wilamowski-b-m-irwin-j-d-industrial-communication-systems-2011

8-18 Industrial Communication Systems
8.24 affordable Tag
From the aforementioned pilot projects, the ability of RFID in detecting a tag at a distance has been
fully demonstrated. Reasonable saving was observed in manpower and fewer penalties were paid for
late delivery and other errors. However, it is not sure whether the saving is good enough to cover the
extra cost arising from dumping the free-of-charge bar codes. Moreover, could the capital investment
be recovered? Both systems were highly commended because accuracy and efficiency have been
heavily weighted in the system assessment, while the cost of the implementation was played down.
Based on the price of an RFID tag in 2006, the RFID can only be afforded by shops with a high profit
margin, such as boutiques and gourmet stores. Fortunately, due to the economy of scale, the unit cost
of a tag will go down.
According to the Uniform Code Council (UCC), the issuer of bar codes, five billion bar codes
are scanned daily. The UCC estimation may be optimistic, but its order is relatively trustworthy.
Supposing the bar code on every product is replaced by a nonreusable tag, the annual consumption
would be measured in hundreds of billions. With the projected modernization of populous nations,
such as China, India, and Brazil, this number could easily be doubled or tripled. Hence, it is foreseen
that the direct-from-foundry price of a microchip could be reduced to 5 ¢ in the coming years, if not
months. Besides the die, making a tag involves printing an antenna on a piece of paper, bonding a die
onto the antenna, downloading a unique ID number and other information into the memory, performing
a critical functional test, packaging the tags in a box, and sending it to the end user. Then, a tag is
embedded in a product for shipment. Using efficient manufacturing technologies and proven logistics
management in China, the total cost of adding an RFID tag in a made-in-China product is approximately
one renminbi (RMB), equal to 12 ¢ US. At this price, the RFID is affordable for most products
sold in department stores. In fact, another factor that drives the tag price down is competition. Today,
there are hundreds of UHF RFID tags of various sizes available in the market and the prices on the
forms shown in Figure 8.13 range from 8 ¢ to 50 ¢ US.
Since the technologies used in making 900.MHz RFIC is rather mature, the price of a microchip
will not fall substantially. On the other hand, the cost of supplementation will probably stay firm
because the gain in technological improvement, if any, may not offset the rises in overheads such as
salary, rental, financial charge, and code administration. Together with the projected devaluation of
the U.S. dollar, the ultimate price of a tag will probably hang around 10 ¢, twice as expensive as the
usual prediction of 5 ¢.
At 10 ¢ a piece, the RFID is ready for use in supermarkets, convenient stores, and corner shops. For
small-value items, such as candies and lollipops, the RFID is also applicable provided that they are
bundled together into a family pack. However, use of disposable RFID tags for fresh produce at the
retail level may not be ready in the coming years. Thus, it is foreseen that the RFID and the bar code will
coexist in a computerized point-of-sale; while cash, electronic cash, credit card, and debit cards will be
used elsewhere. RFID is not just used in affluent countries; it will be extensively used in the emergent
markets too.
8.25 Ubiquity of RFID
At 900.MHz, most packaging materials are RF-lucent; thus, there is no need to place an RFID tag at a
prominent position on the covering box as would be the case if it were a bar code. For better security, it
is advisable to hide the tag inside the box, especially for expensive items, such as jewelry, clothes, purses,
bonnets, watches, mobile phones, cameras, and digital organizers. In fact, the number of tags inside a
carton is not necessarily one. By tagging each module individually, the completeness of an electronic or
a nonelectronic system, such as an audio-visual system, a personal computer, or a business suit, could be
double-checked before the final packaging process.
© 2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC