On 12/11/06, Zik Saleeba <zik@zikzak.net> wrote:
> We have some guys doing RFID at my current contract location. They
> tell me that the "rolling a trolley full of groceries through a
> checkout" example is not realistic. It can be done for a demo but it's
> much much harder to get working in real life.
>
> The big problem is that RFID reception is marginal at the best of
> times so a cart full of random items - some of which may be conductive
> - is very hard to guarantee for a 100% read rate. And retailers don't
> like having items not paid for. A few tin cans piled over other items
> in a cart make a passable Faraday cage.
>

I attended two RFID sessions in the (Rockwell) Automation Fair
(Baltimore). One company is using a dual approach (bar code +
RFID) for large pharmacy distribution center. Some of the small
items still need manually scanning. I think it makes sense to still
offer manual scanning for some items not so suitable for RFID.

Regards,
Xiaofan
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