeiting, and instant product tracking,
to name just a few.
Of course, any technology that allows individual
products to be tracked from the production line to a retailer's
checkout lane-and potentially beyond-is bound to raise
concerns regarding consumer privacy. Benetton found itself in
the midst of a public uproar when Phillips Electronics announced
last March it would be supplying the clothing retailer with RFID
tags. Benetton later said that it was analyzing RFID technology
but had not yet tagged any of its clothes because it was unsure
of the feasibility of RFID. However, most analysts believe Benetton
backed away from RFID because it was concerned about possible
boycotts and a "big brother" image.
But tagging items at higher levels in the supply
chain, when they are still in cargo containers or trucks, on pallets
and even in cartons and cases, doesn't pose a threat to
privacy. What's more, the notion of a pervasive privacy
invasion is already being addressed by companies that make RFID
chips: Alien Technology, Matrics and Philips Semiconductors all
recently announced the development of an optional "kill
switch" that would allow consumers to permanently disable
the tag once they've purchased the product.
Naturally, widespread item-level RFID tagging
is at least a few years away, but pallet-level tests have already
been completed, and carton-level testing is currently in progress.
This month, the EPC Executive Symposium in Chicago will host the
formal launch of the first
platform of the EPC Network that was developed by the MIT Auto-ID
Center, which is responsible for creating Savant, PML and the
EPC concept itself.
How well RFID will work remains to be seen,
but one thing is certain: A Teradata Warehouse is the perfect
solution to handle the staggering amount of data such a system
will create, especially when combined with Teradata's sophisticated
data-mining tools, logical data models and other enterprise-software
solutions. T
Stephen
Poole has written about computers and technology since 1988.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY DAVE CUTLER
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