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A DRONE WITH RFID TECHNOLOGY: THE CHALLENGE TO TAKE UP

April 9, 2021 by Nora Nesser

An RFID drone allows to read inaccessible RFID tags or on large surfaces.

But what is RFID exactly ?

20.1 billion is the number of RFID tags sold in 2019.

Radio Frequency Identification or Radio Frequency Identification is a technology that uniquely identifies the object or person wearing the label. It is a method used to store and retrieve data remotely using metal tags, “RFID tags”. These tags, which can be glued or incorporated into products, react to radio waves and transmit information remotely.

Without realizing it, we use RFID technology on a daily basis. You are certainly asking yourself “but what does this chip look like?”:

There are 3 types that differ in their operation :

  • Passive tags such as access badges only respond to a reader’s requests.
  • BAP (battery assisted passive) tags record information thanks to sensors, for example, the temperature during a transport of goods. On arrival at the supermarket, one can check whether the cold chain has been respected thanks to these sensors.
  • And finally, the active tags create their own signal and regularly send out information. All the products in a store can thus be located and we can therefore know the habits of the consumers.

Who has access to this data?

Some chips are blocked by passwords or encryption, this is the case of your transport card: Tag and reader must authenticate themselves before they can communicate. But attention it is not the case of all the RFID chips. Some are not encrypted and can thus be easily accessible by individuals.

 

What is it for? In what industries is RFID used?

This chip is now omnipresent around us. The list of fields of application is long, but it proves the undeniable potential of this technology.

This technology is present in point of sale but also in logistics. Many retailers use RFID tags to secure their products. This is the case of the Decathlon brand for example. Thanks to the RFID chips, the company was able to simplify its chain of control and traceability from upstream to downstream. The use of these labels has also improved the supply chain and speeded up the checkout process, thus promoting customer and staff satisfaction at the checkout.

To summarize, we find the RFID chips in many fields such as maintenance, logistics, transport, security and control and offer several possibilities such as stock management, traceability. The trend of “Track&Trace” is only at its beginning.

 

The RFID drone facilitates the traceability in logistics

More and more companies are using drones, particularly to provide innovative information generated by air data processing. Drones are now used in various fields such as the environment, security, surveillance, transportation, etc…

Drones associated with RFID technology can allow you to manage your company more easily. Indeed, thanks to Squadrone System’s RFID drone for outdoor environment, you can now spend less time collecting data and devote more time to other tasks. Because, as we know, when you have to manage a company, there is no shortage of work! All our RFID drone has to do is fly several meters away from a product tagged with an RFID tag to detect it, retrieve its unique data, and have a GPS estimate of its exact position. In the industry, the traceability and the localization of big assets is an issue to which we begin to answer.

 

What are the long-term benefits for companies?

RFID drones allow in the long term to :

  • Spend less time on low value-added activities that do not motivate teams
  • Spend this freed-up time on high value-added activities
  • Improve the productivity and management of its storage facilities.

MIT Media Lab’s research work is worth mentioning: the RFly drone could eventually help companies find lost items. Squadrone System’s work on RFID reader drones has already produced concrete results.

 

And you ? What will you use it for ?

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