RFID - RTLS or Printed Electronics?

We have been hearing a lot about the promise of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) as a better way of identifying and tracking products, animals and even people. China had over 100 million tags shipped in 2005, with more than 2.9 billion tags be shipped by 2009, in a major RFID application for human ID through China's second-generation Resident ID Card program. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry began supporting RFID pilot projects for: total traceability using RFID tags in electronics, electrics industries and in the pharmaceutical industry; in re-supply tasks for international peace keeping activities; autonomous service robots in shopping malls; a collaborative pilot project in hybrid stores aiming at real deployment of RFID tags in media contents (publishing, music and movie) industries, to realize future store services; returnable container pilot project; and an RFID pilot project in Japan-China-Korea supply chains. Countless developments and projects in RFID are happening also in North America and Europe.

Will RFID be "the way of the future" or will it be some other technology like RTLS (Real Time Location Systems); or will 'old-fashioned' Barcoding persist? Why not simply use printed electronics on 'smart chipless labels' to identify and track products for a fraction of the price of an RFID tag system? Recently, one company's team of world-renowned scientists successfully demonstrated that it is possible to detect and read multi-bit information from a fiber segment less than 40 microns in diameter (one inch long) at a distance of up to 25 meters.... which may lead to remote non-line-of-site barcode reading for merchandise tracking.

If you are considering improving the way products you make or re-sell are identified and tracked, which technology would you choose and why? Technologies can be superceded or displaced quickly and you don't want to invest in a technology that may not be around long enough to give you an adequate return on your investment. So how do you decide what to do?

Separate the hype from the real information and "Discover the Truth about RFID" at RFID Solutions 2006. Get the answers to these and many other questions from some of the best informed independent experts in this arena when you attend SoftMatch's RFID Solutions 2006 in Montreal 25-26th April and in Toronto 3-4th October. "Introduction to RFID" workshop on Day 1. Conference sessions on Day 2.

RFID Solutions is the premier independent conference in Canada for interested decision makers who need to understand Radio Frequency Identification technology, standards and mandates and how to make the right choices about investing in this technology for their organizations and trading partners.

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