DTI visits leading RFID technology providers

Radio frequency identification is set to transform our daily life over the next ten years. Air travel, retail and healthcare are among the sectors to benefit from the technology, which involves storing and remotely retrieving data using RFID tags or transponders.

A recent DTI Global Watch Mission to the US visited leading RFID technology providers, including Texas Instruments, Sun Microsystems, Intelleflex, Savi, Alien, Impinj and Intermec, to evaluate developments. The team also visited major users of RFID such as Wal-Mart, San Francisco International Airport and Ryder Systems.

At San Francisco International Airport, RFID is already used extensively. RFID tags enable bags to be quickly identified without the need to search for them manually, as is the case with barcode systems. Around 1.5 billion bags are carried each year globally, and every lost bag costs airlines 50.

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is one of the main drivers of RFID. The technology is currently used in 475 of its stores and by 300 suppliers, and has led to a 16 per cent reduction in ‘out of stock’ items. The company’s support for RFID is highly significant and will help to increase its take-up in the US and elsewhere.

DTI International Technology Promoter David Jack, who accompanied the mission, said, ‘Possibly the most interesting technology development we saw was the proposed use of Intelleflex battery-assisted smart passive tags for use by Boeing on the new Dreamliner 787. This technology is ideal for applications where parts traceability is mandatory, and the extended memory feature of Intelleflex tags will house critical information about the history of marked parts such as current part number, date of manufacture, serial number and country of origin, to be instantly available wherever and whenever needed.’

Ian Smith, chief executive of AIM UK, which co-ordinated the mission, added, ‘Wal-Mart is leading RFID deployment in the retail sector in the US using electronic product code (EPC) standards, and many other users are likely to follow suit. However the UK also has strengths in other, non-EPC applications such as the use of RFID in healthcare and for pet passports. Users should evaluate the most appropriate technology for their application.’