Barcode to Backup RFID EPC Data

Filed in archive Supply Chain , Tags and Readers on January 23, 2006

Editor's Note: I am pleased to present this guest blog post by Chris Kapsambelis.

By Chris Kapsambelis

Currently, an RFID enabled item contains an RFID tag that is encoded with an Electronic Product Code (EPC). For some time industry experts have been concerned about tags that fail in service. Unless there is an alternate method for retrieving the EPC, the item will be lost forever in the EPC Network.

Since its inception, barcodes have always included a human readable form of the encoded data for the purpose of allowing users to key-enter the data in the event of failure. A similar approach for RFID is made more difficult by the fact that the EPC is a 96 bit binary number. The idea of key-entering 96 one's and zero's was dismissed as impractical, and even if one converts the EPC to hexadecimal, octal or decimal, error-free key entry still considered a problem.

The Association for automatic identification and Mobility (AIM)'s RFID Experts Group (REG) and Technical Symbology Committee (TSC) have been working on recommendations to use barcode as backup in the event of tag failure. AIM announced recently, that the recommendations have been forwarded to EPCglobal's Tag Data Standards (TDS) group for final review and publication. The final specification is due to be released within the next two months.

This development will be a major boost for the acceptance of RFID. Suppliers to DoD, Wal-Mart, Target, and others who mandate the use of RFID, have being foot dragging primarily due to the fact the procurement and installation of RFID systems is very expensive, and the Return on Investment (ROI) has proven to be elusive. While barcode is intended to be used in the event of RFID failure, there is no reason why users, without RFID readers, cannot comply by using their current barcode scanners to collect EPC data needed to support the various mandates.

The investment in RFID can remain low until such time that the volume increases to justify the high expense of compliance. Suppliers who are planning to "Slap and Ship" will now be able to comply without a major investment in RFID. All they would need is a smart label printer to print and encode RFID enabled labels. Hand held Wi-Fi enabled barcode scanners can be used for any data collection to fulfill both internal and supply partner requirements.

About the Author: Chris Kapsambelis was a founder of Computer Identics Corporation, where he participated in the early use of barcodes for logistics applications. Later he founded Barcode Data Systems that provides consulting, and software development for auto-ID applications. He received training in radio systems while serving with the U.S. Air Force, and later graduated from Northeastern University, Boston, MA with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering. He has been granted numerous U.S patents related to the development of bar codes and bar code readers.