RFID adoption escalates

The value of sales of active RFID systems is predicted to grow from $550 million in 2006 to $6.78 billion in 2016, according to an IDTechEx report.

It says active RFID use in military, healthcare and other sectors is moving ahead rapidly, making the technology an increasingly important part of life.

Research indicates RFID is already being used in almost 100 countries to improve safety, security, efficiency and convenience. The research also shows the number of RFID implementations is increasing at double the rate of one year ago.

RFID is poised to help retailers and service providers tap into the seemingly infinite potential for enhancing customers' experiences and delivering precise advertising messages, according to a discussion panel at the US National Retail Federation show in New York this week.

ESM.com notes that panellists said 2007 was likely to bring advancements in terms of how to apply the technology to collect information and improve supply chain and inventory management, as well as reduce time and costs for customer service, training and other business activities.

The panel agreed the main challenge for RFID implementation will be to establish how to gain more business value from the technology.

RFID is moving from access control and animal identification into new applications that use the technology to pair physical objects, such as disposable parts or refills, with the appropriate appliances, reports Wireless Design.

The report says RFID-enabled smart refills can improve safety in medical or health appliances and devices by increasing control of proper usage time, expiration dates, doses and medication type.

Similarly, RFID pairing can be used to ensure only the correct replacement parts are used for domestic electrical appliances and only the correct ink and toner cartridges are used with printers. Such cartridges can also communicate with printers to optimise performance.

The German Metro Group retailer has completed a 36-dock door trial of Gen2 RFID at one of its operational distribution centres, reports RFID Update.

The report says the trial was significant because it demonstrated the viability of dense reader Gen2 environments in Europe, where the technology has been challenged by radio frequency regulations that hamper performance when many readers are close together.

Metro reports rates of 98% to 99% in the trials in which pallets loaded with 60 RFID tagged items were passed through the distribution centre's 36 dock doors at the same time. The report says the trial results represent a strong argument for the viability of dense reader deployments.