Levi's Tests RFID Use Successfully

The Brazilian subsidiary of the Levi's American brand of jeans, shirts, belts, caps and footwear has become the latest adopter of radio frequency identification technology for tracking and inventory control. The successful deployment, carried out by iTag Tecnologia, is already bringing positive results in the first months since deployment during the second half of 2017.

Levi's Brazil decided to test the RFID solution at its own stores, which encompass a total of 78 points of sale throughout the country, primarily because they use the same enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. As such, the implantation has become less complex compared to the other 62 stores, which utilize 12 different ERPs. The first test of the solution occurred this year on Black Friday, when the company accounted for a 56 percent increase in sales compared to last year, thanks to several factors. However, the firm was unable to accurately determine how much of this was due to RFID, says Rui Araújo Silva, the general director of Levi's Brazil.

"One thing is certain: the ability to easily and quickly replace parts on the shelves was one of the determining factors in this success in our store sales growth," Silva says. "We just do not know how much it was thanks to RFID specifically, because we are running a series of improvements in store processes and collection decisions this year, and are also being impacted by a significant improvement in the country's economic scenario." Silva predicts a Christmas season marked by good business this year.

According to Silva, all signs indicate that with RFID, it was possible to more efficiently meet the needs of in-store customers this year than last year. Most likely, he says, had the company not successfully deployed the technology, its sales might have been hampered by an inability to supply points of sale regularly and accurately. This view is shared by Jefferson de Paulo, the director of logistics and distribution at Levi's Brazil, who manages the placement of iTag's EM 4124 tags on all merchandise sold in Brazil—20 percent of which is locally produced, with the rest imported from outside the country. The company currently consumes 50,000 RFID tags per month.

Levi's is using RFID to track products from when they are received at the company's distribution center (DC). This involves the finalization of purchase orders, transfers, shipment to stores and inventory counts upon receipt. The technology is also being used in sales and inventory processes, in addition to an anti-theft solution.

At the DC, where the labels are printed, the test will enable the company to receive goods and finalize purchase orders. Sales invoicing for the multi-brand franchises will also take place at the DC, before goods are transferred to its own stores. The sealed packages are then checked, in order to compare the items within with the invoice of goods. Having RFID tags inserted in all products, the company explains, makes it easier to control inventory and the location of goods.

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17 Things You Might Not Know About Gen 2 RFID Tag Memory Banks

UHF Gen 2 RFID tags have four memory banks:

EPC

TID

User

Reserved

The chipset, or integrated circuit (IC), houses these four memory banks and is where all the data is stored. Some chipsets have different bit allocations between the four banks to allow for more user memory or a longer EPC number. Each chipset is unique, but the same basic principles apply to all.

Below are 17 facts about UHF Gen 2 memory banks:

1. Each bank is labeled with a number and title assigned by EPCglobal.

(11) User Memory Bank

(10) TID Memory Bank

(01) EPC Memory Bank

(00) Reserved Memory Bank

2. The kill and access passwords are stored in the Reserved Memory Bank (00).

3. Access and kill passwords are both 32-bits in length.

4. The User Memory bank provides a place for user-defined data.

5. The User Memory Bank is not included on all chipsets, but if a tag has user memory, it comes blank from the manufacturer.

6. User Memory ranges from 32 bits to over 64k.

7. EPC stands for “Electronic Product Code” not to be confused with UPC, which stands for “Universal Product Code”.

8. EPC numbers vary in length from 96 bits to 496 bits. The most common EPC lengths are 96 and 128 bits.

9. Some chipset manufacturers make their EPC numbers unique, while others do not. This is important to note when you purchase RFID tags. If you purchase tags without unique EPC’s, when the tags are read, it will look as though only one tag is in the read field being reported.  If tag EPC’s are not unique, they can be encoded to unique values using an RFID printer (if inlays or RFID labels) or by encoding one tag at a time.

10. Unless the EPC memory area is locked, EPC values can be read and rewritten as many times as necessary.

11. When RFID tags are placed on items for certain applications like supply chain or retail, the EPC number is encoded using an Identification Scheme. EPC Identification Schemes were created by GS1 and explain how to encode the EPC number depending on the use of the item. Identification Schemes are set up to explain the bit allocation for the EPC number and define the number of bits in the Header, Filter Value, Partition, Company Prefix, Item Reference, and Serial Number. These schemes were created to standardize EPC allocations and are used in industries like the Department of Defense, and in areas like global trade (GTIN), and global returnable assets (GRAI).

12. TID stands for “Tag Identifier”, and is not to be confused with a serial identification number or SGTIN (a common Identification Scheme).

More info visit http://www.asiarfid.com/rfid-basics/17-things-you-might-not-know-about-gen-2-rfid-tag-memory-banks.html

French Researchers, Paper Company Release NFC Printing Method on Paper

Researchers at the University of Grenoble Alpes have developed a method for printing the electronics in a Near Field Communication (NFC) 13.56 MHz RFID tag, using metal-based inks on PowerCoat paper. The system was tested with two printing methods and three sintering methods for conductive ink to create the tag's loop antenna. The work was conducted with researcher Mohamed Saadaoui, of the Ecole des Mines de Saint-Etienne, Centre de Microélectronique de Provence, in Gardanne.

The research was conducted as a doctoral thesis for Victor Thénot, sponsored by paper company Arjowiggins, using PowerCoat, an Arjowiggins brand of paper products designed for the printing of electronic circuitry.

The project, titled "Printing and Selective Sintering of Metal based Inks on Paper; Optimization of Electrical Properties of RFID-HF Loops for Industrial Production," leverages a smooth paper substrate designed specifically for printed elections. Thénot's doctoral thesis defense took place in July, 2017, and is now being released in the form of a paper.

Most NFC tags and other passive RFID tags are built from etched copper or aluminum antennas and a chip applied to polyimide substrates, or PET, PEN or PVC material. Alternatively, if the electronics are printed, that is typically accomplished using conductive inks on a plastic substrate. However, the Grenoble Alpes researchers note that both the printed and non-printed versions of tags, with the plastic substrate, have a significant carbon footprint.

The group sought to find a way to provide a renewable solution, explains Denis Curtil, a research engineer at the University of Grenoble Alpes, with printed RFID tags on paper, that offered a good performance rate. They designed the printable tag system to offer tag makers a paper alternative to plastic, non-recyclable materials more typically used in RFID tags, he says.

Cellulose fibers present in paper serve as the most abundant polymer on Earth, the researchers say, and provide a renewable source that can serve as a substrate for printed electronics. "The substrate being paper, this resource is bio-based, renewable and recyclable," says Nadège Reverdy-Bruas, an associate professor at the University of Grenoble Alpes and the project's supervisor. "Another advantage is its low cost compared to other substrates dedicated to printed electronics." 

More info visit http://www.asiarfid.com/rfid-news/french-researchers-paper-company-release-nfc-printing-method-on-paper.html

RFID Opens the Door for Children at Multiple Sclerosis Housing Facility

Wheelchair-bound children at Australian non-profit health-care facility MS Queensland Youngcare, located in Albany Creek, Queensland, are employing radio frequency identification to access rooms and enclosed areas, hands-free. The system, provided by N.A.S.A. Electronic Security Systems and ISCS Brisbane, was taken live in July of this year, using Nedap Identification Systems' uPASS fixed UHF RFID readers and software built into an ICT WX Protege controller.

Queensland Youngcare provides high-care housing for young people who might otherwise be placed in less appropriate facilities, such as nursing-care centers at which most residents are elderly. Children residing at the facility have multiple sclerosis (MS), which leaves them confined to wheelchairs with limited mobility. Therefore, the seemingly simple task of passing through closed doors poses a challenge. Historically, when the residents moved through gates and doorways, they required the manual assistance of personal helpers pushing their wheelchairs, This, of course, meant the patients were completely reliant on the helpers any time they wanted to move from one area to another.

MS Queensland Youngcare's new housing complex, built this year, is dedicated to being a very different kind of facility, says Norman Larden, N.A.S.A. Electronic Security Systems' managing director. The new facility is designed to feature greater autonomy for its young residents. There are eight units, each of which accommodates a single resident or family.

N.A.S.A. Electronic Security Systems is a Brisbane-based security systems division of Australasian Intercom Systems Pty. Ltd. Three years ago, the company opted to launch a UHF RFID-based access-control system to offer to its customers. It selected a solution developed by ISCS Brisbane, Larden says, and acquired training for installation and servicing from Murray Cooper, ISCS's technical sales director. Since completing Cooper's training, the security company has installed the technology for corporations such as MS Queensland using the Nedap RFID reader system. "N.A.S.A. now only uses and works with ISCS Brisbane technicians and products exclusively," Larden says, "due to the product quality and technical support offered by ISCS Brisbane."

Installation at MS Queensland Youngcare was a fast-paced project. In fact, the system was installed and commissioned within a week, N.A.S.A. reports. During that spa of time, the technology company installed 29 reader gates within eight care units at the facility. Each care unit includes three Nedap readers: one installed at the main entry and another at the back door entry, with a third to access the back garden or patio. In addition to those 24 readers, five more were installed for general access in common rooms, the kitchen area and other public areas within the facility.

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Factoring in the Environment: RFID Deployments

Deploying an RFID application without consideration of the environment can potentially lead to thousands of dollars spent with less than stellar read rates. If positive results cannot be provided within the required timeframe, the project may be abandoned and the organization deprived of potential time and cost savings.

Whether the RF waves are absorbed (as with liquids) or reflected (as with metals), any source of interference in the environment may cause problems unless properly mitigated.

Liquids absorb RF energy.

What’s the Problem?

Tagging Liquid-Filled Containers

In the past, it was nearly impossible to tag liquid-filled containers because the absorption of RF energy by the liquid would leave little RF energy for the RFID tag to receive, much less to backscatter in reply to the RFID reader. Now, there are quite a few options for tagging liquid-filled containers.

How can you mitigate it?

Option: Use Low Frequency (LF) RFID instead of High or Ultra-High Frequency. LF RFID does not have the issues with water that higher frequencies struggle with, so it can be used for animal tracking or water-filled items. The downside is slower data transmission speeds and shorter read ranges relative to the higher frequencies.

Option: Use UHF labels approved specifically for use on water-filled containers like the Omni-ID IQ 600 Labels and the Confidex Silverline.

Option: Use UHF Near-Field tags approved for use on water-filled containers like the Alien SIT tag and the SMARTRAC Trap.

Option: Use regular UHF inlays or labels and place a spacer between the liquid and the tag made from foam, silicon, or another thick material (e.g. the Foam-Backed ShortDipole).

What’s the Problem?

Tagging Items in Liquids

Impossible with UHF until a few years ago, tagging items in liquids can now be done thanks to the better tag construction and design.

How can you mitigate it?

Option: Use Low Frequency (LF) RFID instead of High or Ultra-High Frequency. LF RFID does not have the issues with water that higher frequencies struggle with, so it can be used for animal tracking or water-filled items. Again, the downside is slower data transmission speeds and shorter read ranges relative to the higher frequencies.

Option: Use UHF Near-Field tags approved for use in water-filled containers like the Alien SIT tag. The read range will be very short, but these tags will still read. NOTE: there is no guarantee that this will work consistently for an application; testing is always key.

What’s the Problem?

Liquid in the Environment

Whether the application is outdoors near lakes or ponds, or indoors around water tanks or water-filled machinery, liquid can play a role in an RFID application because it absorbs RF energy.

More info visit http://www.asiarfid.com/rfid-journal/factoring-in-the-environment-rfid-deployments.html

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