RFID in Austria

First of all, thank you very much for joining me today. This diploma is titled „Potential for improvements via RFID in Austrian production enterprises“. I have prepared the following Agenda for todays presentation … <PAUSE>
I will start off by giving you an overview of the main parts of an RFID System and how it works. Then we will have a look at how the study was carried out. At last I will be presenting the main findings of the study. Let us start with the basic principle of an RFID System. Please take a look at the following picture … <PAUSE>
An RFID System consists of 2 main parts which create a wireless data link: The Transponder - or tag, and the interrogator - or reader. Another essential component is the host computer system that manages the information sent to and received from the tag. The reader contains an antenna, a controller unit and a serial data interface to a host system. The interrogator generates an electro-magnetic field to establish a communication with the transponder. I‘ve brought some tags with me like this one, where the transponder is integrated in syntetic material – in our case ABS-plastics. This transponder here is used for applications which need high physical robustness as well as a wide temperature range to work within. Also very common is to integrate all the necessary components in a label, which is then called a Smart Label. If we take a look at this label, we can see that a transponder consists of a coupling element - or antenna and a microchip. That’s why a tag acts as a programmable data carrying device. Smart tags – like the one I hold in my hand - are passive, and therefore they do not require any internal power supply or battery energy source. The necessary power required to activate the tag’s microchip is drawn from the electro-magnetic field created by the reader unit’s antenna. [Click!] <PAUSE> In addition to that, rugged Handheld computers are gaining popularity for logistic processes in the production environment. These Mini-PC‘s have a permanent Wireless Data Link to the host computer and therefore can forward the tag information to the host computer without a cable connection. <PAUSE>
An RFID System consists of 2 main parts which create a wireless data link: The Transponder - or tag, and the interrogator - or reader. Another essential component is the host computer system that manages the information sent to and received from the tag. The reader contains an antenna, a controller unit and a serial data interface to a host system. The interrogator generates an electro-magnetic field to establish a communication with the transponder. I‘ve brought some tags with me like this one, where the transponder is integrated in syntetic material – in our case ABS-plastics. This transponder here is used for applications which need high physical robustness as well as a wide temperature range to work within. Also very common is to integrate all the necessary components in a label, which is then called a Smart Label. If we take a look at this label, we can see that a transponder consists of a coupling element - or antenna and a microchip. That’s why a tag acts as a programmable data carrying device. Smart tags – like the one I hold in my hand - are passive, and therefore they do not require any internal power supply or battery energy source. The necessary power required to activate the tag’s microchip is drawn from the electro-magnetic field created by the reader unit’s antenna. [Click!] <PAUSE> In addition to that, rugged Handheld computers are gaining popularity for logistic processes in the production environment. These Mini-PC‘s have a permanent Wireless Data Link to the host computer and therefore can forward the tag information to the host computer without a cable connection. <PAUSE>
This slide shows the four main frequencies for RFID Technology: - Low Frequency - was the first Frequency to identify objects with this kind of technology. Today it is mainly used for animal identification and in the automative industry. - High Frequency – is today very common for RFID Applications. Most of the applications in the production & logistics area are realised within this frequency range. - Ultra High Frequency – nowadays gains significant growth of market share. It is widely used for Item Management purposes, Tire&Wheel Applications and in the Retail industry. - The Microwave Technology is suitable to deal with distances over 10 meters. Therefor its main purpose is to solve identification tasks in the field of container management. It has to be mentioned that not all of the countries in the world have access to all of the frequency bands shown, as some countries have assigned specific bands to other users. Within each country and within each frequency range there are specific regulations that govern the use of the frequency. These regulations may apply to power levels and interference as well as frequency tolerances. <PAUSE>
Okay, so now you know the main aspects of an RFID System – but how was the study carried out? The study was carried out with 14 interviewpartners from austrian production enterprises. As you can see, the biggest segment is represented by the machine-building industry with 3 participants. The industries Automotive, Chemistry and Food are represented by 2 interviewpartners in each segment. The mentioned industries play often a major role in adopting new technologies and represent therefore about 2 thirds of the data set. In addition the segments Life Sciences, Building-Trade, Pharmaceutical, Household and wood are represented by one interviewpartner each. All experts were questioned via personal interviews On the one hand we can assume, that the potential for missunderstandings as well as missinterpratation is minimised, On the other hand this procedure offers the opportunity to discuss interesting aspects in more detail as they appear. <PAUSE>
As we have talked about the conditions under which the study was carried out, we can now move on and take a look at the main questions of the study. What I really wanted to know was how big is the potential for solutions with RFID. Therefore the first question evaluates the potential to increase process efficiency via Radio Frequency Identification. RFID is driven by marketing aspects today. Restrictions are often neglected. This leads to the second main question of the study. I tried to find out whether the RFID technology already fulfils the requested requirements. <PAUSE>
This diagram shows the potential for improvements in relevant areas of austrian production enterprises. The red line shows the potential for improvements in each sector. As you can see, the goods entrance has the greatest potential for improvements, but a huge lack of process efficiency is also reported in warehouse processes and picking processes. In addition to that the blue line shows the potential for RFID in production enterprises. The interview partners see the biggest value when the goods have already left the production plant. In all other classical production areas like Goods entrance, Warehouse management, Production Processes or Picking great improvements seem to be possible. <PAUSE>
Why should anyone use RFID technology? Let’s take a look at the Advantages of such a system. The study showed that: … the non-line-of-sight communication and the … robustness and insensability against dust are seen as the most favourable advantages. In addition to that the possibility to … enhance automation and to … store more information are seen as big advantages. Furthermore tracking & tracing for goods and process history were mentioned. <PAUSE>
The answers to the two main questions can be comprised as follows: The evaluation of the first question showed clearly, that the technology has a great potential to increase process efficiency in austrian production enterprises. The second question can not be answered so easily. For sure the combination of insufficient technical characteristics combined with a higher price leads to restraints in the project realisation. <PAUSE>
So when you enter a shop or a supermarket the next time, be aware of the fact, that the available products could already be equipped with RFID Transponders. Thank you very much for your attention.

RFID in Austria

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