|
|
Advantages of RFID over bar codes
RFID technology overcomes many of the limitations of bar codes, the system of identification of objects most used so far. The advantages of the electronic labels are as follows:
- Unlike the bar code, the electronic labels do not need visual contact with the scanner module in order to be read. The reading can be made at a distance of up to 10 metres.
- While the bar code identifies a type of product, electronic labels identify each individual product. That is to say, two yoghurts that are the same now have the same bar code and, therefore, the same identification, but if they were equipped with electronic labels they could be identified and managed individually.
- RFID technology enables the reading of several electronic labels simultaneously. Bar codes, on the contrary, have to be read sequentially. This characteristic of the automatic identification system through radiofrequency offers different advantages such as, for example, the reduction in waiting time in supermarket queues.
- Electronic labels can store much more information about a product than the bar code, which can only contain a code and, in some cases, a price or quantity.
- While you can write on the bar code only once, you can write on electronic labels as many times as necessary.
- RFID technology avoids counterfeit. With a simple photocopy you can reproduce a bar code. Electronic labels, on the other hand, cannot be copied. A tag on a brand article guarantees its authenticity.
- A bar code is damaged or breaks easily, while an electronic label is more resistant because it is normally part of the product or is placed under a protective surface and supports humidity and temperature better.
|
|
RFID
|
|
Bar code |
|
|
|
- Legible without direct visibility.
- Enables reading of several labels simultaneously automatically.
- It has a unique code, fixed in the factory or written from a distance.
- They identify each product individually.
- Can contain information about the product.
- Resistant to humidity and temperature
|
|
- Reading requires direct line of vision.
- Requires sequential readings, almost always through human intervention.
- The code has to be the same on all the labels. Sequential codes have to be numeric.
- They identify each type of product. On occasion, they identify boxes or packages individually.
- They can only contain a code, and in some cases a price or quantity.
- They deteriorate in humid environments or at high temperatures.
|
|
|
|
|
