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Em uma pista de esqui na neve na Noruega, um esquiador desliza até o teleférico e vai direto em direção à catraca de acesso, sem diminuir a velocidade para mostrar um ingresso. Em um subúrbio da Dinamarca, a pressão sangüínea de uma mulher é monitorada enquanto ela trabalha em seu jardim. E durante um treinamento de segurança em uma refinaria de petróleo no Canadá, mais de 200 trabalhadores são rapidamente evacuados e instantaneamente contados.
O que todos esses cenários têm em comum? O RFID—radio frequency identification. Em todo o mundo e em todos os segmentos de mercado, os usos deste campo de tecnologia em constante evolução se expandem em um ritmo exponencial. Nós últimos dez anos, a inovação tinha seu foco na captura de informações precisas, garantindo que as etiquetas pudessem ser lidas em caixas ou paletas. Agora o foco está sendo alterado para a integração do RFID e outros dados de sensores—não apenas no ambiente corporativo, mas em toda a cadeia de valor de negócios. |
RFID PASSIVO –“O que é isto?” |
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Uma etiqueta passiva não contém uma bateria; a energia é fornecida pelo leitor. Quando as ondas de rádio do leitor são encontradas por uma etiqueta passiva, a antena em espiral dentro da etiqueta forma um campo magnético. A etiqueta retira a energia do leitor, transmitindo energia aos seus circuitos. A etiqueta então envia as informações codificadas na memória da etiqueta. |
RFID ATIVO – “Onde ele fica?” |
| Uma etiqueta RFID ativa é equipada com uma bateria que pode ser utilizada como uma fonte de energia parcial ou completa para o circuito e a antena da etiqueta. Algumas etiquetas ativas contêm baterias substituíveis para anos de uso; outras são unidades seladas. |
SENSORES DE CONDIÇÃO – “Como é isso?” |
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Etiquetas com sensores de condição não apenas têm uma bateria, mas também incluem circuitos que lêem e transmitem diagnósticos de volta para o seu sistema de sensores. As etiquetas monitoram as condições ambientais, comunicam-se com outros itens e colaboram para coletar dados que nenhum sensor único seria capaz de detectar. As informações então são alimentadas nos sistemas backend utilizando o software de rede. |
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When RFID first became a buzz word, the main question from early adopters was, "Can I get the beep?" or will the tag even work? And so began a period of trials and pilot implementations. Once the technology proved trustworthy, users realized they had a new bounty of data coming in, but no way to put it to work beyond the initial capability. Now, the innovation focus has shifted to transforming that data into business insights that can drive further innovation in process and strategy.
Adoption has spread across industries, with real innovation in aerospace and defense, automotive, consumer products, retail, pharmaceuticals, transportation, travel and hospitality and public services. And cross-industry investments in extended Internet technologies—such as RFID and sensor networks—fuel what will be an $11.6 billion global market by 2012. [Global Extended Internet Forecast 2006-2012, Forrester Research, Inc., September 2006] Driving this steady rate of adoption is the equally steady decline in technology costs, with tag prices dropping 40 percent over the past few years.
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The real value of RFID technology stems from the insight that stands to be gained from the identification, location and subsequent control of that item—and applying that insight to business.
Yet still the marketplace hears 'RFID' and thinks 'retail.' And that is a costly mistake. RFID is not industry specific—it's business value specific. RFID is more than a locator beacon. It's an illuminating technology, offering new visibility into areas of your operations, either in facilities, processes or trading partners, to identify issues as well as new opportunities that can help you strengthen your business. RFID is an enabling tool that is not only a source of powerful information, but a source of true business innovation.
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Counterfeit drugs are a very expensive and potentially deadly problem. One way to combat the issue is to track and trace legitimate drugs using RFID tags, keeping a record of the chain of custody all the way from manufacturing floor to pharmacy shelf. Track and trace implementations are now being mandated by government and agencies around the world, as product and patient safety are global concerns.
- When fully implemented, an RFID solution for even a single brand could provide benefits estimated at $11 million per $1 billion of drugs per year, according to the Healthcare Distribution Management Association.
- RFID tagging can aid law enforcement. If a thief is caught with a bottle that has been tagged, the authenticity of the drug, its origin, and possibly the source from which the thief acquired it, can be identified.
- RFID tagging can also potentially aid in case of a product recall. Instead of pulling every bottle of a product off the shelves, the tags will allow retailers or pharmacies to identify which bottles are from the affected lot, and pull only the suspect ones.
- Finally, RFID can help the pharmaceutical company manage its supply chain more efficiently, with its ability to provide real-time updates to inventory systems.
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AMR Research has found that for most grocers, fresh items make up 50 percent of profits, but account for 60 percent of shrinkage-items lost to spoilage or theft. Tracking the temperature of perishable products as they move through the cold chain can improve the quality and lengthen the shelf life of fresh products, such as fruits and vegetables. From the farm to the processing center to the truck bed to the delivery dock, an RFID solution can help grocers identify places within the supply chain where produce are allowed to get too warm or too cold and adjust accordingly.
- RFID can potentially save a large grocery store chain hundreds of millions of dollars annually and cut the 60 percent loss in half.
- The grocer can know the precise amount and grade of products, say tomatoes, in its supply chain at any given time, and therefore respond immediately to individual store needs.
- With RFID, grocers can purchase inventory via a variable cost structure related to the actual yield of tomatoes after processing.
- Volume may increase and packing times decrease—allowing grocers to redeploy staff more efficiently.
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In a volatile environment, such as an oil refinery or gas facility, disaster is just a split-second away. Whether natural or manmade, the first priority is always employee safety. An RFID system can offer instant identification and an accurate headcount of evacuated employees. And with the possibility of terrorist attack, tracking people in and around sensitive areas of the facility is critical to protecting people and assets alike.
- RFID transponders can help guide rescue teams to injured or trapped employees.
- Control systems can authorize or de-authorize individuals or vehicles for different areas of the plant, with real-time alerts for violation of rules.
- Tracking systems offer frame-by-frame instant replay of past events for post analysis.
- In addition to locating people, RFID allows instant identification of high-value equipment and strategic production materials.
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For many years, RFID systems have kept track of where patients are in a hospital environment. But new systems can help report on how they are as well. RFID tags can be integrated with medical monitoring equipment to remotely transmit patient health data and emergency alerts. And nurses carrying wireless voice-over-IP (VoIP) phones can instantly access patient information from the monitoring equipment, including blood pressure, oxygen level and even electrocardiogram images.
- RFID systems can dramatically reduce medication errors, representing between $25 million and $50 million in associated annual costs.
- Remote systems can reduce the number of in-patient appointments to record diagnostic information, freeing up providers and improving patient flow.
- Tracking systems can also improve asset utilization and reduce future expenditures on tagged equipment, such as IV pumps, via real-time wireless tracking capability.
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Using RFID solutions within the four walls of a factory can transform the way manufacturers do business. Automakers, electronics manufacturers and aerospace and defense companies are among the leaders in implementation. The technology can minimize rework, reduce line stoppages and make it possible to replenish just-in-time materials to the production line. RFID tags and readers can even automate assembly line processes-helping to reduce labor, costs and errors on the plant floor.
- With the use of RFID tags and readers, manufacturers can automatically detect the whereabouts of tools and assets, improving efficiency and reducing loss.
- Manufacturers using RFID for inventory control can benefit from a reduction in labor in retrieving production batches, which bar codes cannot do.
- Factory—floor efficiency can be improved by getting materials to the right place at the right time. This can reduce mistakes and labor costs, improve routing information support, enhance assembly-line flexibility for custom orders, and eliminate manual barcode scanning-boosting productivity and potential profits.
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School bus routes should be predictable, but they always need optimization while making safety the top priority. An RFID implementation can help a school board validate whether a bus is following its preset route and determine metrics around schedule adherence. In addition, they can access telemetry functions that determine how many times the safety arms on the front of the buses are raised and lowered.
- An RFID solution can provide better safety for students and drivers alike, greater route optimization and efficiency, improved communications with parents in the event of a bus breakdown.
- Better route optimization can reduce costs on gas consumption, maintenance and insurance.
- A fleet management solution can also be integrated with an RFID student card system. The system would record when and where students boarded and disembarked from a school bus, thereby preventing students getting on the wrong bus, accidentally dropped at the wrong stop or, most importantly, left behind on an empty bus.
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