Abstract
We studied the characteristics of four commercially available RFID tags such as their orientation on an asset and their position in a three dimensional real world environment to obtain comprehensive data to substantiate a baseline for the use of RFID technology in a diverse supply chain management setting. Using RFID tags manufactured by four different vendors and a GHz Transverse Electromagnetic (GTEM) cell, in which an approximately constant electromagnetic (EM) field was maintained, we characterized the tags based on horizontal and vertical orientation on a simulated asset. With these baseline characteristics determined, we moved two of the four tags through a real world environment in three dimensions using an industrial robotic system to determine the effect of asset position in relation to the reader on tag readability. Combining the data collected over these two studies, we provide a rich analysis of the feasibility of asset tracking in a real world supply chain, where there would likely be multiple tag types. We offer fine grained analyses of the tag types and make recommendations for diverse supply chain asset tracking.
Highlights
Total supply chain visibility is the key application of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology
Higher attenuation rates imply good readability whereas lower attenuation rates are indicative of poor readability. This procedure formed the basis for computing the directivity and frequency characteristics of the RFID tags
While the research reported in this paper did not explicitly tackle these issues, it signifies a preliminary step into gauging the reliability and overall feasibility of incorporating RFID technology in supply chain environments
Summary
Total supply chain visibility is the key application of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. This means that as an asset or product travels through the supply chain, its attributes and sourcing information are associated with it. The data would precede the arrival of the asset and flow backward. Data that flows backward through the supply chain shows the lifecycle of the asset all the way back to the original manufacturer or material suppler. When this ideal data flow occurs, we call this total supply chain visibility. Autonomously gathered, RFID data enables this control through total asset visibility up and down the supply chain
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