The retailing, manufacturing and technology worlds waited years for radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking devices to live up to their hype, but there may not be such a lengthy wait-and-see period for an RFID alternative, called RuBee.

RuBee is a data-tracking device designed for use by retail, manufacturing, healthcare and other industries. Much like RFID, RuBee tracks products, items and livestock through the use of a small antenna and sends data collected in real time. The two-way, peer-to-peer radio tag mostly uses low-frequency, long-wave magnetic signals. These signals send and receive data packets in a local regional network and use sensors to track a source's location or record conditions like temperature or humidity.

The technology could be a boon for data warehousing, because it can work in multiple climates and be affixed to different materials, thus allowing companies to track products that are too challenging for RFID. For instance, RFID tags are inhibited by metal and liquid and aren't effective on merchandise or supplies stocked or stored on metal shelves. RuBee, on the other hand, isn't affected by these materials. So keeping inventory of goods kept in a walk-in freezer is not a problem with RuBee.

Even people and animals can be "tracked" through RuBee, according to the RFID Journal article "Visible Assets Promotes RuBee Tags for Tough-to-Track Goods," making it easier to keep a handle on livestock in any kind of weather.

In the article, Visible Assets chairman John Stevens, also chairman of the RuBee working group at IEEE, indicated the possibility that RuBee tags could be put in implantable devices to monitor certain medical conditions. RuBee could even be used in medical procedures to locate items accidentally left in surgery patients, for instance—a difficult feat for RFID tags because of the amount of liquid in a human body.

Using an Internet protocol address, RuBee stores up to 5KB of data through embedded memory and, depending on the tag, might have a display or a 4-bit microprocessor with static memory. Compiling data from a multitude of products regardless of surroundings would allow a data warehouse to create extensive reports about product history, inventory, the impact of weather during shipping and other information.

The protocol can also store more data than an RFID tag and can route and relay the data in multiple hops across wireless mesh networks. It also features enhanced security with its encryption capabilities and a longer read and transmitter range than RFID—of up to 100 feet.

Going RuBee
RuBee was created by Visible Assets with the backing of industry heavyweights in the retailing community as well as the technology arena. Dubbed P1902.1, the protocol was developed by the IEEE, a professional organization that helps set technology standards.

RuBee is not meant to be a replacement for RFID but, rather, an alternative that can be used more effectively for specific applications. RFID uses mainly radio signals to transmit details about whatever product the tag is on, but RuBee is mainly magnetic.

Tracking is based on portal or beacon readers that read a tag as it passes through a location, such as a door or on a conveyor belt. According to an IEEE statement, a "visibility network" provides tracking data but also real-time interactive asset status. For example, it can detail temperature information on a product to ensure that it is stored properly. Other types of data collected could include whether the product is part of a larger shipment, special care instructions and asset history. Information can be displayed in text format on an LCD screen used by a reader.

Advantage point
The major advantage is that the RuBee tag can be read in what the IEEE calls a "harsh environment," which does not necessarily mean that RuBee will be used only at mountainous warehouse outposts or in the bitter cold. Instead, the harshness could be merely from being affixed to a surface that is in or near liquid or metal, or in environments with electromagnetic noise. These are conditions in which RFID has had spotty performance. Because its lower frequency works as a transformer rather than a transponder like the high- and ultra-high-frequency RFID tags, RuBee waves can penetrate materials that deflect RFID waves.

Other significant benefits with RuBee include its lower power consumption, its size and its cost. According to the IEEE, one of "the advantages of long-wavelength technology is that the radio tags can be low in cost, near credit card thin and fully programmable using 4-bit processors." The tags can last more than 10 years using lithium batteries that are affordable and about the size of a coin. RuBee works with active radio tags and passive tags, which do not use batteries, the IEEE adds. RFID, however, wins the race in the number of tags that can be read at once because it has a higher frequency than RuBee tags.

As a tracking device for retailers, RuBee could even thwart shoplifters who have become savvy about RFID tags. A common tactic for thieves is to line a bag with aluminum foil and drop stolen items inside; the foil prevents an RFID tag from sending an alert to anti-theft devices. But even encased in foil, RuBee tags would still be able to communicate with the devices.

Most likely, the lower price of RuBee tags will allow those in data warehousing to think about how tracking and data collecting could be used more effectively and could change procedures in terms of which items should be tagged. A warehouse manager, for example, may be reluctant to put RFID tags on smaller pieces of equipment in his or her inventory because it is cost-prohibitive. But with RuBee, those items can be tracked without sacrificing bandwidth and budgets.

Looking forward
Some technologies do not get past the hype cycle, but RuBee is not just another flash in the technology pan, it seems. Its advantages make it a viable alternative to RFID for those companies and retailers that find RFID tags challenging in different environments.

RuBee tags are already in use in hospitals, warehouses and the agriculture industry. Whether the technology takes a stronger hold in the marketplace remains to be seen, but with a low cost, efficient battery usage and potentially high performance, it could prove irresistible. T

Elizabeth Millard lives in Minneapolis and writes about business and technology.

Photo illustration by Randall Nelson/RuBee tag image, courtesy of Visible Assets

Teradata Magazine-March 2008