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Atricle Dump - Pervasiveness of RFID in Indian Businesses - Opportunities Challenges And Strategies
In a bar, you will find an interesting and diverse community of people who will seek out fine bartending, not only for the relaxation and camaraderie, but also for a familiar and comfortable environment where they are recognized and accepted. For many people, in this competitive and aggressive world, a bar may be a sole source of sustenance for those basic things that are so essential to us all as humans. We are, after all, social beings.Who doesn't recall an episode of the television series "Cheers" when every time one of the leading characters would walk in, the entire bar would erupt in the chorus of "Hey Norm?"Few of us are entitled to such a universal form of recognition and instant acceptance from bar patrons, but an excellent bartender can provide almost the same sort of experience for customers.I bartended to work my way through both undergraduate and graduate school, and have gone back to it several times when I grew weary of corporate life. The money (if you do it right) is about the same anyway, and, admittedly, it is tiring and demanding, like any job, but it is a heck of a lot more fun!Every bar is different in its nature and appeal (strip bar vs. a restaurant's cocktail lounge), so this is not a "one size fits all" but, for the most part, if you follow these few words of advice, you can make it both enjoyable and very profitable!1. Welcome all of your customers as though you know them and introduce yourself. Remember their names and welcome them, using their names, the next time they visit. (Keep a legal pad if you need too, "gray beard, thick glasses, name George, drinks Bud"... and any quirks you can note that will help you recall. Failing that just say "Hey good to see you again!" Just think of it like if you were having a party in your own home.. It's easy!2. Always
c) Implementing automatic toll collections on the vast network of highways being constructed across India
6) The U.S. State Department says all U.S. passports issued starting in October 2006 will contain RFID chips.
7) A group of children in Yokohama City wears active tags to keep them safe on their way to and from school.
8) South African RFID technology develop says it has developed a technology enabling a single low-cost reader to pinpoint the location of any RFID tag within read range.
Thus there is no area where RFID is not applicable, which implies RFID can be a pervasive technology. Thus in a nutshell the benefits of RFID can be stated as follows:
a) Product security and Quality
b) Real time inventory visibility (a check can be seen an unwanted qauntitities)
c) Exhaustive information about product and
d) Better mans of accountability
Factors Adverse for the adoption of RFID Technology
a) Expensive technology: RFID tags at present costs between $1 and $10. Specialized tags costs still more may be $100. Passive tags are available at 30 cents to $1. Indians feel the prices are too high to adopt the technology at mass level.
b) Other inhibitions including:
a) Uncertainty about standards
b) Read errors due to technology. Environmental factors
c) Lack of awareness
d) Technology issues
e) Environmental /process related factors include: Active /Passive, Frequency; low/high frequency tags, Mental proximity reverts the radio frequency, Liquid items tend to absorb the radio frequencies thus making it impossible for the reader to comprehend them, read range depends on the power of the antenna and read accuracy, Level of security, Size, Anti- clone/ Anti collision functionality, Humidity and temperature, Interference, Type/class of tags (Read only/Read write/WORM- write once, read many), Reader type, Meet for Multiplex (allowing a reader to have more than one antenna also preventing antennas from obstructing each other), Antenna size/design and placement, Tag orientation.
f) The use of RFID technology has engendered considerable controversy and even product boycotts. The four main privacy concerns regarding RFID are : i)The purchase of an item will not necessarily be aware of the presence of the tag or be able to remove it. ii) The tag can be read at a distan
There are two kinds of people: Those who wait for events to carry them along, and those who take what comes and with it design their own futures.One of the most powerful success factors in life is envisioning a future. You cannot reach what you cannot imagine. Envisioning a state of affairs of your own desire is the first step in making the future happen.A Simple ExerciseConsider a project you are working on today. Perhaps it's starting your own business, building a tool shed, creating a quilt, or taking an adventure vacation in Cambodia. Pick any goal so long as it has deep significance for you.Now...let your imagination roam for a minute. What does the successful outcome of your project look like? How do you think you will feel once you've achieved it?Let your mind stay in that vision a little longer, then take a pen and paper -- or sit down at the keyboard -- and finish the following sentence:On the day my project sees success, I awake in the morning and...Describe what that day is like for you. How is your life different? What are the significant others in your life doing? Where do you go? What can you see yourself doing?Your Successful OutcomeThere is no secret to why the act of envisioning a successful outcome is so important. The act of imagining the thing as complete sets off a complex sequence of thinking.Envisioning stimulates a natural process that gets you brainstorming about the next actions you can take to reach that vision. As David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, says, "You won't see how to do it until you see yourself doing it."Using your imagination in this way triggers action. When you imagine obstacles in the path to your dreams, you'll find obstacles. Giving the mind a
RFID is not a new concept. RFID tags consist of silicon chips and an antenna that can transmit data to a wireless receiver. With the field of wireless reading device, hundreds of tags can be read in a second. RFID tags are classified into active and passive tags. Former are costly ranging from Rs. 65/- per tag and the latter are cheap in the range of Rs. 25-30 per tag. Passive tags cannot give complete data rather brief. RFID has pervasive applications and in this paper the author discussed the potential applications of the technology in different fields of business and also suggests certain approaches to tap the maximum potential.
CONTENTS
1. Concept of RFID and its origins
2. How RFID works and classification.
3. How different RFID is from Barcode
4. Current applications and potential uses of RFID
5. Factors and Adverse affects for the Adoption of RFID technology.
6. Strategies for the rapid adoption of RFID.
7. Conclusion
Introduction: Concept of RFID and its origin
Radio frequency Identification (RFID has been around since World War II). The technology used in RFID has actually been around since the early 1920’s. A much more related technology, the IFF transponder, went into operation in 1939 and was routinely used by the British in the World War II to identify airplanes as friend and foe. RFID became reality after 3 years of advances in many different fields. In simple, RFID tags consist of silicon chips and an antenna that can transmit data to a wireless receiver. Therefore the radio Id tags do not receive line-of-sight for reading that is the RFID tagged product need not be held close to the scanner to read the data of a RFID tag. Within the field of a wireless reading device, it is possible to automatically read hundred of tags a second.
How RFID works and the classification
The technology in RFID is a system and consists of different components such as, tags, tags readers, tag programming stations, circulation readers, sorting equipment, and tag inventory wand. The purpose of a RFID system is to enable data to be transmitted by a portable device called a tag, which is read by an RFID reader and processed according to the needs of a particular application. The data transmitted by the tag may provide identification or location information or specifics about the product such a price, color, date of purchase, etc. The use of RFID in tracking and access applications first appeared
during 1980’s. RFID quickly gained attention because of its ability to track moving objects. As the technology is refined, more pervasive and invasive uses of RFID tags are in the works.
In a typical RFID system, individual objects are equipped with a small, inexpensive tag. The tag contains a transponder with a digital memory chip that is given a unique electronic product code. The interrogator, an antenna packaged with a transceiver and decoder, emits a signal activating the RFID tag so it can emit a signal activating the RFID tag so it can read and write data to it. When RFID tag passes through the electromagnetic zone, it detects the reader’s activation signal. The reader decodes the data encoded in the tag’s integrated circuit (silicon chip) and the data is passed to the host computer for processing.
RFID tags can be classified into passive or active tags. Passive tags do not have their own power supply. The minute electrical current is induced in the antennas by the incoming radio frequency scan provides enough power for the tag to send a response. Due to power and cost concerns. The response of a passive RFID tag is brief – typically just an ID number. Lack of an on-board power supplies means that the device can be quite small: commercially available products exist that can be embedded under the skin. As of 2005, the smallest such devices commercially available measured 0.4mm x 0.4mm, which is thinner than a sheet of paper; such devices are practically invisible. Passive tags have practical read ranges that vary from about 10mm up to about 6 meters. Active RFID tags, on the other hand, must have a power source and may have longer ranges and larger memories than passive tags as well as the ability to store additional information sent by the transceiver. At present, the smallest active tags are about the size of a coin. Many active tags have practical ranges of tens of meters and a battery life of up to several years.
How different RFID is from Barcode
Many retailers and manufacturers have been using bar codes. These are scanned manually and read individually. In the case of RFID tags, it is a small object similar to adhesive sticker and is attached to or incorporated in the product. RFID tags work better and more data can be collected and stored in the RFID micro ship. Further RFID tags cold identify exactly which box it is, which is lacking in barcode system.
Current and potential uses of RFID
In US the RFID frequencies are used: 125 kHz (the original standard) and 134.5 kHz) the international standard). Low frequency RFID tags are commonly used for animal identification, beer keg tracking and automobile key- and –lock, antitheft systems. Pets are often embedded with small chips so that they may be returned to their owners. High frequency RFID tags are used in library books or bookstore tracking, pallet tracking, building access control, airline baggage tracking and apparel item tracking. These are high frequency used in identification badges, replacing earlier magnetic stripe cards.
The American Express Blue credit cards now include a high frequency RFID tag, a feature American Express calls commercially in pallet and containers tracking, and trucks and trailer tracking in shipping yards. Microwave RFID tags are used in long range access control for vehicles.
In January 2003, there was a plan of testing RFID transponders embedded into tiers. Manufactures offered RFID enabled tires to carmakers. Their primary purpose is tire tracking in compliance with the United States Transportation’s, Recall, Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act (TREAD Act). Cards embedded with RFID chips are widely used as electronic cash Octopus cards in Hong Kong is the best example. Similar type is also used in Netherlands and United Kingdom. Implantable RFID ‘chips’, being used and contemplated for humans as well. Applied Digital solutions proposes their chips “mine under-the-skin format” as a solution to identify fraud, secure, building access, computer access, storage of medical records, anti-kidnapping initiatives and a variety of law- enforcement applications. Barcelona and Spain use an implantable verichip to identify their VIP customers, who in turn use it to pay for drinks. The Mexico city police department has implanted approximately 170 of their police officers with the verichip, to allow access to police databases and possibility track them in case of kidnapping.
Thus RFID adoption is in early stages worldwide and India is not far behind the global market. Chitale Dairy Farm located at Bhilawadi, which produces more than 60 million
liters of milk annually. This farm uses RFID technology to effectively track the feeding, milking and breeding information relating to buffaloes.
The potential uses of RFID in Indian Environment can be discussed as follows:
1) RFID technology to mange pilgrims queues especially in Tirupathi and other busy devotional centers on special occasions such a ‘ Brahmotsavas’ in Tirupathi, Puri, Jagannath Chariot Festival. Similarly at different booking centers such as cinema theatres, railway booking counters, bus ticket counters, at passport offices either to get applications /forms/verification/issue or renewal of passports.
2) Important potential applications can be capturing the movement of freight. If two trains are coming on the same track they can exchange RFID signals to avoid accidents. It can also be used to locate the train on its route in real time.(Rajesh Narang, Chief Systems Managers, Center for Railway Information System)
3) Sundaram Srinivasan, practice head, RFID Wipro technologies has opined ‘For retailers with distribution centers and manufacturers with warehouses deploying RFID for inbound and outbound operations can help them improve internal supply, increase efficiency, reduce operations cost and provide better inventory visibility with distribution centers and retails back stores. Further it is said that in the pharma industry RFID is used to reduce counterfeiting by maintaining drug pedigree. It also saves s lot of time and money product recall situations.
4) T. S. Rangarajan, head, RFID solutions group, TCS says that wrist bands or loyalty cards for patients can help in reducing waiting times for patients in hospitals to be served by doctors, investigators and other service staff. It will culminate the need for standing or waiting in queues and enable patient to move about freely and to be informed when the service is ready to be provided. It will also enable segmentation of patients for differential service levels based on the category to which the patient belongs.
5) Further, the pharma tracking of drugs can be a critical application in a country where counterfeiting is a huge problem. If all the drugs in the country are tagged then the problem of superiors drugs can be easily overcome.
6) Kris Gopalakrishnan, COO and Dy Managing Director, Infosys Technologies has viewed that RFID can be of significant strategic value in India in many different sectors:
a) Improving the complex distribution and supply system for : i) Indian defense operations, ii) food supplies as a part of public distribution system and iii) Indian Postal services
b) Improving tracking logistics and planning operations of Indian Railways/ state Public Transport Agencies
c) Implementing automatic toll collections on the vast network of highways being constructed across India
6) The U.S. State Department says all U.S. passports issued starting in October 2006 will contain RFID chips.
7) A group of children in Yokohama City wears active tags to keep them safe on their way to and from school.
8) South African RFID technology develop says it has developed a technology enabling a single low-cost reader to pinpoint the location of any RFID tag within read range.
Thus there is no area where RFID is not applicable, which implies RFID can be a pervasive technology. Thus in a nutshell the benefits of RFID can be stated as follows:
a) Product security and Quality
b) Real time inventory visibility (a check can be seen an unwanted qauntitities)
c) Exhaustive information about product and
d) Better mans of accountability
Factors Adverse for the adoption of RFID Technology
a) Expensive technology: RFID tags at present costs between $1 and $10. Specialized tags costs still more may be $100. Passive tags are available at 30 cents to $1. Indians feel the prices are too high to adopt the technology at mass level.
b) Other inhibitions including:
a) Uncertainty about standards
b) Read errors due to technology. Environmental factors
c) Lack of awareness
d) Technology issues
e) Environmental /process related factors include: Active /Passive, Frequency; low/high frequency tags, Mental proximity reverts the radio frequency, Liquid items tend to absorb the radio frequencies thus making it impossible for the reader to comprehend them, read range depends on the power of the antenna and read accuracy, Level of security, Size, Anti- clone/ Anti collision functionality, Humidity and temperature, Interference, Type/class of tags (Read only/Read write/WORM- write once, read many), Reader type, Meet for Multiplex (allowing a reader to have more than one antenna also preventing antennas from obstructing each other), Antenna size/design and placement, Tag orientation.
f) The use of RFID technology has engendered considerable controversy and even product boycotts. The four main privacy concerns regarding RFID are : i)The purchase of an item will not necessarily be aware of the presence of the tag or be able to remove it. ii) The tag can be read at a distanc
Nothing screams elegance like good quality leather. The quintessential marks of success are good leather briefcases. In the days of old, leather briefcases were mainly used to carry legal briefs to court. Now, however, they exude quality and professionalism, and have since significantly evolved into a status symbol.The Evolution of the BriefcaseLeather briefcases were originally designed after the limp satchels of the 14th century. These satchels were used to carry money and valuables. In 1826, a Frenchman named Godillot designed the first hinged iron frame of leather briefcases. Subsequently, the Gladstone and the oval-topped Rosebury followed suit. These made way for the popular metal-framed leather briefcases that open like laptops.The essential tools of business have undergone drastic changes through the years. Not to be left behind, so have leather briefcases. What used to be just paper-friendly compartments and exteriors now include special compartments for gadgets while still retaining paper space. Large flaps are usually featured, designed to give the leather briefcases a more streamlined look by concealing the gadget pouches.A Workdesk in a BagLeather briefcases not only carry your important documents, they can also hold cellular phones, handheld computers, laptops, computer disks, business cards, and many more. Leather briefcases now come with handles and shoulder straps for added mobility. In short, leather briefcases can be a mobile workdesk. Leather briefcases even have new names such as man bags, saddlebags, and messenger bags.Though soft leather briefcases with shoulder straps have replaced the more traditional hard rectangular cases, businessmen and corporate executives can still make waves by choosing leather briefcases of supple, stylish leather. Soft
during 1980’s. RFID quickly gained attention because of its ability to track moving objects. As the technology is refined, more pervasive and invasive uses of RFID tags are in the works.
In a typical RFID system, individual objects are equipped with a small, inexpensive tag. The tag contains a transponder with a digital memory chip that is given a unique electronic product code. The interrogator, an antenna packaged with a transceiver and decoder, emits a signal activating the RFID tag so it can emit a signal activating the RFID tag so it can read and write data to it. When RFID tag passes through the electromagnetic zone, it detects the reader’s activation signal. The reader decodes the data encoded in the tag’s integrated circuit (silicon chip) and the data is passed to the host computer for processing.
RFID tags can be classified into passive or active tags. Passive tags do not have their own power supply. The minute electrical current is induced in the antennas by the incoming radio frequency scan provides enough power for the tag to send a response. Due to power and cost concerns. The response of a passive RFID tag is brief – typically just an ID number. Lack of an on-board power supplies means that the device can be quite small: commercially available products exist that can be embedded under the skin. As of 2005, the smallest such devices commercially available measured 0.4mm x 0.4mm, which is thinner than a sheet of paper; such devices are practically invisible. Passive tags have practical read ranges that vary from about 10mm up to about 6 meters. Active RFID tags, on the other hand, must have a power source and may have longer ranges and larger memories than passive tags as well as the ability to store additional information sent by the transceiver. At present, the smallest active tags are about the size of a coin. Many active tags have practical ranges of tens of meters and a battery life of up to several years.
How different RFID is from Barcode
Many retailers and manufacturers have been using bar codes. These are scanned manually and read individually. In the case of RFID tags, it is a small object similar to adhesive sticker and is attached to or incorporated in the product. RFID tags work better and more data can be collected and stored in the RFID micro ship. Further RFID tags cold identify exactly which box it is, which is lacking in barcode system.
Current and potential uses of RFID
In US the RFID frequencies are used: 125 kHz (the original standard) and 134.5 kHz) the international standard). Low frequency RFID tags are commonly used for animal identification, beer keg tracking and automobile key- and –lock, antitheft systems. Pets are often embedded with small chips so that they may be returned to their owners. High frequency RFID tags are used in library books or bookstore tracking, pallet tracking, building access control, airline baggage tracking and apparel item tracking. These are high frequency used in identification badges, replacing earlier magnetic stripe cards.
The American Express Blue credit cards now include a high frequency RFID tag, a feature American Express calls commercially in pallet and containers tracking, and trucks and trailer tracking in shipping yards. Microwave RFID tags are used in long range access control for vehicles.
In January 2003, there was a plan of testing RFID transponders embedded into tiers. Manufactures offered RFID enabled tires to carmakers. Their primary purpose is tire tracking in compliance with the United States Transportation’s, Recall, Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act (TREAD Act). Cards embedded with RFID chips are widely used as electronic cash Octopus cards in Hong Kong is the best example. Similar type is also used in Netherlands and United Kingdom. Implantable RFID ‘chips’, being used and contemplated for humans as well. Applied Digital solutions proposes their chips “mine under-the-skin format” as a solution to identify fraud, secure, building access, computer access, storage of medical records, anti-kidnapping initiatives and a variety of law- enforcement applications. Barcelona and Spain use an implantable verichip to identify their VIP customers, who in turn use it to pay for drinks. The Mexico city police department has implanted approximately 170 of their police officers with the verichip, to allow access to police databases and possibility track them in case of kidnapping.
Thus RFID adoption is in early stages worldwide and India is not far behind the global market. Chitale Dairy Farm located at Bhilawadi, which produces more than 60 million
liters of milk annually. This farm uses RFID technology to effectively track the feeding, milking and breeding information relating to buffaloes.
The potential uses of RFID in Indian Environment can be discussed as follows:
1) RFID technology to mange pilgrims queues especially in Tirupathi and other busy devotional centers on special occasions such a ‘ Brahmotsavas’ in Tirupathi, Puri, Jagannath Chariot Festival. Similarly at different booking centers such as cinema theatres, railway booking counters, bus ticket counters, at passport offices either to get applications /forms/verification/issue or renewal of passports.
2) Important potential applications can be capturing the movement of freight. If two trains are coming on the same track they can exchange RFID signals to avoid accidents. It can also be used to locate the train on its route in real time.(Rajesh Narang, Chief Systems Managers, Center for Railway Information System)
3) Sundaram Srinivasan, practice head, RFID Wipro technologies has opined ‘For retailers with distribution centers and manufacturers with warehouses deploying RFID for inbound and outbound operations can help them improve internal supply, increase efficiency, reduce operations cost and provide better inventory visibility with distribution centers and retails back stores. Further it is said that in the pharma industry RFID is used to reduce counterfeiting by maintaining drug pedigree. It also saves s lot of time and money product recall situations.
4) T. S. Rangarajan, head, RFID solutions group, TCS says that wrist bands or loyalty cards for patients can help in reducing waiting times for patients in hospitals to be served by doctors, investigators and other service staff. It will culminate the need for standing or waiting in queues and enable patient to move about freely and to be informed when the service is ready to be provided. It will also enable segmentation of patients for differential service levels based on the category to which the patient belongs.
5) Further, the pharma tracking of drugs can be a critical application in a country where counterfeiting is a huge problem. If all the drugs in the country are tagged then the problem of superiors drugs can be easily overcome.
6) Kris Gopalakrishnan, COO and Dy Managing Director, Infosys Technologies has viewed that RFID can be of significant strategic value in India in many different sectors:
a) Improving the complex distribution and supply system for : i) Indian defense operations, ii) food supplies as a part of public distribution system and iii) Indian Postal services
b) Improving tracking logistics and planning operations of Indian Railways/ state Public Transport Agencies
c) Implementing automatic toll collections on the vast network of highways being constructed across India
6) The U.S. State Department says all U.S. passports issued starting in October 2006 will contain RFID chips.
7) A group of children in Yokohama City wears active tags to keep them safe on their way to and from school.
8) South African RFID technology develop says it has developed a technology enabling a single low-cost reader to pinpoint the location of any RFID tag within read range.
Thus there is no area where RFID is not applicable, which implies RFID can be a pervasive technology. Thus in a nutshell the benefits of RFID can be stated as follows:
a) Product security and Quality
b) Real time inventory visibility (a check can be seen an unwanted qauntitities)
c) Exhaustive information about product and
d) Better mans of accountability
Factors Adverse for the adoption of RFID Technology
a) Expensive technology: RFID tags at present costs between $1 and $10. Specialized tags costs still more may be $100. Passive tags are available at 30 cents to $1. Indians feel the prices are too high to adopt the technology at mass level.
b) Other inhibitions including:
a) Uncertainty about standards
b) Read errors due to technology. Environmental factors
c) Lack of awareness
d) Technology issues
e) Environmental /process related factors include: Active /Passive, Frequency; low/high frequency tags, Mental proximity reverts the radio frequency, Liquid items tend to absorb the radio frequencies thus making it impossible for the reader to comprehend them, read range depends on the power of the antenna and read accuracy, Level of security, Size, Anti- clone/ Anti collision functionality, Humidity and temperature, Interference, Type/class of tags (Read only/Read write/WORM- write once, read many), Reader type, Meet for Multiplex (allowing a reader to have more than one antenna also preventing antennas from obstructing each other), Antenna size/design and placement, Tag orientation.
f) The use of RFID technology has engendered considerable controversy and even product boycotts. The four main privacy concerns regarding RFID are : i)The purchase of an item will not necessarily be aware of the presence of the tag or be able to remove it. ii) The tag can be read at a distan
When it comes to medical billing, oxygen billing is big business and quite complicated, what with all the calculations and computations that have to be made in regard to oxygen content. These days, a biller has to have a degree in advanced calculus to figure out how to bill these claims. The use of electronic media makes things a little easier, but billers still have to know what they're doing. In this installment of our series on medical billing, we'll be covering the GX0 record, or CMN, picking up with field number 8.GX0 field 8, position 28, is the type of equipment 2. In some cases, a patient will receive more than one type of equipment for receiving oxygen. There can be a number of reasons for this such as needing something for an alternate location to just having a spare in case the main piece of equipment breaks down. The valid responses for this field are A for concentrator, B for liquid stationary, C for gaseous stationary, D for liquid portable, E for gaseous portable and O for other. This second piece of equipment must be prescribed by the ordering physician.GX0 field 9, positions 29 - 92, is the reason for equipment field. This field tells the carrier the medical reason that the ordering physician prescribed the equipment for the patient. Because there are only 64 characters for this field, the explanation must be concise and accurate and in medical terms. Billers usually get this information from the doctor's prescription.GX0 fields 10 and 11, positions 93 - 108, are the oxygen prescribed from and to dates. These fields tell the carrier approximately for how long the patient is to be on oxygen. The format of the date fields can either be yyyymmdd or mmddyyyy, depending on the requirements of the carrier. Please check your manual to see which format your carrier uses.GX0 f
In US the RFID frequencies are used: 125 kHz (the original standard) and 134.5 kHz) the international standard). Low frequency RFID tags are commonly used for animal identification, beer keg tracking and automobile key- and –lock, antitheft systems. Pets are often embedded with small chips so that they may be returned to their owners. High frequency RFID tags are used in library books or bookstore tracking, pallet tracking, building access control, airline baggage tracking and apparel item tracking. These are high frequency used in identification badges, replacing earlier magnetic stripe cards.
The American Express Blue credit cards now include a high frequency RFID tag, a feature American Express calls commercially in pallet and containers tracking, and trucks and trailer tracking in shipping yards. Microwave RFID tags are used in long range access control for vehicles.
In January 2003, there was a plan of testing RFID transponders embedded into tiers. Manufactures offered RFID enabled tires to carmakers. Their primary purpose is tire tracking in compliance with the United States Transportation’s, Recall, Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act (TREAD Act). Cards embedded with RFID chips are widely used as electronic cash Octopus cards in Hong Kong is the best example. Similar type is also used in Netherlands and United Kingdom. Implantable RFID ‘chips’, being used and contemplated for humans as well. Applied Digital solutions proposes their chips “mine under-the-skin format” as a solution to identify fraud, secure, building access, computer access, storage of medical records, anti-kidnapping initiatives and a variety of law- enforcement applications. Barcelona and Spain use an implantable verichip to identify their VIP customers, who in turn use it to pay for drinks. The Mexico city police department has implanted approximately 170 of their police officers with the verichip, to allow access to police databases and possibility track them in case of kidnapping.
Thus RFID adoption is in early stages worldwide and India is not far behind the global market. Chitale Dairy Farm located at Bhilawadi, which produces more than 60 million
liters of milk annually. This farm uses RFID technology to effectively track the feeding, milking and breeding information relating to buffaloes.
The potential uses of RFID in Indian Environment can be discussed as follows:
1) RFID technology to mange pilgrims queues especially in Tirupathi and other busy devotional centers on special occasions such a ‘ Brahmotsavas’ in Tirupathi, Puri, Jagannath Chariot Festival. Similarly at different booking centers such as cinema theatres, railway booking counters, bus ticket counters, at passport offices either to get applications /forms/verification/issue or renewal of passports.
2) Important potential applications can be capturing the movement of freight. If two trains are coming on the same track they can exchange RFID signals to avoid accidents. It can also be used to locate the train on its route in real time.(Rajesh Narang, Chief Systems Managers, Center for Railway Information System)
3) Sundaram Srinivasan, practice head, RFID Wipro technologies has opined ‘For retailers with distribution centers and manufacturers with warehouses deploying RFID for inbound and outbound operations can help them improve internal supply, increase efficiency, reduce operations cost and provide better inventory visibility with distribution centers and retails back stores. Further it is said that in the pharma industry RFID is used to reduce counterfeiting by maintaining drug pedigree. It also saves s lot of time and money product recall situations.
4) T. S. Rangarajan, head, RFID solutions group, TCS says that wrist bands or loyalty cards for patients can help in reducing waiting times for patients in hospitals to be served by doctors, investigators and other service staff. It will culminate the need for standing or waiting in queues and enable patient to move about freely and to be informed when the service is ready to be provided. It will also enable segmentation of patients for differential service levels based on the category to which the patient belongs.
5) Further, the pharma tracking of drugs can be a critical application in a country where counterfeiting is a huge problem. If all the drugs in the country are tagged then the problem of superiors drugs can be easily overcome.
6) Kris Gopalakrishnan, COO and Dy Managing Director, Infosys Technologies has viewed that RFID can be of significant strategic value in India in many different sectors:
a) Improving the complex distribution and supply system for : i) Indian defense operations, ii) food supplies as a part of public distribution system and iii) Indian Postal services
b) Improving tracking logistics and planning operations of Indian Railways/ state Public Transport Agencies
c) Implementing automatic toll collections on the vast network of highways being constructed across India
6) The U.S. State Department says all U.S. passports issued starting in October 2006 will contain RFID chips.
7) A group of children in Yokohama City wears active tags to keep them safe on their way to and from school.
8) South African RFID technology develop says it has developed a technology enabling a single low-cost reader to pinpoint the location of any RFID tag within read range.
Thus there is no area where RFID is not applicable, which implies RFID can be a pervasive technology. Thus in a nutshell the benefits of RFID can be stated as follows:
a) Product security and Quality
b) Real time inventory visibility (a check can be seen an unwanted qauntitities)
c) Exhaustive information about product and
d) Better mans of accountability
Factors Adverse for the adoption of RFID Technology
a) Expensive technology: RFID tags at present costs between $1 and $10. Specialized tags costs still more may be $100. Passive tags are available at 30 cents to $1. Indians feel the prices are too high to adopt the technology at mass level.
b) Other inhibitions including:
a) Uncertainty about standards
b) Read errors due to technology. Environmental factors
c) Lack of awareness
d) Technology issues
e) Environmental /process related factors include: Active /Passive, Frequency; low/high frequency tags, Mental proximity reverts the radio frequency, Liquid items tend to absorb the radio frequencies thus making it impossible for the reader to comprehend them, read range depends on the power of the antenna and read accuracy, Level of security, Size, Anti- clone/ Anti collision functionality, Humidity and temperature, Interference, Type/class of tags (Read only/Read write/WORM- write once, read many), Reader type, Meet for Multiplex (allowing a reader to have more than one antenna also preventing antennas from obstructing each other), Antenna size/design and placement, Tag orientation.
f) The use of RFID technology has engendered considerable controversy and even product boycotts. The four main privacy concerns regarding RFID are : i)The purchase of an item will not necessarily be aware of the presence of the tag or be able to remove it. ii) The tag can be read at a distan
You might think that something as major as a building fire could put a serious dent in the productivity of any office, to put it mildly. Destruction of property equipment, furniture and files are almost certain. How much in terms of assets would be lost and for how long? What about the company’s mission critical data? Could it ever be replaced? Computers (especially the magnetic disks contained within a modern hard disk drive) are very sensitive to heat and critical data is likely to be irretrievable from a machine that has been melted by the high temperatures of a building fire.So just how can a headline like the one in this article be plausible? How can a company suffer something as destructive as a major fire and yet be up and running just two short hours after the flames have settled and indeed, when the office is still smoldering and very much non-conducive to work (to say the least)?Property, furniture and equipment can be easily replaced (that’s what insurance is for). Temporary desks and chairs can be leased or rented quickly and easily. New telephone equipment and computer hardware can be purchased. But how do you replace your company’s mission critical data?The answer is simple: Online Data Backup.By using an online secure backup solution and storing important, mission critical data files in a secure offsite facility, your company can avert disaster and be up and running even before the fire has been put out.Here’s how: When you set up an account with an online backup service provider you or your company will have the ability to back up any amount of critical data on a schedule you set. You can back files up monthly, weekly, daily, or even hourly depending on your needs. You can specify certain subsets of files to be backed up every X amount of days, and other subset to be
2) Important potential applications can be capturing the movement of freight. If two trains are coming on the same track they can exchange RFID signals to avoid accidents. It can also be used to locate the train on its route in real time.(Rajesh Narang, Chief Systems Managers, Center for Railway Information System)
3) Sundaram Srinivasan, practice head, RFID Wipro technologies has opined ‘For retailers with distribution centers and manufacturers with warehouses deploying RFID for inbound and outbound operations can help them improve internal supply, increase efficiency, reduce operations cost and provide better inventory visibility with distribution centers and retails back stores. Further it is said that in the pharma industry RFID is used to reduce counterfeiting by maintaining drug pedigree. It also saves s lot of time and money product recall situations.
4) T. S. Rangarajan, head, RFID solutions group, TCS says that wrist bands or loyalty cards for patients can help in reducing waiting times for patients in hospitals to be served by doctors, investigators and other service staff. It will culminate the need for standing or waiting in queues and enable patient to move about freely and to be informed when the service is ready to be provided. It will also enable segmentation of patients for differential service levels based on the category to which the patient belongs.
5) Further, the pharma tracking of drugs can be a critical application in a country where counterfeiting is a huge problem. If all the drugs in the country are tagged then the problem of superiors drugs can be easily overcome.
6) Kris Gopalakrishnan, COO and Dy Managing Director, Infosys Technologies has viewed that RFID can be of significant strategic value in India in many different sectors:
a) Improving the complex distribution and supply system for : i) Indian defense operations, ii) food supplies as a part of public distribution system and iii) Indian Postal services
b) Improving tracking logistics and planning operations of Indian Railways/ state Public Transport Agencies
c) Implementing automatic toll collections on the vast network of highways being constructed across India
6) The U.S. State Department says all U.S. passports issued starting in October 2006 will contain RFID chips.
7) A group of children in Yokohama City wears active tags to keep them safe on their way to and from school.
8) South African RFID technology develop says it has developed a technology enabling a single low-cost reader to pinpoint the location of any RFID tag within read range.
Thus there is no area where RFID is not applicable, which implies RFID can be a pervasive technology. Thus in a nutshell the benefits of RFID can be stated as follows:
a) Product security and Quality
b) Real time inventory visibility (a check can be seen an unwanted qauntitities)
c) Exhaustive information about product and
d) Better mans of accountability
Factors Adverse for the adoption of RFID Technology
a) Expensive technology: RFID tags at present costs between $1 and $10. Specialized tags costs still more may be $100. Passive tags are available at 30 cents to $1. Indians feel the prices are too high to adopt the technology at mass level.
b) Other inhibitions including:
a) Uncertainty about standards
b) Read errors due to technology. Environmental factors
c) Lack of awareness
d) Technology issues
e) Environmental /process related factors include: Active /Passive, Frequency; low/high frequency tags, Mental proximity reverts the radio frequency, Liquid items tend to absorb the radio frequencies thus making it impossible for the reader to comprehend them, read range depends on the power of the antenna and read accuracy, Level of security, Size, Anti- clone/ Anti collision functionality, Humidity and temperature, Interference, Type/class of tags (Read only/Read write/WORM- write once, read many), Reader type, Meet for Multiplex (allowing a reader to have more than one antenna also preventing antennas from obstructing each other), Antenna size/design and placement, Tag orientation.
f) The use of RFID technology has engendered considerable controversy and even product boycotts. The four main privacy concerns regarding RFID are : i)The purchase of an item will not necessarily be aware of the presence of the tag or be able to remove it. ii) The tag can be read at a distan
Since the beginning of business, various methods for operating and developing the business have been identified and refined. These have evolved into the conventional methods that we use today. We improve management and effect business change by adding new conventional methods on the existing methods in place.We now have a large business change and management improvement industry. There are thousands of books explaining business and management improvement. Management gurus put on all kinds of seminars. Many companies participate, such as vendors with packaged solutions, websites selling improvement methods and techniques, business change consultants and their methodologies, etc. The whole industry is based on touting different ways to do the same things.Over the past decade, we saw supposed breakthroughs like business process re-engineering, business transformation methods, and enterprise resource planning. But, these were not breakthroughs, since they did not address fundamental problems. They were just new names and methods to do the same old things.Why are there so many different ways to do the same thing? Why isn't there just one right way? It is simply because all of these different ways are the wrong way, because they build on fundamental problems. Since all the different ways we do things are wrong, we can only define the right way by identifying the wrong ways that are generally-accepted. The basis for our methods and standards is not because they are the fundamentally sound and understood right away, but because they are the most widely-accepted wrong way. If anyone ever comes up with the one right way, it would be known and accepted and all of the wrong ways would be obsolete.How many methods do we have and how many books have been written about the symptoms of fundamental problems that a
c) Implementing automatic toll collections on the vast network of highways being constructed across India
6) The U.S. State Department says all U.S. passports issued starting in October 2006 will contain RFID chips.
7) A group of children in Yokohama City wears active tags to keep them safe on their way to and from school.
8) South African RFID technology develop says it has developed a technology enabling a single low-cost reader to pinpoint the location of any RFID tag within read range.
Thus there is no area where RFID is not applicable, which implies RFID can be a pervasive technology. Thus in a nutshell the benefits of RFID can be stated as follows:
a) Product security and Quality
b) Real time inventory visibility (a check can be seen an unwanted qauntitities)
c) Exhaustive information about product and
d) Better mans of accountability
Factors Adverse for the adoption of RFID Technology
a) Expensive technology: RFID tags at present costs between $1 and $10. Specialized tags costs still more may be $100. Passive tags are available at 30 cents to $1. Indians feel the prices are too high to adopt the technology at mass level.
b) Other inhibitions including:
a) Uncertainty about standards
b) Read errors due to technology. Environmental factors
c) Lack of awareness
d) Technology issues
e) Environmental /process related factors include: Active /Passive, Frequency; low/high frequency tags, Mental proximity reverts the radio frequency, Liquid items tend to absorb the radio frequencies thus making it impossible for the reader to comprehend them, read range depends on the power of the antenna and read accuracy, Level of security, Size, Anti- clone/ Anti collision functionality, Humidity and temperature, Interference, Type/class of tags (Read only/Read write/WORM- write once, read many), Reader type, Meet for Multiplex (allowing a reader to have more than one antenna also preventing antennas from obstructing each other), Antenna size/design and placement, Tag orientation.
f) The use of RFID technology has engendered considerable controversy and even product boycotts. The four main privacy concerns regarding RFID are : i)The purchase of an item will not necessarily be aware of the presence of the tag or be able to remove it. ii) The tag can be read at a distance without the knowledge of the individuals, iii) If a tagged item is paid for by the credit card or in conjunction with the use of loyalty card, then it would be possible to the unique ID of that item to the identity of the purchase, iv) The EPC global System of tags create or are proposed to create, globally unique serial numbers for all products though this creates privacy problems and is completely unnecessary for most applications.
Strategies for the rapid adoptions of RFID
1. Big retail formats are growing in India and hence RFID technology can be used for reaping the advantages identified in the above pages.
2. During March 2005, wireless planning and coordinating wing, Ministry Of Communications and Information Technology, Govt of India had issued a notification for the use of wireless equipment in the band 865-867 MHz. As per the notice, no license is required to establish, maintain, work, and possess the tags and their uses.
3. Research is going on the substitution of cheap or cost effective material to make the technology, for example, use of nanotechnology makes the RFID technology cheaper.
4. Govt. of India should bring a policy to make the use of the technology compulsorily in certain sectors namely,
a) Education sector; universities and institutions should use the technology on the certificates by recording the basic details of that student hence it becomes easy for verification and there is no scope for manipulation.
b) Pharma sector; to avoid fake medicine brands standard companies can use this technology.
c) Election Commission to issue voter ID cards, to avoid others to vote, this technology is very much useful.
d) For very expensive goods such as jewelry, costly wrist watches, diamonds etc also, the manufacturers can use this technology, to avoid duplication in the market.
CONCLUSION
Thus RFID technology can have its use in each and every sector it’ll be difficult to say a particular aspect where it cannot be applicable. The main thing to be considered is cost, considering its pervasiveness The Govt.of India should take steps to make the technology available at a low cost by way of subsidy.
References
1. Financial Express, July-Dec, 2005
2. The Economic Times, July-Dec, 2005
3. Data Quest, Jan- Dec, 2005
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