download it
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
MOBILE PHONE APPLICATIONS FOR RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS
Research Seminar on Telecommunications Business II, April 2005Mikko Jalasto
Helsinki University of Technology Espoo, Finland
Abstract
The boom of RFID usage -especially in logistics- has taken down the prices of RFID components and therefore opened also possibilities for other business fields to benefit the advantages of RFID. RFID applications in mobile phone business have not yet been deployed in other that small scale, but the discussion around this topic has been really started. The RFID may enable new things within mobile phone business area and therefore many parties in this multi billion dollar business are looking at this direction.
Key WordsRFID, Mobile application, RFID business, RFID application
1. Introduction
The objective of this paper is to study the potential usage of RFID in mobile phones. The paper will study the technology behind the RFID and the applications that are deployed or discussed currently in the RFID area. The paper will combine the technological limitations and advantages and combine those with business prospect. The nature of this paper is not to provide full understanding of RFID technology, but rather to introduce reader to the topic and analyze the relatively new area of mobile phone industry.
2. RFID Technology
2.1 Basic technology
RFID is technology that enables contact less identification of objects (RFID = Radio Frequency Identification). RFID can be compared to the commonly used barcode that has significant role in identification of objects in business and in our daily lives. The difference between RFID and barcode is that with barcodes you have to have visual contact to the object and with RFID not. The high frequencies RFID technologies offer transmission ranges up to more than 30 meters, although wave lengths in the gigahertz range are absorbed by water (the human body) and therefore has limitations. The low end frequency RFID does not enable such a long range, but those can be read even trough packages which gives big benefits in some cases.
Other significant difference is that information contained in RFID can be changed along time. E.g. during some process the object is getting more information attached into it and can be then followed better. RFID is also tolerating better dirt and moisture, so it is more reliable.
RFID is only general term for technologies that can identify object using radio waves and unfortunately there are quite many different technologies and standards used now days. The work for getting one standard is ongoing, but at the moment the technologies are divided. Choosing of right technology might be some times difficult and requires specialists that know also the area where the application would be used.
2.2 RFID components
Normally the RFID system contains three main components, RFID tags, RFID reader and middle wear system using the RFID data. The basic idea of RFID is quite simple; you attach RFID tag to the object and you identify the object later with RFID reader. The RFID reader is transferring the data to the middle wear system that can use the data for its own purposes.
The tag is containing an integrated circuit and antenna. These small units can be attached to the thin plastic or metallic sticker – as in picture- or integrated to e.g. wrist straps or smart card. In the most simply case the tag can be used only once and it does not contain any power source. These kind of passive tags are relatively cheap and are commonly used e.g. in grocery industry1. The information written to the tag might be anything, but many times the tags contain information concerning the product or asset to which the tag is attached. As an example a tag attached to apple juice bottle might contain the basic product information such as; validity, ingredients, manufacturer, importer etc. The tag might also contain the link to the producer home page or the date when the bottle was put to the self of the shop.
Following pictures illustrate the size and layout of basic passive tags.2
1 Wall Mart and Tesco internet pages2 Computerworld homepage
There are also tags that can be rewritten and are containing internal power source that enables longer operating range and longer life time. These tags are called active tags and they might have huge power supply units and weather and shock proof covers build around them. These kind sophisticated and bigger tags can be attached to e.g. container that can be than followed in the harbor or inside the ship3. The different tags also contain different amount of information- which has also impact to the price of the tag. The following table shows the approximate prices of different RFID tags4:
Tag type Extra elements Price
Basic passive tag
Basic integrated circuit and antenna
0,15-0,7 €
Rewritable passive tag with more capacity
Rewritable larger capacity circuit
0,5-5€
Basic active tag Basic elements and external power supply
5€-50€
Advanced active tag
Containing stronger power supply and better tolerance to external effects
10€- 300€
The RFID readers have also huge spectrum of different options. The size and functionality is greatly depending on the field of application. The reader can be meant only for reading similar tags from fixed distance or it must manage simultaneously many different tags at different ranges. The following pictures demonstrate different RFID readers5. The first reader is used with PC and the second can be integrated e.g. to mobile phone.
3 Texas Instruments and Savcor One internet pages4 The prices of different tags are collected from several internet sources (see references) and combined in author specified categories5 Crossbow Technology and Socketcom internet pages
On top of tags and readers the RFID solution might contain separate external antennas that multiply the tag signals. With this solution you can build local networks that can deliver e.g. the location information with great accuracy. Good examples of these kinds of local RFID networks are Singapore harbor and Lego land amusement park. In Singapore there are implemented three dimensional RFID networks which can pin point any container in real time with close to 100% accuracy. In Lego land there is build RFID network that follows the children can locate them if they get lost. The children are attached with simple RFID tag and the antennas around the park can collect the childrens location from longer distance. 6
2.3 Used frequencies
The RFID is always using radio waves to communicate between tag and reader. How ever the communication is not always done on the same frequency. The RFID systems are currently using four different frequency zones. These frequencies are varying between few kilohertz and several megahertz and the different frequencies are used in different applications. The following table will specify the different frequency zones and define where those are commonly used.
Operating frequency
Advantages Limitations Applications
Low-Frequency 125kHz-134kHz
-Widely deployed -Metal interferes minimal
-Read range less than 1,5 m
-Antitheft and immobilizer systems-Animal and container tracking
High-Frequency 13.56 MHz
-Widely deployed -Minimally affected by moisture
-Read range less than 1,5 m-Metal causes serious interference
Retail product and asset tracking- Access control
Ultra-High Frequency 868MHz-928MHz
Widely deployed -Read range significantly longer than LF and HF
- Heavily affected by moisture-Tags close to each other cause errors
-Pallet, container and vehicle tracking
Microwave 2.45 GHz
Read range greater than all other standards
-Not widely used -Complex implementation
Vehicle access control
2.4 Gaps and problems with RFID
The different standards and frequencies that are applied in RFID technology are slowing down the wider spreading of RFID applications. The systems operating in different frequencies can not work together and this can be frustrating for the companies working with RFID and as well for the real end users. Some frequencies –especially with UHF- are especially difficult due to the reason that in some counties parts of these frequencies are already reserved to the mobile phones. There are
6 Texas Instruments case study
also differences between countries in what is the used power in RFID. In Europe the readers can operate with 0, 5 watts and in US the power in many times higher. However the standardization is constantly ongoing and improvements are hopefully on the way. 7
Some materials cause disturbance for RFID readability. Especially metal and liquids are causing problems in RFID applications. This area is under heavy study and many parties are developing RFID standards tolerate better these materials.
In cases when there are several RFID that has to be read at the same time there is possibility for effect called “tag collision”. Tag collision can be managed somehow with software applications that enable of reading 20 to 1000 tags in second. This is however not enough in many environments that require faster and more reliable methods.
3. RFID Applications
3.1 Widely spread applications
RFID solutions are probably most common and well known in different asset and material tracking applications. RFID is widely used in supply chain processes where huge number of packages and pallets are moving trough warehouses, factories, harbors and shops. The RFID enables fast and relatively reliable identification of materials and this is big advantage in industries where material is moving in constant flow and the number of individual daily material transactions is counted in tens of thousands. Biggest boost in grocery industry was originated by Wall Mart, which announced that by year 2007 it main suppliers has to attach RFID tag to every product that they deliver to Wall Mart shops.8 It is quite likely that RFID will be replacing the barcodes in future supply chains. Especially the grocery business is potential leader in taking the item identification to next century. The only true question is the price of RFID tags. If the tag price can not be taken enough down –under 0.05€- we may not see the real brake trough of RFID.9
The following list presents the Top five fastest growing RFID application segments.10
No. 1 Point of SaleNo. 2 Rental Item TrackingNo. 3 Baggage HandlingNo. 4 Real-Time Location SystemsNo. 5 Supply Chain Management
7 Rinta-Runsala8 Wall Mart internet pages9 Shepard S, Forrester10 Krebs, Liard (information is from 2001)
Also important field of application of RFID is the access control and security applications. In most of the public and private companies the premises are equipped with access control systems that track the movements of personnel and allow the access to only allowed areas. Car manufactures have long used RFID technologies in immobilizer solutions that enable the vehicle to be started only with right key. The key is containing RFID tag that triggers the vehicle immobilizer off, when needed.
Newer application of RFID is the location systems where the target of location is human. These human tracking systems are used in some prisons, fun parks and lately even in schools.11 Good example of this is the Lego Land system, where lost children can be tracked down immediately. The children are carrying basic RFID tag that can be located from the park, using the network of readers and antennas that has been placed around the park. The human follow-up systems enable one very important benefit for companies working in customer interface. The behavior and preferences of customers can be recorded with huge accuracy when using RFID tracking and feedback systems. Fun parks, skiing centers or conference organizers can collect real time and accurate information about the customers by following the actions of them in their premises. E.g. skiing center can follow which elevators are most popular or which is the average age of people is in certain track.12
Lately also many companies have moved to used electronic tickets that use RFID technologies. Examples of this in Finland can be found quite many. Finnair has been testing automatic check-in system that is based on RFID technology and the public transportation around Helsinki can be paid with RFID card.13
3.2 Mobile phone applications
RFID technology is not yet really deployed in mobile phone industry. There are few examples of RFID technology adaptation in mobile phones. Nokia has produced first mobile phone that has RFID reader build in the phone. Nokia 5140 phone has RFID reader possibility trough removable RFID covers. Nokia has also published RFID kit that enable user to design simple applications for RFID usage. RFID has many potential applications that could be integrated to the mobile phones. The applications may sound good, but before those will be used commonly there will be a long journey.14
11 Shepard, RFID journal12 Rinta-Runsala & Tallgren13 YTV home page14 Nokia home page
Figure 1 Nokia 5140 with RFID covers15
Maybe most promising RFID application area in mobile phones is related product identification and linking mobile services to these specified products. The customer could example use his or her mobile phone – equipped with RFID reader- to read the information on DVD movie. After this the mobile would connect to the internet and fetch related material concerning the movie. The customer would possible want to see the trailer of the movie or view the rankings given by other customers. This is promising area of RFID application, but before it can be reality two things are needed. First of all the relatively big amount of mobile phones has to be equipped with RFID readers and secondly the big amount of products would need to attached with right kind of RFID tags. Without these two things are there is no possibility to reach the critical mass and with out the critical mass there are no major business opportunities. More about these possible limitations is chapter 4.
Mobile phone – equipped with RFID reader or tag – can be also used for device for paying goods or services. Customer could pay his travel trip, food or product with simply reading the RFID tag and getting confirmation of purchase trough e.g. SMS. Mobile RFID payment application has been launched in Japan by Japanese operator DoCoMo. User can use his or her mobile phone as electronic wallet and pay his or her products and services with it. There are 39 companies -including McDonalds and Japan railroads- offering their products or services trough this application.16 RFID payment and product identification may be the most promising areas of RFID applications in personal mobile phones, but for business usage there are existing already beneficial RFID solutions. In all businesses where the personnel of a company have to travel around the field, trough beforehand known points, it is possible to use the RFID technology as method for reporting and operating tool. All service personnel could use their own mobile phones to report their service time and other data directly to the servers by just simply reading RFID tag from the repaired item. E.g. elevator, base station or coffee machine service personnel would have direct reporting tool integrated to their mobile phones.
15 Nokia home page16 Telecom Asia
Think about the situation where coffee automata service person receives a service request with SMS to his or her personal mobile phone. After fulfilling the task he or she would just read the RFID tag – containing information what has been done and when- from the coffee machine and the data would be transferred directly e.g. to the invoicing data bases.
Nokia presents some use cases in their web pages, which has been developed around RFID. These applications are based on the idea that user touches the RFID tag with mobile phone, containing RFID reader, and the phone will connect to needed place to execute needed operation. Nokia promotes these applications as “Touch and Browse”, “Touch and Record” and “Touch and Call”. These applications do many things from browsing the internet to connecting to closest restaurant, but there is one common thing in them. These applications all use some other service to deliver value to the customer. The applications use e.g. GSM, MMS or internet browsing services.17
The access control could be also partly integrated to mobile phone. People would not need to carry different kind of keys with them if the RFID tags would be integrated to their mobile phones. This would benefit specially persons who are moving in many different premises, e.g. security guards and maintenance personnel.
4. RFID potential in mobile phone business
It is clear that RFID has many potential applications that could be integrated to the mobile phones. The applications may sound good, but those need more analyses before you can see the risks and real potential of the RFID applications in mobile phones.
4.1 Tools for analyses
The potential of the different mobile phone applications will be analyzed using SWOT analyses and Ansoff model. The SWOT and Ansoff model should together bring out the most potential opportunities and most of all the risks that may many times be hidden to the potential new businesses that rely heavily on new technologies or business prospects that are not proven in reality.
The SWOT analysis is simple tool to help matching the capabilities and potential of prospect business to the competitive environment that it would operate. Normally SWOT is used in evaluating existing companies strategic positioning, but is can be used productively to also map the potential business or new technology. The following picture presents the SWOT framework and illustrated the different aspects of it.
17 Nokia www pages
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
Figure 2 SWOT framework
Ansoff model is developed to help companies or potential companies to define the growth strategy. The model contains four different growth strategy options that may be chosen based on the product of company characteristics. (See
Figure 3 Ansoff model
I have used the Ansoff model to define the strategy that RFID mobile applications would most likely to follow and then to dig deeper to the potential success of the chosen strategy by analyzing the different aspects of the strategy in Ansoff model.
4.2 Results of analyses
I have taken the following approach in analyzing the RFID mobile phone applications. First I have defined the strategic growth area of RFID mobile phone applications, using the Ansoff model. After this I have conducted SWOT analysis for the RFID applications in chosen growth strategy path. By combining these two approaches it is possible to limit the analyses to slightly more concrete level and concentrate only the most relevant and important SWOT aspects.
We can see from the Ansoff model that RFID mobile phone applications belong to some somewhere between the “Market development or extension” and
“Diversification”. The markets are clearly new, but the product is some where between new and old. My justification for this conclusion is the fact that RFID in mobile phones is new product, but the final deliverable in these applications is usually a service that has been on the markets already for some time. With these services I point to e.g. browsing and mobile advertisement.
Due to the reason that these issues are totally separate business prospects, I have here divided the business area to two different fields:
1. RFID as new business area. (e.g. developing RFID systems and middle ware fro mobile phone usage)
2. RFID as enabler for growth of existing service business (e.g. more web browsing and mobile purchases)
The following picture shows how these fields are located to the Ansoff model:
Figure 4 Different business areas in Ansoff model
RFID as new business area is more turning to the “diversification” direction and the RFID as enabler of existing businesses is more related to market development strategy. These two different business field are analyzed together in the SWOT analyses, but then discussed separately in the conclusions.
In the following SWOT tables can be found most important issues concerning both, technological and business aspects of RFID usage in mobile phones. These aspects are based on the issues in earlier chapters and authors own judgments. As mentioned both different business areas are analyzed here together.
STRENGTHS
Existing technology Relatively cheap to modify and develop applicationsUsed widely in other business areasEnables user friendly interface to launce mobile services
WEAKNESSES
Separated standardization of technology Too expensive components (specially readers)More RFID phones and services needed in order to reach critical mass (now only on trial level)RFID only enabler, not real new value element for mobile phones?RFID security still partly unreliable Still some challenges with basic issues (interference of material, collision etc.)
OPPORTUNITIES
Could open huge extra business for service providersRFID has the basic elements to be successful also in mobile phone industry Some big players are showing the direction (Nokia, DoCoMo, etc.)Some good existing applications for companies may boost up the coming of RFIDOpen standard that can be used to develop new services (easy access to markets)
THEREATS
What is the earnings principle (is it only business for operators?)Standardization can not be done on global level Technology will not be enough reliable after all (still huge efforts to improve reliability)Other technologies may replace RFID in some potential applications. (WLAN, UWB….)If the component prices can not be reduced are end users willing to pay extra for RFID readers. Markets impregnated by technological innovations?
3. Conclusion
Does RFID have true potential of being successful technology to be adapted to mobile phones? The time will show but, currently it has still some technical challenges that have to be solved. In mobile phone applications I consider that the inadequate standardization is the most important aspect from technology point of view. The other technical limitations are not as important as in supply chain applications.
RFID is totally open and relatively simple technology that will not provide any competitive advantage as pure technology. Any new RFID invention or RFID mobile applications are currently – and seems that also in future- too easily and rapidly copied by competitors. There is no competition currently related to RFID mobile phone business, this is due to the reason that it is very much immature area where the current applications are only on test level. The only players on the field are huge telecommunication companies whose ultimate target is not to sell physical RFID products, but to boost the markets of mobile services.
As stated, RFID has still clearly its technical limitations and the number of mobile phones and applications using RFID is much too low for gaining the critical mass. However if we estimate that these challenges will be solved we might see even some killer applications enabled at least partly by RFID . The biggest potential business area comes from the possibility that RFID would bring the boost to the usage of mobile services. In this aspect RFID can not be seen as new business idea, but rather like one enabler of mobile service business. In this aspect RFID can deliver truly user friendly interface that can be used for activating huge variety of different mobile services. RFID could even bring at the same time ideas for developing new kind of services, but still it would not provide nothing else than complementary technology to link the user to these services. After RFID has spread more widely, there is potential also for business related to RFID technology. There is naturally need for better and more reliable RFID components and systems, as well as middle wear applications, but this is related to business areas where huge volumes and efficient production processes are the core competence. This results to the fact that business related to RFID hard and middle ware will be dominated by huge global companies, rather than small or start-up entrepreneurs.
Despite of some applications that can be said that are pure RFID products –like positioning systems – it seems that RFID has very limited amount of mobile phone applications that would create true business case. These applications would require environment where RFID reader/tag equipped mobile phones would be in the majority of total amount of mobile phones. This seems unlikely in near future.
The conclusion of this research paper is that RFID has huge potential in enabling growth of mobile services, but other real killer applications we have to wait for longer time. The break trough of RFID enabled mobile services will require vide co-operation from mobile phone manufacturers, operators and mobile service provides. It is unlikely that mobile phone users are willing to pay extra for RFID readers in their mobile phones, before there are real cases where they can us it. This means that manufacturers, operators and service providers has to finance this break trough. I consider this to be the biggest obstacle between mobile RFID success and failure.
References
.
Crossbow technology http://www.xbow.com/
Socket communications Inc.
http.//www.socketcom.com
Wal mart homepage http://www.walmartstores.com/wmstore/wmstores/HomePage.jsp
Tesco homepagewww.tesco.com
Computer world home pageHttp://www.computerworld.com
Container location systemhttp://www.savcor.com/one/cps_main.php
Texas Instruments: RFID caseshttp://www.ti.com/tiris/default.htm?DCMP=TIHomeTracking&HQS=Other+OT+home_tirfid
Aus RFIDhttp://www.ausrfid.com/
Rinta-Runsala E, Tallgren M, RFID-tekniikan hyödyntäminen asiakkuden hallinnassa. VTT 2004
Tutorial overview of inductively coupled RFID Systems. UPM Rafsec 2002-2004
Shepard Steven, RFID Radio Frequency Identification. McGraw-Hill. 2005.
YTV information concerning the RFID travel cardwww.ytv.fi/matkakortti/yleista.html
Telecom Asiawww.telecomasia.net/telecomasia
RFID usage in Japan. 2005.http://Ubiks.net/
The Inquirer.2005. Mobile phones turned into point'n'buy devices.http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20827
Charles Holms. 2004. Forrester research paper: Exposing The Myth Of The 5-Cent RFID Taghttp://www.rfidbuzz.com/news/2004/forrester_the_price_of_rfid_tags_wont_drop_to_005_in_the_next_eight_years.html
Networking Center: Payments via mobile phones to grow rapidly this year. 2005.http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=17939
Krebs D, Liard M, Global Markets and applications for radio frequency identification. Venture Development Corporation. 2001
Use cases for RFID. Nokia external materialhttp://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,,55739,00.html
5140 RFID phone. Nokia external materialhttp://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,,72324,00.html