Mobile RFID evolves

There has been a major shift away from fixed readers at dock doors to mobile readers that collect RFID data anywhere in the warehouse or distribution center.

By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large -- Modern Materials Handling, 5/7/2007

When it comes to collecting RFID data, mobile readers are going to be a player. That was clearly the message coming out of RFID Journal Live in Orlando last week. It also represents a major evolution in the way end users are thinking about where to apply RFID, and in the kinds of solutions RFID suppliers are offering.

Fixed readers for dock doors and other portals are still in suppliers’ product portfolios. But fixed portals are no longer where the action is, according to Kevin Ashton, vice president of marketing for ThingMagic and a co-founder of the Auto-ID Labs at MIT.

“End users are intrigued by mobility,” says Ashton. “And what we as vendors have learned is that the world will not change to meet the limitations of RFID systems. RFID systems are going to change to meet the needs of readers.”

That means RFID solutions are going mobile. But there is one notable tradeoff. Mobile RFID solutions are still not as accurate as fixed readers, but they are improving.

“Right now, you can only do mobility if you can accept less than 100% read rates,” says Ashton. “For that you need a fixed reader at a portal. But we are clearly heading to a world where we’re going to see a mix of portal and mobile solutions.”

While the following is not an exhaustive list, here are three examples of the mobile solutions demonstrated at RFID Journal Live.

ThingMagic unveiled a new version of an embedded RFID reader that is no bigger than a credit card but can run on a battery for up to 10 hours. That makes it ideal for mobile devices like lift trucks, hand-held readers, and mobile RFID printers. The reader can also be installed in conveyors to track work-in-process.

Accu-Sort demonstrated a production model of a work-in-process reader it first unveiled in January at ProMat 2007. Designed to be installed in conveyors, the reader tracks RFID-enabled totes, containers, components and parts as they move through production processes.

ADT, a division of Tyco, introduced a mobile RFID cart for storage rooms, warehouses and warehouse-style stores. The cart is equipped with a Gen 2 UHF RFID reader. Antennas are attached to a 180-degree rotating extendable tower that can read RFID tags on pallets, cartons and products stored up to 16 feet high. Onboard software can capture that information in facilities where a fixed RFID infrastructure has not been installed.