RFID BASICS

INTRO TO UHF PASSIVE RFID

WHAT IS RFID TECHNOLOGY?

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology is…

• Auto Identification (AutoID) and data capture (AIDC) technology,

which use radio-frequency waves to wirelessly transfer data
between an interrogator/reader and movable or stationary items to:
• Identify
• Categorize
• Track
• Technology for automatically identifying, counting or tracking
objects and people
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF RFID TECHNOLOGY?

The goal of RFID technology is to identify objects:

• Quickly
• More accurately
• At reduced overall cost
• As they move from a source or origin to a destination
BARCODE VS RFID

Barcode RFID
• One to One • One to Many
• Line of Sight • Automated
• Read only • Read / Write
• Easy to copy • Unique
BAR CODE SCANNING AND RFID
BAR CODE SCANNING RFID

• Line of sight • Read many items at once

• Visible • Broad range
• One at a time • Identifies unique items
• SKU or class of goods • EPC or asset ID
• Inoperable if visually damaged • Wireless
• Operator intervention • Harder to deface
• Read-only • Automated
• Affordable • Read/Write
• Harder to replicate
NOT ONE OR THE OTHER
MANY CUSTOMERS USE A MIX OF TECHNOLOGIES SIDE BY SIDE
RFID … THEN AND NOW
ACTIVE RFID SOLUTIONS – THE BIRTH OF RFID: 1940s →
• RFID solutions were born out of WWII - tracking approaching aircraft
• Rely on beacons that require batteries to actively send signals that could be heard
• Beacons (active tags) are generally large and expensive
• Make most sense to track very expensive or high value items - better ROI
• Beacons can emit a regular signal, providing visibility to location of that tag (or item) at any
given time – foundation of RTLS Real Time Lotion Solutions (our ZLS business)

PASSIVE RFID SOLUTIONS – THE FUTURE OF RFID: 2000s →

• 20 years ago, became possible to put a tiny chip and antenna into a low cost paper tag
• These tags (aka transponders) can be read passively - without a battery to transmit info
• RF signal emitted from a reader (aka interrogator) can wake the chip up and read its info
• Passive RFID tags (without batteries) are MUCH cheaper than active tags
• Reduced cost made it possible to cost-effectively tag and track a wide variety of new items
• RFID solutions could now be expanded to transform the efficiency and productivity of all
sorts of new business processes
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 PASSIVE RFID ACTIVE RFID
Power No internal power Battery operated

Required Signal Strength High Low

CommunicationRange Short range (3m) Long range (100m+)

Range Data Storage Small read/write data (128b) Large read/write data (128kb)

Per Tag Cost Generally, $0.15 to $5.00 Generally, $15 to $100

Tag Size “Sticker” to credit card size Varies depending on application

Fixed Infrastructure Costs Higher – fixed readers Lower – cheaper interrogators

Per Asset Variable Costs Lower – see tag cost Higher – see tag cost

High volume assets moving through fixed choke High volume assets moving within designated
Best Area of Use
points in definable, uniform systems areas (“4 walls”) in random and dynamic systems

Supply chain, high volume manufacturing, Auto dealerships, auto manufacturing, hospitals
Industries/Applications libraries/bookstores, pharmaceuticals, passports, – asset tracking, construction, mining,
electronic tolls, item level tracking laboratories, remote monitoring, IT asset mgmt

Power No internal power Battery operated 7

WHY PASSIVE RFID???
TAG COSTS LOW
• Low cost of printable, disposable tags makes it cost-effective for many new use cases

FLEXIBILITY HIGH
• Performance/read range consistently increasing
• Handheld reader form factors make it easy to leverage the accuracy and speed of counting of passive RFID
• Reduced infrastructure requirements
• Reduced deployment costs

MEETS THE NEED (good enough … and continually getting better)

• As capabilities/performance increases, it meets an increasing number of business requirements
• Business don’t need real time location on everything - maybe weekly location awareness is good enough
• Businesses don’t need 1m location accuracy on all items - Maybe zonal (it’s in this room) location accuracy is
good enough

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Example of RFID usage: (Tags)

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RFID technology Benefits
• Reduces human intervention
– Improves data quality
– Improves data accuracy
• Captures data in real-time
– Reduces data collection time
• Reduces cost
• Improves Accuracy

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Manufacturing Business Transformations
• Materials management
• Item-level inventory visibility
• Work-In-Process (WIP)
• Vehicle and yard management
• Asset utilization/tracking and analysis
• Shipment validation
• Supply chain tracking/management
• DSD Route Accounting / Field service
• Fulfillment/Replenishment
• Tool tracking
• Theft prevention

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 Aerospace Manufacturers
• Problem
• Inventory counts for small parts such as bolts and fasteners is
time consuming and prone to errors.

• Solution
• Small parts are organized in vertical bins each adorned with two
tags, one shielded and one regular.
• The shielded tag will become visible once all the parts in a bin
are used; thus when a Zebra handheld reader picks up such a
tag, it will indicate which parts need replenishment.
• The second tag on each bin is used to confirm every bin was
read and properly checked.

• Benefit
• Reduce labor time for inventory.
• Prevention of any delays in manufacturing due to an out of stock
product.
• Greater visibility into restocking patterns so companies may
adjust to how many materials they keep on site

ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES
 The Boeing Company Rotocraft
• Problem
• Visibility of 3PL transactions & shipments
• Locating parts along the manufacturing assembly line
• Tracking Work-In-Process Inventory

• Solution
• Boeing is using a combination of passive & active RFID
• Passive RFID fixed reader portals are used at main receiving
points and on the assembly lines
• Zebra's RFID handhelds readers are used for exception
processing
• RFID tagged parts are shipped by the 3PL

• Benefits
• Increased visibility of the Supply Chain
• Automated audit trail without the need of anyone touching
the items
• Improved operational efficiency

ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES
 Daimler Trucks LLC
• Problem
• Improve parts-tracking process
• Reduce labor costs
• Improve visibility into inventory level management

• Solution
• Metal mount RFID tags affixed to parts tugs; 4x6 smart labels
on
totes
• Internal portals equipped with Zebra’s Fixed Readers and
industrial
antennas
• As tug/totes pass through portals, RFID readers send
transaction
record to database detailing location, date/time, etc.

• Benefit
• Real-time inventory visibility enables reduced inventory levels
• Labor costs reduced by $28,000 annually for each employee
shift
• Reduction in labor involvement

ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES
 North Sails

• Problem
• International sail manufacturer challenged with
time-consuming, manual inventory management process.
• Annual inventory counts at each loft could last a full
week and was prone to errors.

• Solution
• RFID tags attached to the bags used to package sails.
• Zebra handheld sled RFID readers paired to mobile
devices read bag data.

• Benefits
• Tracks the location and status of around 1,000
customers' sails.
• Ensure the status of each sail's repair order
• Locate a particular sail when needed
• Enable customers to pick up sails outside of normal
business hours.

ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES
 Tire Companies, UAE
• Problem
• UAE requires all imported tires to be fit with RFID tags so
they can be tracked through the supply chain.
• RFID tags were traditionally embedded in the side of tires.
This
made the tags difficult to read when tires were stored side
by
side as they usually are.

• Solution
• Avery Dennison has developed a non-embedded tag which
will stick to the tire.
• Their tag is similar to those currently used on most
manufactured/retail goods, but specially modified to stick
to the rubber tire.

• Benefit
• Tag no longer has a problem being read when tires are
stacked
side by side.

ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES
 Volkswagen of Mexico
• Problem
• Needed to improve their spare parts distribution process and
improve customer service with faster parts identification and
shipping
• Reduce cardboard shipping container waste

• Solution
• 16,000 spare part reusable shipping containers were fitted with
RFID tags
• Zebra's RFID fixed readers were mounted at loading docks
read containers & send information to VW’s WMS
• Return process is simplified as the containers are read as pass
through dock doors and back into VW’s warehouse

• Benefit
• 30% reduction in annual parts distribution expenses
• Reduced shipment errors by switching from manual to automated
shipment verification process
• Reduced packaging costs and waste from reusable shipping
containers – plus for the company’s Green initiative
• Improved dealer service due to faster shipment verification system

ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES
RFID FREQUENCIES
Microwave Frequency
• RFID utilizes various frequencies based on: • 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz
• Active tag = stronger signal
•
– Government regulations •
less interference
long range (up to 500m)
• fastest data transfer rates
– Host material – metal, water, etc. • used in factory automation,
access control, logistics
– Read range Ultra High Frequency - 860-960 MHz
– Speed of data transfer • read range as long as 12 m
• faster data transfer rate than LF/HF
• most susceptible to interference
• Use cases: item level inventory, IT asset
tracking, WIP tracking, libraries

High Frequency – 8.2 MHz, 13.56 MHz

• read ranges between 10 cm and 1 m.
• moderate sensitivity to interference
• Example = NFC, smart cards, EAS
• use cases: ticketing, payment, data transfer apps.

Low Frequency - 125 kHz

• short read range of 10 cm
• slower read speed
• not very sensitive to interference.
• Use cases: access control, livestock tracking.
WHY ULTRA HIGH FREQUENCY (UHF)?
• Global spectrum in the 800-900 MHz frequency range
• Wavelength of ~33cm allows for tags < ~8cm (4”) in size and reasonably sized reader antennas
• Good balance of distance vs. tag size – signal drops off faster with distance as frequency
increases.
• Global standards– ISO 18000-63, EPC Class 1 G2v2 -- are in-place
• Ecosystem of interoperable hardware from diverse vendors – tags, tag IC, readers, printers, etc.

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HOW PASSIVE RFID WORKS
• RFID Reader
–Generates the radio signal and
broadcasts it via its connected
antennas configured in an RF field
• A tag passes
–Through the RF field and receives
the corresponding radio signal
• Radio signal is
–Received by tag’s onboard
antenna device and subsequently
onto the host system
Host Computer Reader Antenna
• The tag’s chip is
–Energized and releases its
preprogrammed data
• A portion of the radio signal is
–Modulated and reflected back to
reader; i.e. backscatter
• Reader decodes the
–Reflected signal and passes data
on to the data aggregation
164B28F34
RFID Tag
PASSIVE UHF RFID …the next generation of data capture
RFID Tags

On Goods & Assets

Read by Antenna & Readers

Bring Added Value to Existing Applications

WIP Warehouse ASN/Proof of Asset OOS/Item-Level Operator
Logistics Delivery Management Visibility Rounds

Across
Industries

Manufacturing Retail
RFID PORTFOLIO

Fixed Readers Antennas

a
ATR7000 FX9600 FX7500 ST500 AN440 AN480 AN510 AN610 AN710

Handhelds

a
WA PRO4 MC3330R MC3390R RFD2000 RFD8500 DS9908R DS9908R HC

Printers Supplies

a
ZT600R ZT400R ZD500R ZQ520R ZE500R ENGINE ZXP S7 CARD GENERAL & CUSTOM UHF CARD SILVERLINE ADVANCED
ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES 24
RFID VALUE PROPOSITION
VISIBILITY…RFID IS AN EASIER WAY TO COUNT AND TRACK

• RFID IMPROVES EFFICIENCY

• RFID IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY

• RFID REDUCES LABOR COSTS

• RFID INCREASES ACCURACY

• RFID INCREASES SALES AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

>25x FASTER THAN BARCODES

THE RFID ADVANTAGE
• It is vital to our customers’ future
• The technology is foundational to executing on our vision of EAI, The intelligent Enterprise, and
the IoT
– It positions us to engage in strategic conversations with customers
• Drives thought leadership
• RFID and Sensor based products are one of Zebra’s greatest competitive advantages
– no other company can offer the breadth of products Zebra can (readers, printers, supplies, sw, active)
– These capabilities are essential to solve today’s data intensive customer business problems
– Essential to helping customers unlock the power of information

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THE WHOLE IS GREATER…
… THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS

• Customers increasingly want to work with a single vendor

• Zebra’s performance/investment in one RFID product/technology can/will impact its overall
performance in related products/technologies
• Zebra has a golden opportunity to own and deliver most of the elements of an RFID/sensor based
system solution:
– Tags
– Readers
– Printers
– Software
– System deployment/delivery expertise

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 Why Choose Zebra for RFID ?
• WE’VE GOT IT ALL
– From handhelds and fixed readers to RFID printers, antennas, tags and a partner channel offering industry-best apps built for use with our
portfolio.

• EXPERIENCE
– We’ve installed more successful fixed, handheld and portal RFID systems than any other RFID provider. With expertise that enc ompasses
passive and active RFID.

• INNOVATION
– Over 25 years of RFID innovation boasting 579 RFID technology patents and counting. Bringing our customers the greatest speed ,
highest read rates and maximum unique reads.

• DEDICATION
– Over 200 Zebra engineers are focused full-time on RFID, from designing products to architecting the best solution for your facility. And,
our support team of 2,000 people is ready to provide crucial day-to-day support.

• SINGLE SOURCE SIMPLICITY

– With all your hardware from one manufacturer, troubleshooting and support are greatly simplified. No more coordination betwee n vendors
— and no more finger pointing.
ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES
EVERYBODY’S END GOAL
Always on = Minimal Human Intervention

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THANK YOU

Q&A