Segment 1 - Auto-ID and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) As Data Sources in The Supply Chain

Auto-ID and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) as data sources in the supply chain
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Segment 1 - Auto-ID and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) as data sources in the supply chain
Overview
Auto-ID technology has been used in business to facilitate efficient transactions. Examples of autoID include barcodes, magnetic stripes, magnetic proximity cards, "smartcards" (cards with a built-in chip resembling a SIM chip and contacts for transferring data). RFID is one of the latest in this line of technology that has become highly discussed in the recent years. RFID sets itself apart from the other technologies in this area by using radio frequency transmission between the tag and the interrogator, thus eliminating the need for any contact, proximity to the interrogator, or line of sight limitations. Minimally speaking, the RFID concept includes two primary devices: the tag (or the transponder) and the reader (the interrogator). The tag typically contains a microchip attached to an antenna, and the reader is typically a radio device capable of sending and receiving radio transmissions at specific frequency range. The microchip in the tag typically includes a small amount of memory and a modulator circuit that is capable of receiving and decoding signals at specific frequency ranges, and communicating the information stored in the memory back to the source of the transmission. The most interesting aspect of this technology is that the chip does not require any power source (in passive tags) - the transmission from the reader can be used to power the chip. A comparison of the above auto-ID technologies is shown below: line of sight Barcode Magstripe Mag proxcard Smartcard Passive RFID Active RFID yes yes no yes no no rewrite Capacity no yes yes yes yes yes low medium medium high medium high Read range 1-2 ft 0 in 6-8in 0 in 20-30ft 300 ft Multiread No No No No Yes Yes
Table 1. Comparison of popular Auto-ID technologies
The above table demonstrates that RFID has some major advantages over similar technology that allows objects to be automatically identified based on data stored in the devices. The lecture notes attached to this segment (the same lecture notes that was distributed during the residency) includes a wide range of information on this technology - here I am including a summary of the various aspects of RFID.
https://pilot.wright.edu/content/enforced/65459-49762.201140/segment1/segment1_1.html... 7/19/2011
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RFID Physics
Underneath any technology there is always science, and RFID is no exception. The science underneath RFID is the science of radio wave transmission. Radio waves are very much like light waves - it travels at the same speed (3 x 1010 cm/sec) In addition, radio waves also exhibit the same types of behavior as light - such as reflection, refraction, scattering, interference and superposition.
Electromagnetic Waves
The physics of electromagnetic waves give us the following simple relationship between frequency (f) and wavelength (L): L = c/f Given this simple relationship, we can easily calculate the wavelength of radio waves at different frequencies. Commonly, there are four different frequency ranges at which RFID radio transmission works: 1. LF (Low Frequency): 125-134 kHz 2. HF (High Frequency): 13.56 MHz 3. UHF (Ultra High Frequency): 860-960 MHz 4. Microwave frequency: 2.4-5.8 GHz Using the above formula, we can find that the wavelength of a 125 kHz wave is: 300000000/125000 = 2400m = 2.4km The wavelength of a 900MHz wave is: 300000000/900000000 = 1/3 m Hence the wavelength of a UHF wave is about 13 inches. Given the way antennas resonate at different frequencies, it turns out that the length of the antennas need to be approximately half the wavelength for proper resonating. This explains why UHF tags typically have antennas that are about 6 inches long, HF tags have antennas that have about 5-7 turns of copper around the chip, and LF tags have thousands of turns in a coil. The three types of tags can hence be easily identified visually by looking at the antennas: Low Frequency tags: tags with a chip at the center and hundreds of turns of copper wire around the chip in a coil form, like the one shown here:
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High Frequency tags: tags with a chip at the center, and 5-8 turns of copper or aluminum conductor around it, as shown below:
Ultra-High Frequency tags: UHF tags do not use induction, hence do not need a coil antenna. Instead, they use dipole antenna, with a chip at the center, and two poles of antenna connector going in two directions as shown below. UHF tags can have more than two poles to make them less sensitive to orientation.
Inductive and Backscatter coupling

The "magic" that allows tags to get powered from the readers without any battery or power source in the tags themselves owes to the concept of "coupling" between the tag and the reader. There are two methods of coupling that is used for powering passive tags in RFID: (i) inductive (or near field) coupling, used for LF and HF tags, and (ii) backscatter (or far field) coupling, used for UHF of microwave tags. Inductive coupling is based on the concept of electromagnetic induction. Reader antennas have a coil that produces an electromagnetic field. When a tag antenna coil comes within that field, a small amount of current is produced via electromagnetic induction. This current charges the capacitor in the tag, which eventually charges to enough power to power the chip. The following figure shows a schematic of how this process works.
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Electromagnetic induction is a common method for inducing currents in electrically separated circuits (such as transformers) - however, unlike transformers, the medium of induction is air instead of a ferrite core, hence the inductive field is fairly weak and loses its strength rapidly as the distance increases from the reader antenna. Hence, tags using inductive coupling can only be powered up to a few inches from the reader antenna. Backscatter coupling (or far-field coupling) is used by UHF and microwave tags. In this form of coupling, the electrical properties of radio waves are used. The radio signal emanating from the reader antenna creates a potential difference between the high and low parts of the wave. Tags using backscatter coupling have a dipole (two poles of antenna conductor on two sides of the chip) which when properly aligned with the radio wave, produces a potential differences across the tag's antenna. This potential difference causes some current to flow into the tag's capacitor which charges to provide power to the chip. The following figure shows how this process works.
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Since tags have to be properly aligned with the reader signal, alignment is important for backscatter coupling for readers that use a standard linear antenna. However, many manufacturers create antennas that produce a circular wave pattern by shifting the wave phase slightly on every cycle, thereby ensuring that tags do not need to be properly aligned. However, circular antennas can only carry about half the power as linear antennas, and hence have lower read distance. Since electrical signals can go larger distances without losing power, UHF tags can be read from a much higher distance than LF or HF tags, typically in the range of 10-30 ft at full reader power.
Antenna Power and Cable Loss

Because of safety issues, there are strict guidelines on how much power a reader can provide at the antenna connectors. In the US, readers can generate a maximum of 1 watt at each antenna connector. This power is transmitted to the antenna by means of low loss cables, typically coaxial cables. However, in spite of using such cables, there is always some signal loss. Readers compensate by using metal backing in antennas that use radio wave reflection to create some gain. Hence, the effective radiated power (ERP) at the antenna can be obtained by: ERP = Reader Power - Cable Loss + Antenna gain While a seeming simple calculation, the effective power decides whether or not the reader will be able to provide enough power at the antenna to be able to read tags at a required distance. Power in this context is often measured in decibells (dB), and can be converted to the standard unit of power (Watts) by the association 30dBm = 1 Watt. For each 3dB gain, power is doubled, and for each 3dB loss, the power is halved. Hence, 33 dBm = 2 Watts, 36dBm = 4 watts, 27 dBm = 1/2 Watt, etc.
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Example. Say a particular application requires that the antenna must send out 2W of power in order to capture all the tags in its field. The antenna is rated as a 6dBi gain antenna. Unfortunately the reader cannot be installed close to the antenna because of safety issues, so you must use a 30' antenna cable (with a 2dB loss). Can you implement this scenario without violating US FCC regulations? What should be the power (in watts) that you must supply at the antenna terminal to make this work? Answer. From the above, we have ERP = 2W = 33dBm, so based on the ERP calculation above, we can see 33 = P - 2 +6. Or P = 29. Since this is below 30dB, it will be legal to supply that power to the antenna terminal (US regulations allow up to 1 watt of power at the antenna terminal). The actual power in watts will be about 0.794 Watts (calculated from the voltage ratio - but you know it will be something between 1 watt which is 30db and 0.5 watt which is 27dB).
RFID Standards
To ensure easy compatibility between different countries and organizations, the organization EPCGlobal (http://www.epcglobal.com), a consortium of several organizations involved with RFID, has developed a set of standards pertaining to the RFID technology. This, in addition to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as well as national standardization units, provide some fairly strict standards on how the technology can be used and regulated. The standards body in the US is FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and in Europe its ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). Some of the important regulations and standards are as follows:
Frequency regulations
The first set of regulations related to the frequency of operation of the RFID tags. As stated earlier, Low Frequency (LF) operates in the range of 125-134 kHz and High Frequency (HF) operates at exactly 13.56 MHz. Ultra High Frequency (UHF) tags operate in the range of 860-960 MHz, although different countries have their own sub-range at which they work on. In the US, according to FCC guidelines, US readers operate in the range of 902-928 MHz, with a maximum power output at the antenna connector of 1 Watt, and maximum EIRP (Effective isotropic power output of maximum 4Watts). Within the 902-928 MHz range, FCC allows 50 channels with 500kHz band separation.
Protocol regulations
Within the RFID technology, The international standards organization (ISO/IEC) has developed several standards and regulations to ensure proper implementation of the protocols for transmission of signals between readers and tags. This ensures that tags implementing such standards can be interrogated by readers built by any standards-complying manufacturer. The most important among these standards is ISO 18000, the primary standard for RFID Item management. Several parts of ISO 18000 are important: 1. ISO18000 Part 1: governs general/common concepts within the RFID technology. 2. ISO18000 Part 2: governs Low frequency tags (125-134 kHz) 3. ISO18000 Part 3: governs High frequency tags (13.56 MHz) 4. ISO18000 Part 4: governs Microwave tags (2.4 GHz) 5. ISO18000 Part 5: withdrawn and is no longer in use 6. ISO18000 Part 6: governs UHF tags (860-960 MHz)
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Within Part 6, ISO18000 Part 6C governs UHF Gen2 tags, which is the current tag protocol used in the industry 7. ISO18000 Part 7: governs UHF 433.92 MHz active tags
EPCGlobal tag regulations

EPCGlobal, with an eye towards the future of the technology, has developed a set of classes for incorporating current and future development of RFID tags. These classes include: Currently Existing: Class 0: includes the read-only passive tags - the original types of tags produced, which were factory written and could not be changed Class 1: includes the write-once (WORM) tags, these tags could be user written, but cannot be rewritten. Class 1 is now adapted to include the current set of infinitely rewriteable tags as well. Future classes: Class 2: rewriteable passive tags with embedded security including encryption capabilities Class 3: semi-passive tags with some form of embedded regeneratable power source Class 4: active tags that are capable of initiating communication with readers as well as other tags in the vicinity Class 5: tags with capabilities that allow them to read other tags in any classes Many other standards and regulations exist in the RFID technology, but the above are the most important.
Tag characteristics and implementation

So far we have primarily discussed passive tags, mainly because it is passive tags that created the sudden emergence of RFID by reducing the cost, increasing longevity and the feasibility of adoption. However, tags may also have a power source and other sensor circuits. Based on power source, tags can be classified into three parts: 1. Passive tags - as discussed earlier, these are tags that do not have any internal power source or transmitter circuit. These tags receive the power from the reader antennas via an inductive or backscatter protocol depending on the frequency of operation. The tags typically contain some amount of memory for storing an identification value, and optionally some user accessible memory. Typically they are rewriteable, although some older generation tags, particularly low frequency tags are either read-only or WORM (write once read many) type. Because of the lack of an internal power supply, the tags depend on the reader for power, and hence read distance is typically low, in the order of 6" for LF, 8-12" for HF and 15-20' for UHF tags. 2. Semi-Passive tags - many manufacturers augment passive tags with an internal power supply. An internal power supply negates the necessity for the tag to be powered by the reader antenna, which results in much higher read range - in the order of 100'. These tags are still called "passive" tags because they do not have an internal transmitter, and are only active when they are within range of a compatible reader. In addition, the built-in power supply can accommodate additional capabilities such as sensors (temperature, light, pressure, etc.) or additional memory.
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3. Active tags - these are tags that have a power source and an on-board transmitter. Typically active tags operate at a frequency of 433 MHz (although proprietary active tags operating at other frequencies do exist). Many manufacturers build active tags with an internal 802.11b/g capability which allows them to communicate via existing WLAN networks. Active tags usually have a property called "blink rate" - a time interval in seconds - at every blink, these tags transmit their ID to any listening reader. Active tags can also house sensors and additional memory. Typical read range for active tags can reach 300' or more. As discussed earlier, reader antennas (UHF) may be linear (transmitting a linear wave pattern along one specific plane) or a circular (transmitting a wave pattern that changes its phase continuously, thereby creating a circular wave pattern). Linear antennas have the advantage that they can penetrate objects better and can reach further for a better read range, although tags have to be properly aligned along the same plane as the linear wave for readability. Circular antennas are independent of alignment, although have lower read range. To solve the alignment problem, some tag manufacturers create tags with two dipoles (dual-dipole tags) that allow tags to be read independent of alignment even with linear antennas.
Design Selection
Although technically RFID has some added advantages over other automatic identification methods as shown in Table 1, these advantages are not automatic and there are some fine prints. In order to get the advantages from the technology, the designer needs to understand some of tricky aspects of RFID. Many of these problems and issues are a direct result of radio transmission and the way radio waves behave in certain medium. As discussed earlier, radio waves demonstrate some of the same behaviors as visible light, although different media behave differently with radio waves than with light waves. For example, in addition to vacuum and air, RF translucent media include cardboard, plastic, glass, fabric, and even wood and concrete. This means RFID goes through these media with very little loss. However, RFID gets reflected by metal and metallic objects, and gets absorbed by conducting liquids such as water. The consequence of this behavior of radio waves implies that special considerations need to be taken when the objects to be tagged consist of items that are either RF reflective or absorptive. Special care also needs to be taken when tags are placed in close proximity with each other. Some of the special cases are discussed below: 1. Tag behavior near reflective objects (such as metal): Metallic objects have twofold problems: first, metal reflects all RF energy back and does not let RF go through. This indicates that tags placed inside metal containers or surrounded by metal will not be read by RFID readers. Even outside metal, if a tag is placed right on a metal object, the radio signals fail to provide power to the dipole because the metal essentially "shorts" the potential difference across the wave. In order to provide power to the tag, there must be a small amount of separation between the tag and the metal surface. This can be achieved by placing a substrate material between the metal and the tag, such as cardboard or foam. Some manufacturers develop tags specifically designed for application on metal - these tags either have a substrate material or use the metal surface as part of the antenna. 2. Tag behavior near absorptive material (such as water): Water essentially acts as a sponge with radio frequency. All the radio energy is absorbed by the liquid, leaving no power for the tag to get powered with. Many manufacturers produce specially designed tags that require very little power and are able to power themselves with the little available power around
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liquids, but the most common method for placing tags around water is to find areas of "air gap" - such as the tops of the bottles (or boxes with bottles) which has liquid or no liquid. 3. Tag behavior when placed close to each other: If two tags are placed very close to each other such that their antennas are almost touching, it leads to a phenomenon known as "tag shadowing" - readers will not be able to read either tag consistently if this happens. If tags are placed symmetrically in boxes of same or similar sizes, this can easily happen in a pallet of several boxes. For this reason, when placing tags on boxes that can be stacked in a pallet, it is better to place the tags asymmetrically. A "postage stamp" placement strategy works well for this purpose.
Interrogation Zone Basics

Possibly the most important aspect of RFID tags is the ability to consistently read the tags in the read zone, also known as the interrogation zone. Optimizing the interrogation zone is one of the most essential aspects of the use of RFID in any business process. Several considerations need to be made when planning an interrogation zone, some of which are mentioned below: 1. Reading at dock doors: Dock door portals are fairly commonplace for reading tags at dock doors. Some of the considerations when reading tags at dock doors include placement of the antennas and angle of the antennas to the direction of tag movement. It can be easily demonstrated that antennas placed at a 45 degree angle facing the oncoming tags create a larger area of interrogation and lead to higher dwell time of tags in the interrogation zone. Portals and antennas often need to be protected by padded bollards to prevent accidental damage by forklifts and hand trucks. 2. Reading on conveyor belts: When RFID tags are read on boxes running on a conveyor system, the biggest issue is to ensure proper readability at the speed of the conveyor operation, as well as logic that needs to be implemented based on the status of tag reads. One issue with conveyor belts is the presence of metal rollers on the belts which may cause erratic read behavior because of reflection on the metal. Also metal rollers make it impossible to place reader antennas underneath the conveyor belts. Often these metal rollers need to be replaced by plastic ones to ensure that tags can be read from underneath the conveyor belts. 3. Reading on forklifts: Typically fixed RFID readers are not designed for operation on forklifts, because of the tremendous amount of vibration caused by the forklifts. Specially designed readers (such as the Motorola/Symbol RD5000) is used for this purpose. Typically these readers are capable of communicating the data to a mobile device on the forklift or to a net work server over WLAN. The above are just some examples of special cases and situations that require particular attention while setting up an interrogation zone.
RFID peripherals
The last, but certainly not the least is the topic of RFID peripherals. Typically in addition to the RFID readers and networking equipment, an RFID installation may involve RFID printer encoders, automated label applicators, programmable logic controllers, visual feedback devices such as displays and light stacks, audible feedback devices such as buzzers and horns, sensors and triggers
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such as photo eyes, ultrasonic sensors, infrared sensors, loop detectors and so on. A successful RFID installation will need to incorporate data from all these devices in order to ensure smooth operation of the system, and a positive ROI from the investment.
Summary
The above are just a few of the issues related to the RFID concept and how it is used in business. A complete review of topics related to RFID is beyond the scope of this course, but this will give you a decent understanding of the technology. We are now going to look at the data management issues associated with RFID and businesses that want to integrate RFID in their supply chains.
Questions to Ponder
1. An automated barcode camera scanner with an array of barcode cameras can achieve similar effect of having an RFID reader in a conveyor belt system, but costs almost 5 times as much. Still industry is sold on barcode cameras but not RFID portals. What do you think is the reason behind this? 2. A small book retailer has approached you asking whether RFID will save him money in the long run (say 3-5 years). Can you give think of five reasons why the investment in RFID will save the company in the long run?
Last updated: Tuesday, July 5, 2011 6:37 PM by Arijit Sengupta

Segment 1 - Auto-ID and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) As Data Sources in The Supply Chain

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Segment 1 - Auto-ID and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) As Data Sources in The Supply Chain

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Copyright:

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Auto-ID and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) as data sources in the supply chain

Table 1. Comparison of popular Auto-ID technologies

Inductive and Backscatter coupling

Antenna Power and Cable Loss

EPCGlobal tag regulations

Tag characteristics and implementation

Interrogation Zone Basics

Last updated: Tuesday, July 5, 2011 6:37 PM by Arijit Sengupta

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