RFID: Technology Due Diligence What is technology due diligence? What is RFID? How does it work? What technology stage is RFID in? RFID: Technology Due Diligence 1
Right Technology at the Right Time Technology Due Diligence Black & White TV Color TV HDTV Satellites GPS Soldier Boat Cars CD Optical Storage Medium CD Music Data DVD Videos MP3 Player Ipod Ipod Nano RFID: Technology Due Diligence 2
What is RFID? World War II Airplane Bar Codes RFID Tag RFID: Technology Due Diligence 3
What is RFID? Who are you? I m Account Number OK $$debit account number Ka-ching I m a pallet of paper towels RFID Portal Pallet What are you? Ok, I ve logged you into the system RFID: Technology Due Diligence 4
Tags & Readers Chip Antenna Array Passive Tags Reader Fixed Location What is RFID? 5
EPC Data Structure (Class 1 Gen 2) Header EPC Management Object Class Serial Number 0-7 Bits 8-35 Bits 36-59 Bits 60-95 Bits 96 Bits What is RFID? 6
Communications Protocol Reader How a single reader resolves communication w/multiple tags (1000)? Shared Medium What is RFID? 7
Dock Doors with RFID RFID Portals What is RFID? 8
Wal-Mart Implementation Today Wal-Mart Distribution Center RFID Portals RFID No RFID Present Wal-Mart Store No RFID Present No RFID Present RFID Tag Manufacturing Plant Acme Company Pallet Acme s Warehouse How RFID Works Today (pallets and cases) 9
The Vision Step 1 Component 1 RFID Tag Truck Component 2 Manufacturing Plant Company ABC RFID Tag Truck Final Product Assembly RFID Tag Component n Manufacturing Plant Company QEF RFID Tag Truck Manufacturing Plant Company XYZ waystations along delivery route How RFID Works The Vision 10
The Vision Step 2 Two Final Products RFID Tag Truck 1 Delivery Route Company A Distribution Center Warehouse RFID Tag Store Front Home Depot Truck 2 Delivery Route Company Z Distribution Center Warehouse waystations along delivery route RFID Tag Store Front Loews How RFID Works The Vision 11
The Vision Step 3 MP3 Manufacturer RFID Tag How RFID Works The Vision 12
The Vision Reader Modes Conveyor Belt Single Reader Mode (Today) Dock Indoor Portal Forklift Truck Multiple Reader Mode (Today?) Reader Shelves Forklift Dense Reader Mode (Tomorrow) Warehouse How RFID Works 13
Today s Data Management Process Warehouse Management Solutions Data Other Systems Edgeware Tagged Item Reader Information Services Enterprise Resource Planner How RFID Works - Today 14
Today s Virtual Private Network Tagged by Company A Server Database Tagged by Company B Company Z Extranet* Server Database Tagged by Company C eg. Walmart s Retail Link Network Company Z Challenges Data synchronization Store + forward vs near real-time Integration of existing WMS and/or ERP How RFID Works -Today 15
RFID Software Middleware Edgeware EPC - IS ( The Vision ) How RFID works - Today 16
The Vision Data Management Architecture Reader URL = XYZ Server ONS Resolver PML Server EPC=111101011 Look up 111 010 11 Product Info Get URL EPC=001101111 URL points to this record/file Product info How RFID Works The Vision 17
EPC Data Structure (Class 1 Gen 2) Header EPC Management Object Class Serial Number 0-7 Bits 8-35 Bits 36-59 Bits 60-95 Bits 96 Bits Faster more reliable reads Operates better in dense reader mode Better security Migration flexibility How RFID Works - Today 18
EPC Tag Classes Class 0 Passive: Write Once/Read many Sunset Read range: 3 meters Class 1 Passive: Read/Write Gen 2 Read range: 3 meters Class 2 Passive: Class 1 plus memory Gen 2(draft?) Read range: 3 meters Class 3 Active Gen 2(draft?) Read range: 100 meters Class 4 Active (tag can speak first) Gen 2(draft?) Read range: 100 meters Class? Key is - can tag be written to more than once, - how much can be written to the tag - who speaks first - distance limitations How RFID Works - Today 19
Basic Dataflow Architecture Database Record corresponding to EPC 1011101 Record contains information about the item (eg. Where it is, where and when it was manufactured, when it was shipped, etc ) Challenge Data Synchronization < > 1011101 < > < > < > < > < > Physical Markup Language Data Format similar to XML (HTML) How RFID Works - The Vision 20
Typical ONS Query Local System ONS Resolver URI Conversion PML Page EPC-IS Server Local Caching Nameserver DNS Cloud How RFID Works The Vision 21
Basic Dataflow Architecture Tagged by Company A Company Z Reader Company A Server + Database (PML) Tagged by Company C Server Database Tagged by Company B Extra Net Internet Verisign ONS redirect Company B Server + Database (PML) Company C Server + Database (PML) How RFID Works - The Vision 22
Data Synchronization Issues Clean existing (relevant) database - database fields - database internal interfaces Protocol and Process Testing - basic interoperability testing underway (stress testing??) At this time no reverse supply chain testing How RFID works - Today 23
Security Issues Privacy concerns Overwriting tags (RFID hacking) Security by obscurity How RFID works - Today 24
Right Technology at the Right Time Marcy Marcy C. Egges C. Egges November May 18, 2, 2006 Technology Due Diligence RFID Portals No RFID Present RFID RFID No RFID Present RFID: Technology Due Diligence 25
RFID Technology Landscape Roles played by: technology producers/manufacturers end-users/consumers government/country biases intellectual property (IP) RFID: Technology Due Diligence 26
Technology Stages Stage 1: Technology Concept Stage 2: Technology Feasibility Stage 3: Alpha Pilots Stage 4: Beta Pilots Stage 5: Standard Pilots Stage 6: Mainstream Operational Deployments Stage 7: Technology Reaches Commodity RFID: Technology Due Diligence 27
Stage 1: Technology Concept Description: The lightbulb moment Example: RFID for supply chain Environmental Attributes: Entrepreneurial or academic research lab No limitations on operational environment RFID: Technology Due Diligence 28
Stage 2: Technology Feasibility Analysis Description: Design architecture and build and test prototype Example: MIT s AutoID lab 1999 The Internet of Things Environmental Attributes: Entrepreneurial or academic research lab No limitations on operational environment Organizational bodies begin to study and take ownership of potential standards process RFID: Technology Due Diligence 29
Stage 3: Alpha Pilots Description: 3 rd generation prototypes developed by a few select mainstream components and system producers Example: TI and Alien RFID tags and readers 2003 Environmental Attributes: Real world but controlled application environments Multiple component and system providers, standards process in full swing RFID: Technology Due Diligence 30
Stage 4: Beta Pilots Description: Broad distribution of technology into similar business environments and CTO s with pilots underway are expanding to broader (more mainstream deployment in their operations.) First version of standards has been ratified. Example: Wal-Mart and DoD, Best Buy Environmental Attributes: Real world but controlled application environments Multiple component and system providers, standards process in full swing RFID: Technology Due Diligence 31
RFID: Review RFID is in Stage 3: EPC class 1 gen2 tags and readers, tag and readers wireless interface defined Several missing components of the architecture: - ONS - Data Synchronization GS1 - EPC classes 3, 4 etc. (not required for RFID to evolve to next stages) - Security What should you watch/track? RFID: Technology Due Diligence 32
RFID: GPS Integration GPS Mapping RFID Tag RFID: Technology Due Diligence 33
What will tell me RFID is in Stage 4? More retail chains adopting Standards stabilizing Equipment costs dropping RFID: Technology Due Diligence 34
DataFlows Dimension - Recommendations Are you looking at RFID? You must do a Technology Due Diligence Do you have all the resources/talent in-house? Unless you re an engineering company, the answer is probably No How do you evaluate outside resources? Don t accept responses that state ROI analysis isn t necessary It s obvious Systems engineers not RFID systems integrators RFID: Technology Due Diligence 35
DataFlows Dimension Systems Engineering Systems Engineering is a holistic, product oriented engineering discipline whose responsibility is to create and execute an interdisciplinary process to ensure that customer and stakeholder needs are satisfied in a high quality, trustworthy, cost efficient and schedule compliant manner throughout a system's life cycle. (Bayhill) Science determines what IS... Component engineering determines what CAN BE... Systems engineering determines what SHOULD BE. RFID: Technology Due Diligence 36
Resources http://www.dataflows.com/rfid_overview.html http://www.epcglobalinc.org http://www.aimglobal.org/technologies/rfid/what_is_rfid http://www.iso.org/iso/en/cataloguedetailpage.cataloguedetail?csnumber =34117&ICS1=35&ICS2=40&ICS3= http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1034.txt?number=1034 Trade Publications: http://www.rfidjournal.com http://www.rfid-world.com/rfid/index.asp RFID: Technology Due Diligence 37