The future of RFID?
February 27th 2009

Jungheinrich has developed an RFID pallet picking solution, that Dr. Martin Schwaiger, the firms’ technologies team leader, believes might just be ‘the next big thing’.

The company has integrated an RFID reader into a set of forks capable of carrying two pallets. The antenna runs along the length of the forks, enabling it to read a tag implanted in the middle beam of the pallet. When the operator picks up the load, a clear graphical representation of the pallet appears onscreen, prompting the driver to confirm the load. The system then tells the operator where to put it. Once the correct location is found and the load deposited and confirmed, the screen gives him a new instruction.

By placing the tag under the load, the problems radio frequency experiences with metals and liquids are negated, although Dr Schwaiger says metal pallets would not be compatible with the system. The ideal solution, he says, is RFID tags, implanted into plastic pallets. He believes RFID enabled pallets will soon emerge from their current confines in closed loop systems, driven largely by retailer mandates. “It is application specific, but I believe it is the near future of RFID,” says Schwaiger.

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