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Over the past decade there has been a dramatic surge of activity in radio frequency identification (RFID). It has gained attention for increasing the efficiency of inventory control, stock management, factory workflow and product shipment or tracking.
In an RFID system, items to be tracked are tagged with a small electronic circuit, which can then communicate with an external reader, providing it with a unique identifier that allows it to determine the nature of the tagged item. RFID systems can track pallets in a warehouse, manufactured goods in a factory, or individual items in a department store, and could give a huge productivity boost in any environment requiring careful stock control.
The potential applications of RFID are tremendous. The number of items that could be tagged is staggering. It could ultimately replace optically scanned bar codes, currently used all over the world. The biggest drawback is cost. For RFID to achieve widespread use, the cost of tagging must be negligible, so the economics of tagging, reading, etc., are outweighed by the benefits of increased tracking efficiency.
Coverage in this study includes:
- Introduction
- Printing silicon-based RFID devices
- Printed circuity
- Value-added technology
- Major players