RFID and Barcode Will they coexist?

There seems to be an air of confusion with regards to both RFID and barcode technology and some believe that RFID would make barcode redundant and on the other hand some believe that days of RFID are numbered and it would go into oblivion but all these seems to be myths rather than facts since people making these statements have no facts to support them and I am just trying to present the facts associated with these technologies so that people get a clearer picture and the air of confusion surrounding them vanishes off.

RFID or radio frequency identification is an automatic identification method where data is stored and retrieved remotely using RFID tags. Barcode refers to machine readable representation of information which is read using barcode readers and it is widely used for implementing Auto ID Data Capture systems for the purpose of improving the accuracy and speed of data entry. RFID is being implemented in enterprise supply chain management for bringing about improvement in inventory tracking and management whereas barcode technology is being used in areas such as manufacturing, retail, healthcare etc where it has led to improved efficiency.

Most of the people think that RFID technology is a new concept which has gained ground just over the past few years and as a result have a feeling that it is a new technology therefore they should act with caution in this respect but you would be surprised to know that this technology has been into existence for more than five decades. It’s said that Leon Theremin in 1946 invented an espionage tool for Soviet Union and even though it was a passive covert listening device and not an identification device still it’s regarded as a predecessor to RFID technology. The first modern example of RFID was a passive radio transponder with memory which was patented by Mario Cardullo in 1973. On the other hand barcode was developed in 1948 by three graduate students at the Drexel Institute of Technology but it was only in 1966 that it got commercialized and achieved commercial success only in the 80’s.

It is being said that RFID would replace barcode due to its inherent advantages but this may not happen in the near future since RFID is still costly as compared to barcode and also due to the fact there is more than one independent data source on the same object. There are some people who still believe that RFID tags are barcodes which are read by reader rather than laser or imager but RFID tags are superior as compared to barcode due to their inherent properties. There is a very slim chance that RFID would replace barcode at some point of time in the future but it will continue to deliver in areas where barcode cannot simply function such as tagging of live stocks etc. If this technology has to move ahead then it has to adopt global standards which are universally acceptable so that it can gain the same popularity as that of barcodes if it wants to gain universal acceptance.

In the recent past RFID has been dented by reports of viruses, privacy issue and the latest reports on cancer risk which seems to have acted as roadblocks to its progress. Though a number of reports have been making rounds criticizing this technology but up till now no report backed by concrete facts has emerged which can claim that this technology is a threat to all.

The question which is being asked is whether RFID will survive or not? I believe that certainly this technology has a scope in the future since it will supplement barcode in areas where it acts as a handicap. I believe that a global RFID standard would surely do the trick for this technology and encourage a faster adoption and it would be a good move if a common standard is established for it rather than just allowing every country to set its own rules. We are witnessing an increasing implementation of RFID in a number of areas ranging from healthcare to defense to logistics and even toys. The implementation seems to be endless but it is the costs which has been a bother all these years otherwise we would have witnessed a faster implementation of this technology. You may ask what about the controversies surrounding it but let me tell you that most of these controversies are not backed by solid facts therefore one need not worry about the hype being created. One more thing it does not mean that RFID is meant for everybody therefore one needs to look at whether it would benefit their company or not after considering its various pros and cons before adopting it. And those of you who feel that RFID would wipe out barcode need not to worry since both these technologies will work hand in hand in the future too as they will complement each other rather than acting as a substitute for each other.

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