Abstract
The technology of RFID (radio frequency identification) is a important resource of automation and optimization applied to identification methods through radio signals, remotely retrieving and storing data using devices called “tags.” Around the world and in all market segments, the use of this technology grows at an exponential rate. Currently, the main focus from researches is the integration of RFID and other sensor data, not only in the corporate environment, but in the entire value chain of business. Thus, this chapter presents an overview on RFID and demonstrates that its use provides the improvement, development, contribution, quality and speed in processing flows of containers at ports of some cities in the world, representing a powerful technology applied to port logistics.
TopBackground
According Miller (2000), radio frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that allows the identification of tagged items without line of sight. It includes a tag, a reader and a computer system. It contains chips and antennas that allows to respond to radio signals sent by a transmitter base. In addition to passive tags, which respond to the signal sent by the transmitter base, there are semi-passive and active tags, with batteries, which allows them to send the signal itself. These tags are much more expensive than passive tags. Following, a history and some concepts of RFID will be presented.
History of RFID
The first passive RFID system was reported in radar systems used in World War II, in 1935, by Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, a Scottish physicist. Advances in technology have continued through the 1950s and 1960s. The history of RFID really begins in 1973, when Mario W. Cardullo ordered the first U.S. patent for a system of active RFID with rewritable memory. In the 1980s, research of RFID technology was focused on performance improvement, cost reduction and size reduction. In 1999, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), together with other research centers, started a study of an architecture that utilizes the features of technologies based on radio frequency, to serve as a reference model for the development of new applications and tracking location of products. From this study was born the Electronic Product Code (EPC), which defined an architecture for the identification of products that used the resources provided by the RF signals and that was later called RFID (Revista Mundo Logística, 2009).
Nowadays, RFID technology is everywhere. Its use is now so routine that does not realize its presence. Thus, as in many other cases of new technologies, it may be said that it was a rapid rise, strong and rooting ever deeper into all sectors of society (Gomes, 2007).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Radio Frequency Identification RFID: Is an automatic identification technology that uses radio signals to remotely store data through devices called tags.
Port: Is the site of a city designed to ships, with facilities for loading and unloading.
Container: Is a large box used to storage and transport cargo more efficiently.
Tag: Is a label or sticker, which can be manufactured from several materials, used for identifying data assigned to a particular object.
Automation: Is the use of methods, techniques and equipment to make automatic a process or system, reducing human intervention to a minimum.
Technology: Is a set of technical knowledge (methods, procedures, tools), with practical application in solving specific problems.
Logistics: Is the management of the flow of resources between origin and destination, satisfying requirements of production, handling, packaging, inventory, transportation, etc.