How Boeing Made Item-Level RFID Fly
Written by Evan SchumanAs retailers and consumer goods manufacturers struggle with achieving the supply-chain nirvana of complete item-level tagging, $60 billion aerospace giant Boeing has gotten item-level RFID to soar, with two thousand high-memory passive tags in every plane of an upcoming line.
Boeing's item-level RFID efforts are intriguing because of their scope, but also because of the extreme environmental and frequency hardships they must endure. Beyond the expected vibrations, altitude, air pressure and humidity impact of routinely flying that far above the clouds, the tags must be able to handle temperatures that range from 40 degrees (Fahrenheit) below zero and they were tested to 1,200 degrees above zero, which is what the exhaust nozzle right outside a jet engine experiences. The wireless unit must be nonflammable and be accessible to frequency ranges between 860 MHz and 960 MHz, so it can communicate with devices from any country that using UHF RFID readers. They also must last about 20 years.
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One Comment | Read How Boeing Made Item-Level RFID Fly
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October 12th, 2006 at 7:27 am
Mr. Porad is being disingenuous when he compares the advantages of RFID to keyboard data entry. Boeing has long ago made use of barcode, as he indicates further down in his comments.
The real question is related to the advantage of RFID over barcode data entry, and is the relative high cost of RFID justifiable.