RFID Field Guide Deploying Radio Frequency Identification Systems

by Bhuptani, Manish; Moradpour, Shahram

• ISBN13: 9780131853553
• ISBN10: 0131853554
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-02-08
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

The definitive guide to understanding RFID technology's benefits and implementation.

Author Biography

Manish Bhuptani is President and co-founder of Cleritec Systems, providing RFID solutions for manufacturing, retail, and healthcare companies.

Table of Contents

About the Authors	xiii
Preface	xv
Part I What is Rfid?	1	(58)
A Better Way of Doing Things	3	(20)
Security and Authentication	7	(2)
Electronic Article Surveillance	7	(1)
Document Authentication	8	(1)
Access Control	8	(1)
Electronic Drug Pedigree	9	(1)
Safety	9	(5)
People Monitoring	10	(1)
Patient Care	11	(1)
Environmental Sensing and Monitoring	12	(2)
Convenience	14	(2)
Payment and Loyalty	14	(1)
Crowd Control	14	(1)
Sports Timing	15	(1)
Golf Ball Tracking	15	(1)
Process Efficiency	16	(6)
Track and Trace	16	(3)
Industrial Automation	19	(1)
Supply Chain Integration	20	(2)
Summary	22	(1)
The History and Evolution of RFID	23	(12)
RFID Technology and the Radio	24	(1)
The Early Days of RFID	25	(1)
From Detection to Unique Identification	26	(3)
RFID Flourishes Across the Globe	29	(3)
Texas Instruments Leads Pioneering Efforts in the U.S.	29	(1)
Europe Gets an Early Start	29	(1)
Passive Tags Grow Up in the '90s	30	(2)
Summary	32	(3)
Components of RFID Systems	35	(24)
Operational Description of RFID Systems	36	(2)
Hardware Components	38	(12)
Tag	39	(4)
Reader	43	(4)
Antenna	47	(2)
Limitations of Tag and Reader Communications	49	(1)
Host Computer	49	(1)
Software Components	50	(4)
RFID System Software	50	(2)
RFID Middleware	52	(1)
Host Application	53	(1)
The EPCglobal Network	54	(3)
Electronic Product Code (EPC)	55	(1)
The ID System	55	(1)
EPC Middleware	56	(1)
Object Name Service (ONS)	56	(1)
EPC Information Services (EPCIS)	56	(1)
Summary	57	(2)
Part II How to Deploy RFID	59	(80)
Standards Related to RFID	61	(16)
Role of Standards in Technology Advancement and Adoption	62	(1)
Standards and RFID---An Overview of EPCglobal	63	(9)
Version 1.0/1.1 Specifications	64	(5)
Implementation of EPC through EPCglobal Network	69	(1)
Functions and Features of EPCglobal	70	(2)
ISO and RFID Standards	72	(1)
Other Standardization Initiatives	73	(1)
Recommendations for the Practitioner	74	(1)
Summary	75	(2)
Framework for Deployment	77	(22)
Introducing RFID Deployment Framework	78	(2)
Identify Business Problem	80	(4)
Define and Pilot Solution	84	(5)
Build and Deploy Solution	89	(4)
Sustain and Improve	93	(2)
Knowledge Base	95	(2)
Summary	97	(2)
Organizational Mobilization	99	(14)
Achieving Organizational Mobilization	100	(2)
Provide Leadership Focus	102	(2)
Communicate Shared Vision	104	(3)
Engage Support and Resistance	107	(2)
Institutionalize Results and Lessons	109	(2)
Summary	111	(2)
Cost-Benefit Analysis	113	(14)
Analyzing Benefits	115	(3)
Types of Benefits	115	(1)
Finding the Right Benefit Level	116	(2)
Elements of Cost	118	(5)
Tags	119	(1)
Readers	120	(1)
Antennae	120	(1)
Host Computer, Middleware, and Host Applications	121	(1)
Installation	121	(1)
Tuning	122	(1)
Integration and Business Process Reengineering	122	(1)
Support and Maintenance	123	(1)
Cost-Benefit Characterization of Selected Applications	123	(3)
Summary	126	(1)
Vendor Considerations and Landscape	127	(12)
Vendor Selection Approach	128	(3)
Best-of-Breed	128	(1)
One-Stop-Shop	129	(1)
Trusted Advisor	130	(1)
Vendor Comparison Criteria	131	(2)
Vendor Categories	133	(3)
Tag and Reader Vendors	133	(1)
RFID Middleware Vendors	133	(1)
Computer Systems Vendors	134	(1)
Application Vendors	134	(1)
Systems Integration Vendors	135	(1)
Value Added Vendors	135	(1)
Specialty Services Vendors	135	(1)
Vendor Guide	136	(1)
Summary	136	(3)
Part III The Path Ahead	139	(50)
Mandates as Business Catalysts	141	(16)
Wal-Mart and RFID	143	(4)
Background	143	(1)
Wal-Mart Mandate	144	(2)
Implications for Suppliers	146	(1)
Implications for RFID Component Vendors	147	(1)
U.S. Department of Defense and RFID	147	(6)
Details of the Mandate	149	(2)
Implications for Suppliers	151	(2)
Recommendations for Suppliers of Wal-Mart, Other Retailers, and the DoD	153	(2)
RFID Initiatives at Other Organizations	155	(1)
Summary	156	(1)
Security and Privacy	157	(18)
Distinguishing Between Security and Privacy Issues	158	(11)
Security Challenges	160	(1)
Areas of Security Vulnerability in RFID Components	160	(2)
Assessing Security Risks in RFID Applications	162	(1)
Solutions for Securing and Protecting RFID Data	163	(6)
Privacy Considerations	169	(4)
Consumer RFID Applications and Privacy	169	(1)
Consumer Willingness to Disclose Personal Data	170	(1)
RFID Privacy Best Practices	171	(2)
Summary	173	(2)
Emerging Trends in RFID	175	(14)
Technological Advancements	176	(4)
New and Improved Tags	177	(1)
Architecture for the New Network	178	(2)
Falling RFID Tag Price	180	(1)
Business Process Innovations	180	(4)
Item-Level Tagging	181	(1)
Third-Party Logistics Management	182	(1)
Real-Time Inventory Management	182	(1)
Business Intelligence	183	(1)
IT Outsourcing	183	(1)
Real-Time Data Sharing for Total Supply Chain Integration	183	(1)
Evolving Standards and Legislation	184	(1)
Industry Standards	184	(1)
Government Regulations and Mandates	184	(1)
Privacy Related Regulations	185	(1)
Consumer Application Innovations	185	(1)
Summary	186	(3)
Appendix A	189	(36)
Case Study: Michigan Department of Agriculture	190	(6)
Case Study: Sun Microsystems	196	(5)
Case Study: Operation Enduring Freedom / Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OTF)	201	(7)
Case Study: Woolworths, Plc.	208	(6)
Case Study: Smart & Secure Tradelanes---Phase One Review	214	(11)
Appendix B: The Sun EPCglobal Network Architecture	225	(18)
References and Recommended Reading	243	(4)
Index	247

Excerpts

RFID Field Guide Preface As the number of devices attached to the Network has grown exponentially, so has the value of the Network and the benefits of being attached to it. First, thousands of mainframes and mini computers shared business data. Then it was millions of PCs; then tens of millions of mobile phones and handhelds--spawning even more high-value networked services. Today shared applications and services are routine, but the revolution is just beginning. Soon, billions of devices--each with their own digital heartbeat--will connect to the Network. Many will utilize a single, powerful technology: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). RFID tags will be found embedded in everything from cereal boxes to prescription medicines to parts of an aircraft, and a variety of other machinery. These tags, when in proximity of the right type of sensors, will broadcast information about the objects they are embedded in--dimensions, whereabouts, identification number, history of temperature they were exposed to, and many other static and dynamic characteristics. Many sensors located in hospitals, manufacturing plants, stores, or automobiles will collect this data, aggregate it, and route it to various humans--as well as decision-support systems. The benefits derived from offering services based on such information will be tremendous. Businesses will run more efficiently and consumers will experience better and innovative services. For example, instead of a grocery store losing sales because of consumers not finding meat in stock, the RFID tags in the meat packages being bought will tell the store's in-house sensors that the shelves are more than half empty, triggering a re-order to the supplier. The supplier, armed with the latest information about the location of his meat shipments (thanks to RFID-based pallets used in trucks connected to the central facility via a GPS system) will direct the nearest available shipment to the store. As the truck carrying the goods is getting unloaded at the loading dock, the RFID tags in those boxes will alert the store's inventory system, which in turn will alert the stocking clerk to get ready to stock the shelves. The tags will also have the data about the temperature the boxes were exposed to in transit. If the refrigeration system in the truck was not working properly, exposing some of the packages to higher than recommended temperature, the tags will help the store clerk identify and separate out packages containing spoiled goods. The time saved due to automatic detection of low stock levels and corresponding delivery means that the grocery store would not run out of meat--increasing profits. Detection of possibly spoiled goods means that the customers would not have to suffer the consequences, averting a potential health disaster and liability for the store. That is the promise of RFID. But how much will ultimately prove out, and how much will be revealed as hype? How can a simple RFID tag make all this possible? What should you, the reader, be doing to embrace this phenomenon of an "RFID-enabled world"? How does this RFID technology work? What types of applications are possible and who is adopting the technology? What are the drivers and barriers to adoption? What is the next step for an organization trying to figure out how to proceed forward with an RFID deployment? We are sure many such questions have come to your mind by now. These are the questions we hope to answer in this book. In our current roles, we get a bird's eye view of many new technologies and new applications of existing technologies. Our jobs as Market Developers for Sun Microsystems have exposed us to the latest software being developed at the tiniest software start-ups to the business and IT needs of the largest Fortune 500 companies. We have seen many technology innovations that were high on promise and low on substance. We have also met many vendors who flocked to capitalize on those innovations, only to fail, as there was no sizable revenue or business model. At the same time, we have met many customers who routinely use cutting-edge technology as a competitive weapon to strengthen their business. As we worked with companies that promised to apply RFID to solve complex business problems and customers who looked at this technology to help them leapfrog the competition, we realized that some companies selling or implementing RFID haven't sufficiently addressed these questions--placing themselves and their customers at risk of failure. At the same time, some early adopters were gaining valuable insights and benefits from the deployment of this technology. We asked ourselves how a company looking at understanding and implementing this technology could make an informed decision and take action. This book should provide the answer. This book is not a theoretical treatise on competitive advantage, although it does point out examples of how companies can gain competitive advantage from RFID deployments. Nor is it a technical manual providing code samples, although it does go into fairly detailed technical discussion of the fundamentals of RFID. This book is a field guidefor the practitioner. A practitioner could be a business person, a technical person or a person wearing both hats. It could be a senior executive trying to separate reality from the hype surrounding RFID and wondering if this technology can give him a leg up on the competition. Or, it could be a plant manager trying to figure out sourcing and production issues involved in applying RFID tags to an item in production. In this book, all of them will find real-life examples of RFID deployments, issues related to people, processes and technology, and tips for making an RFID deployment successful. The book is organized into three sections. The first section explains RFID technology by providing its history, its components, and a perspective on what it could do for you. Since no technology can succeed and proliferate unless it helps businesses meet one or more of their primary economic needs--reducing cost, increasing revenue, and providing competitive advantages, we also provide some examples of RFID usage and its benefits to businesses and end users in this section. The second section explains how you can leverage RFID in your organization. RFID standards, an RFID analysis and deployment framework, cost-benefit considerations and RFID vendor landscape are explained here. It outlines a holistic approach to doing an RFID project that can harness this complex technology for achieving real business benefits. Although one might think that putting an RFID tag on a box is not a complex task (which, by the way is true--it takes only 10 seconds for an assembly worker to put a tag on a box and pass it along, an activity known as "slap-n-ship"), unless that process has been thought through, you are not likely to see a lot of benefits from tagging an item. The challenge is not in applying the tag to an item, but in re-thinking existing business processes or creating new ones to fully leverage the powerful, real-time data collection capability offered by RFID. The RFID also brings with it a new set of challenges. For example, how to process all the data generated by billions of tags in the supply chain; how to filter the processed data; and how to integrate the filtered data into existing systems and processes to increase benefits. The framework and tools we provide in the second section help you think through such issues pertinent to your environment. The third section looks at the path ahead of us. It explains how external factors, such as mandates, legislation, regulations, political interest, and consumer concerns (such as security and privacy) can affect a technology's proliferation. It also provides a high level view of the trends surrounding RFID