Radio frequency identification tags at the item level may be valuable to retailers in controlling inventory, according to a study released by the University of Arkansas RFID Research Center.
Researchers applied three different types of tags to different clothing items in actual retail environments to see if they would transmit information without delay or interference. The tags had previously been applied primarily to pallets and cases. Researchers found a near 100 percent "read rate" between the tags and the readers, which included hand-held readers and mobile kinds on forklifts and pushcarts.
"The overall results are very encouraging," says Bill Hardgrave, director of the center. "This project has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of RFID for specific applications and has the potential to satisfy many common-use cases, especially in inventory management."
Source: Northwest Arkansas Online, http://www.nwaonline.net/