RFID：A label changes the world
Origin and development
RFID technology originated in the United Kingdom and was used in the Second World War to identify
the identity of enemy aircraft. It began to be used in commerce in the 1960s and began to release its
powerful energy commercially. In 2005, the US Department of Defense required all military supplies to
use RFID tags. The US Food and Drug Administration recommended that pharmaceutical companies
use RFID to track drugs that are often falsified. The first to apply RFID technology to retail is Wal-Mart.
After Wal-Mart's extensive use of RFID tags in malls and warehouse distribution centers, the shortage
of goods and the short-term out-of-stocks of goods have been greatly reduced, greatly increasing
In addition to being used in the retail industry, RFID tag technology is also widely used in aviation, clothing,
logistics, and house access control. RFID technology is used in the aviation industry for a relatively late
period of time, but the effect is remarkable. According to reports, American Airlines used RFID tag technology
to mark passenger baggage, which significantly improved transportation efficiency and saved the industry
$22.4 billion in 2007. After careful consideration, other airlines began to fully embrace RFID technology, such
as Delta Air Lines and Lufthansa, to introduce RFID technology to help solve problems in baggage tracking
and aircraft maintenance. RFID applications in the aviation field began to heat up.
Cost reduction helps technology popularize
The initial RFID was not used for commerce, but it began to be used for commercial activities. The cost of
RFID tags was very high at the beginning, which is the main reason why RFID technology could not be
popularized for a long time. In 2000, the price of each RFID tag was as high as $1. Today, this price is high
and outrageous. As a for-profit enterprise, such high cost is unacceptable to enterprises. In 2005, due to the
optimization of technology, the price of RFID tags dropped to about 12 cents. Now the price of RFID has
dropped below 10 cents. The decline in cost has made the commercialization of RFID a large-scale trend.
The impact of RFID technology on the large-scale popularization is related to its strict environmental
requirements. Early RFID technology was not mature enough to be used in more complicated situations,
and there was no source of interference. However, in recent years, advances in technology and technology
have basically solved these problems. The latest generation of labels has been able to work in a rather harsh
environment, and the ability to resist interference is also strong. The most common example is the RFID tag
embedded in our second-generation ID card.
Helping new retail
The new retail wave is coming, and unmanned retail has become a new enthusiasm for everyone to catch up
with, but the idea of how to do the retailing of unmanned retailers is still inconsistent. There is an unmanned
shelf model that believes in the quality of the people. However, due to the limitations of its placement and the
high loss rate, the unmanned shelves are difficult. There is also an Amazon go mode unmanned store that
relies on capital and high technology, but it is limited to a cost that cannot be promoted on a large scale.
However, the continuous improvement of RFID tag technology and the continuous reduction of cost have
enabled people to see a new dawn. By attaching RFID tags to the corresponding sensors, it is possible to track
the role of goods and achieve self-service shopping. The method of using RFID technology as a working tool
for unmanned stores has been used by many companies. For example, the convenience of unlicensed
supermarkets has adopted RFID tag technology, and the cost has not improved much, but the shopping
experience and loss prevention effect will be greatly improved.