Radio Frequency Technology RF and Its Origin

JasonYoo

Radio Frequency Technology RF and Its Origin [Copy link]

From procurement, storage, manufacturing, packaging, loading and unloading/handling, transportation, circulation processing, distribution, sales to service, they are all interlocking business links and processes in the supply chain, which complement and restrict each other. When the supply chain is operating, enterprises must understand and grasp the flow and changes of the business flow, logistics flow, information flow and capital flow in the entire supply chain in real time and accurately, so that these four flows, as well as each link and each process are coordinated and coordinated with each other, in order to maximize their economic and social benefits. However, since each link in the movement of actual objects is in a state of motion and looseness, information and direction often move and change in space and time with actual activities, which affects the availability and sharing of information. Therefore, advanced information technology, such as e-commerce, barcode technology, radio frequency technology, GPS, GIS, EDI, etc., must be adopted to better solve it. And wireless radio frequency technology RF (Radio Frequency) is a new technology that effectively solves the problems of input/output of various business operation data in the supply chain, control and tracking of business processes, and reducing error rates.

The radio waves or microwaves emitted by RF are called "waves that never disappear". They can penetrate certain obstacles and are not limited to the range of sight. They are widely used for automatic identification. Automatic identification technology is a new technology that is developing rapidly in the world. The most widely used technologies are optical technology and wireless technology. Among them, the common applications of optical technology are barcodes and cameras. At present, they have been widely used in people's daily lives and are well known to people. For example, barcodes are used for commodity management, and cameras are used to capture illegal vehicles. It can take pictures and barcodes of target goods and then send them to the computer. Radio frequency identification uses wireless technology.

Radio frequency technology RF originated from military communications in World War II and played a very important role in military logistics. The United States and NATO organizations have learned the lesson of repeated transportation caused by the inability to track a large number of materials in the "Desert Storm" military operation. In the "Joint Operation" in Bosnia, they built a complex communication network and improved the new logistics system for identifying and tracking military materials. In the recent Iraq War, it was more widely used and continuously improved. Whether the materials are being purchased, transported, or stored in a warehouse, the RF information can be received by the receiving device and transmitted to the commander via satellite to grasp the information in real time. In addition to tracking military supplies, the US-UK coalition forces also put RFID tags with microchips into the cuffs of soldiers participating in the war, and soldiers and tracked injured soldiers to achieve the purpose of timely rescue.

Since 1985, RF technology has entered the commercial field. It is very suitable for situations that require non-contact data collection and exchange, such as material tracking, vehicle identification, warehouse shelves and other target identification, as well as for operation control on production assembly lines. Wireless radio frequency technology is to extend radio signals to a very wide frequency band to achieve high-speed data transmission and reduce mutual interference. Because RF tags have read and write capabilities, they are particularly suitable for occasions where data content needs to be changed frequently. They play the role of data collection and system instruction transmission. They are widely used in warehouse management, transportation management, production management, material tracking, vehicle and shelf identification, stores, especially supermarkets, and other occasions in the supply chain. Commodity anti-theft.

In recent years, the application of portable data terminals (PDT) has increased, which helps to promote the application of RF technology. PDT can store or transmit the collected useful data to a management information system. Portable data terminals generally include a reader, a small but powerful computer with memory, a display and a keyboard for manual input. The read-only memory is equipped with a resident operating system for controlling the collection and transmission of data. PDT is generally programmable and allows some application software to be compiled. The data in the PDT memory can be transmitted to the host computer at any time through radio frequency communication technology. During operation, the location tag of the goods is scanned first, and then some characteristics of the goods, such as quantity, origin, variety, etc., are entered into the PDT, and then these data are transmitted to the computer management system through RF technology, so that detailed data of the goods and the customers who need the goods can be obtained, such as product lists, invoices, shipping labels, product codes and quantities stored in the place, etc.

In transportation management, goods and vehicles transported in transit are controlled by attaching RF tags to them, such as attaching tags to containers and equipment through radio frequency identification to complete equipment and tracking control. RF receiving and forwarding devices are usually installed at some checkpoints on the transportation line (such as doorposts, bridge piers, etc.), as well as key locations such as warehouses, stations, docks, and airports. After the receiving device receives the RF tag information, it uploads it to the communication satellite together with the location information of the receiving location, and then the satellite transmits it to the transportation dispatch center and sends it to the database.

In China, the application of radio frequency technology has also begun. At some toll gates on expressways, radio frequency technology can be used to collect tolls without stopping. China's railway system has also used RF to record truck car numbers in a pilot program that has been running for some time. Some logistics companies are also preparing or have already used radio frequency technology in logistics management. At the same time, manufacturing companies, such as automobile welding and assembly production lines, have also begun to use radio frequency technology to identify and track vehicle bodies and components to manage and control production lines.




Original author: Chen Bingbing