Tough competition for the bar code
October 18, 2006
There is a lot that radio frequency identification can do – but in practice, its possibilities are not endless. Only after you have conducted a cost-benefit comparison will you be able to see which AutoID technology is best for which area.
Demand for the automated registration of data, objects and people is on the rise. Technologies for automatic identification have been in existence for some time now. However, it is the RFID radio chips that make it possible to register data from a distance without contact and without even having to see the object, and make it possible to further process the information without any media glitches. In addition, these chips have a larger storage capacity and enable data to be entered more quickly.
How much and what kind of AutoID technology does a company need?
However, this technology has its price, since RFID requires companies to first revamp their existing IT infrastructure. Users need to be sure exactly what they want to use the technology for and then adjust their AutoID components to their needs in order to keep costs low. In many industries, such as retail, the barcode is still more cost-efficient than RFID. However, RFID has become a fixture in the logistics area, many application areas are still to be explored in the healthcare sector, and RFID is here to stay when it comes to cars (think anti-theft devices). Learn more about the potential of the various AutoID technologies in our White Paper on the right-hand side under Downloads.
