IEN: What are the major concerns facing RFID, and how can they be addressed?
Dempsey:
- Justification, building the business case
- Changing technology standards and the vendor community
- Pitfalls in implementation (e.g. proof of concept testing and proving that RFID actually works in your environ.)
IEN: What innovations are in store in the next 12 months in tags, antennae, applicators/printers, readers, and software?
Dempsey:
- Emergence of multiple vendors with commercially viable products
- More and more intelligent readers
- Improved antennae (distance, etc.)
- Applicators -- robotics gantry support multiple tag types
- Software -- increasing development of middleware software and fully enabled WMS
IEN: What are the R & D hotspots? Which R & D areas are closest to commercialization?
Dempsey: The biggest RFID hot spot are: new technologies for tag antennae solutions (non-copper based); integrated circuits; and imbedding technology.
IEN: How close to implementation are global standards?
Dempsey: It varies by industry, application and tag type. In many industries the standards are very well set.
IEN: How can sensitive data be protected in light of privacy and security issues?
Dempsey: Tag data can be encrypted, tags can be disabled/data killed.
IEN: Will there be a place for RFID in collaborative manufacturing?
Dempsey: Absolutely. For example, RFID enables the tracking of mobile assets throughout the entire supply chain.