Overview:
RFID is taking its place as the leading solution for automated product identification. While wireless technologies have made such a success in telecommunications, the unbeatable benefits of using radio waves for the basic identification tasks have not been utilized.
Many business and technology drivers forecast booming for RFID. The lifestyles in the modern society expect full automation of the simple and repeated everyday tasks. The manufacturing and delivery chain of goods up to the end users makes an ideal application platform for radio frequency identification. In the almost endless number of checking points for the high volume goods and materials, the demand for faultlessness and high quality cannot be reached cost efficiently in any other means.
The applications of the new RFID methods are limited only by our imagination. To take an example, in the supermarkets barcodes are used now for the product and price information transfer. With the barcode solution, each item must be handled individually by the cashier. With RFID tags on all product items, the customers could choose the method of payment with their radio terminals and just walk through the gate without stopping.
The semiconductor and other electronic components technology is a driving force to this development. The RFID reader/programmer can be manufactured in high volumes at the cost of tens of dollars and the RFID tag at the cost of tens of cents a piece.
Standardization is a key issue for the success of RFID. As in any start-up phase of a new global business, proprietary company standards and standards based on vendor alliances emerge first. This is the case for RFID products now. More universal standards will emerge later.
When estimating the overall markets for RFID, the business analyst faces “classical” questions. What is the critical price for the market to accept the new product solution and where the first investments are made to get the train moving? The price level of RFID has now crossed the edge for the phase 2 use, for the internal needs of the manufacturers, distributors and retail companies. The phase 3 will include the RFID tag on the end user products.
After the initial build-up steps of the RFID automated production and distribution systems, new high value business segments will emerge. The RFID basic hardware and software platforms will allow for developing the overall business chain. Integrated value added software, together with consulting, will be major new RFID business segments.
In the first part of the study, we estimate the RFID business growth based on the market segments and on the vendor products to fulfil the market requirements. From these segments, we sum up the estimates for the global and area markets.
The second part of the study includes an extensive analysis of RFID technologies, applications and vendors. Additionally, one active long range RFID system is tested. Detailed measurement results are included.
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