RFID Journal

RFID Journal is the leading source of news and insights about deploying RFID in many business applications. RFID Journal is an independent, online daily devoted to one thing: educating business people about radio frequency identification and its many business applications. RFID Journal provides timely, accurate, unbiased news about radio frequency identification, as well as in-depth features, case studies and special reports that help business people understand the technology's capabilities and limits. RFID Journal mission is to be the ultimate resource for business people that want to understand how RFID can help their companies boost supply chain efficiencies, reduce inventories, limit theft, improve product availability and add convenience for consumers.

RFID Journal was launched before most business magazines had even heard of radio frequency identification, so it's no surprise that the Journal has been a leader in breaking the biggest stories about RFID and providing the most insight about this emerging technology. In print and online, the RFID Journal publishes only original content. More than 75,000 people around the world turn to RFID Journal for accurate, objective news and information.

RFID Journal is the only Web site devoted solely to providing timely, objective news and information about RFID and its many business applications. The RFID Journal has established itself a reputation for breaking the biggest stories in the RFID industry and for delivering detailed case studies, insightful special reports and objective vendor profiles.

According to the RFID Journal, RFID is a generic term used to describe technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify objects and consumer goods and products.  RFID uses several methods to identify such items.  One such method employs an RFID reader, which can process serial numbers stored on a microchip attached to an antenna (collectively known as the RFID tag). The RFID chip transmits information about the product to the RFID reader via radio waves.

The technology is called Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, and according to a description by the RFID Journal, an online industry publication, the "most common applications are tracking goods in the supply chain, tracking assets, tracking parts moving to a manufacturing production line, security (including controlling access to buildings and networks) and payment systems that let customers pay for items without using cash."

According to RFID Journal, the one-inch square tags hold eight kilobits of data, including a unique serial number, temperature and pressure readings, and the maximum temperature of a tire during its lifetime. The tags would communicate with a reader on the truck or at depot entrances and exits to make sure that the tires are kept at the manufacturer's recommended cold-fill pressure level.

The RFID Journal, an online industry journal, in September reported that the Department of Defense plans to require its top 100 suppliers to use the tags on shipments.

How is RFID Journal organized? RFID Journal articles are also organized and archived in two ways -- by story type (news, opinion, feature, case study, special report and vendor profile) and by subject (Auto-ID Center, Distribution/Logistics, Innovation, IT/Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Packaging/Labeling, Payment Systems, Retailing, Security, and Supply Chain).

RFID Journal has learned that the U.S. Department of Defense plans to ask its top 100 suppliers to put RFID tags on pallets, cases and big-ticket items. The military intends to spell out its plans in detail sometime next summer, but it is believed that tagging could begin in 2005.

Here is an explanation of the types of stories you will find in each topic area in RFID Journal:

Auto-ID Center: Articles about the center's research and development work, the progress being made by its technology sponsors in creating products based on the center's Electronic Product Code, and implementations of EPC technology by end-user sponsors.

Distribution/Logistics: Articles that focus on new RFID or RFID-enabled products that help companies better manage the process of moving goods, or on how companies are using RFID to improve the way they move goods.

Innovation: Articles about cutting edge research that could one-day impact RFID system and unusual or creative uses for RFID technology.

IT/Infrastructure: Articles about the hardware and software that will manage data from RFID readers and turn it into useful information, or about how companies are taking advantage of RFID data.

Manufacturing: Articles about new RFID or RFID-enabled products that help companies better manage the process of manufacturing products, or about how companies are using RFID to improve the way they manufacture goods.

Packaging/Labeling: Articles about new products or new research that could make RFID an integral part of the packaging and label industries, or about how companies are using RFID to improve in packaging and labeling products.

Payment Systems: Articles about how RFID technology, including contactlesss smart cards, to store electronic funds or to executing transactions, or how companies are taking advantage of the capabilities of RFID payments systems.

Retailing: Articles about new RFID or RFID-enabled products that help companies better manage the process of ordering, stocking and selling goods, or about how retailers are using RFID to improve the way they do business.

Security: Articles about new RFID or RFID-enabled products that help companies control access to buildings and networks, protect their product from theft, or secure goods in transit, or about how companies are using such products. (Note: This section covers biometrics technology because biometric data is increasingly being stored with RFID cards.)

Supply Chain: Articles about new RFID or RFID-enabled products that help companies better manage the process of ordering raw materials, components and getting them to manufacturing plants at the right time, or the process of getting goods to retail stores. This section also includes stories that show how companies are using RFID to improve their supply chain operations.