Food-processing technology company Marel has released an RFID-enabled system that moves fish through weighing, trimming and quality-control processes, while tracking data and identifying product for inspection, based on information collected by RFID readers and antennas.
An oil and gas company is installing a solution to locate personnel in the event of an emergency at its construction site in Newfoundland, Canada, using radio frequency identification technology provided by systems integrator Focus FS. The system consists of active RFID tags, readers, exciters and software from GuardRFID Solutions.
Several industrial linen companies in the United Kingdom and France are testing a new RFID tag that is literally woven into a textile or fabric product, which could hamper counterfeiters and thieves.
Research conducted by IDTechEx, and published in RFID Forecasts, Players and Opportunities 2014-2024, finds that the RFID market – including tags, readers, software and services for passive and active RFID – will grow from $7.88bn in 2013 to $9.2bn in 2014. IDTechEx expects that the RFID market will reach $30.2bn in 2024. Most growth is due to active RFID/RTLS systems, interrogators, and then tags, in terms of total money spent.
Behind the scenes the electronics industry is leaping into brave new worlds of printed electronics, electronic inks, and laser Nano and other innovations. Quite frankly we don’t think any of these innovations will mightily impact the current trajectory of RFID as we know it today. But in our life time there will be radical changes.
Retailers that have rolled out RFID have traditionally used handheld readers. However, some are starting to use exit-monitoring or even whole-store illumination approaches. Smart shelves have yet to take off. The dynamics are changing, which could influence which strategy makes the most sense for a given store. Which strategy is best for you?
