RFID, a Technology Ready for Industry Deployment

RFID is not a new technology. It has been around since more than 50 years. However, it is only in the early two thousands that RFID became popular across a large range of businesses. Many have already implemented RFID for some specific business processes. Many more are contemplating the opportunities offered by this technology. This article starts with an historical overview. It follows with an analysis of the RFID market landscape. RFID standards are presented and discussed next. A summary of the EU partly funded BRIDGE project that performed applied research, pilot implementations in several sectors and delivered a comprehensive set of demonstration and training material is provided. The Privacy concerns triggered by the present and future applications of RFID are presented together with an overview of the regulations related to the frequencies allocated to RFID. The potential economic impact of RFID is very large. Economic impacts resulting from the usage of RFID could be on an order of magnitude higher. These come in the form of cost reductions/productivity growth and, increasingly, in the form of new products and services.