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A Quick Tour of RFID in Manufacturing. Dennis Carmichael, President. Introduction. Dennis Carmichael of Cimulus, Inc. Cimulus, Inc. Data Collection and Management Focused on using technology for efficiency and accuracy Former member of EPCglobal, defining the EPC standard Me
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A Quick Tour of RFID in Manufacturing Dennis Carmichael, President
Introduction Dennis Carmichael of Cimulus, Inc. • Cimulus, Inc. • Data Collection and Management • Focused on using technology for efficiency and accuracy • Former member of EPCglobal, defining the EPC standard • Me • Electrical engineer, co-founder of Cimulus and ERT Systems • Career in developing practical applications for technology
What is RF-ID? Radio-Frequency Identification • The Technology: Evolutionary • Just another member of the Auto-ID family, alongside bar codes, OCR, image processing, thumbprint scanners, etc. • Use-Cases: Revolutionary? • No silver bullet, but offers some unique capabilities that open a few new doors RFID is one of many Auto-ID Technologies
Applying RF-ID Comparison of RFID vs. Bar codes • Extremely Cheap & Reliable • Technically Simple • Large Existing Infrastructure
Applying RF-ID Comparison of RFID vs. Bar codes • Extremely Cheap & Reliable • Technically Simple • Large Existing Infrastructure • Passive Read with No Line-of-Sight • More Data, such as Serial Numbers • Read/Write capability • Physical & Data Security
Applications Putting RFID to Practical use • Locating and Tracking • Dies, reusable containers, tools and inventory: watch them without expanding procedures • Pack/Ship Validation • Portal readers to verify part type, quantity, and serial numbers, post-pack / pre-ship
Applications Putting RFID to Practical use • Liquid/Hazardous Chemicals • Unwieldy & heavy containers, meeting tracking & reporting requirements without system integration • Washable Tags for Textiles • Rugged tags that can be read without careful positioning, auto-sorting at high speeds
Challenges • Read range & Interference • Distance and orientation, materials, and “shadowing” • Reliability & Costs • “Off the roll” quality (<100%), damage in use, costs vary wildly • EPCglobal, ISO, Local Standards • Frequency band allocations, signal strengths, even privacy • Industry Adoption • 30+ years of semi-custom applications Think Win-Win… The Only Way It’ll Work
Thank You! Dennis Carmichael Cimulus, Inc. (734) 327-9532 www.cimulus.com