Marks and Spencer checks out RFID

Marks and Spencer has been testing a novel transponder IC in a small-scale trial to evaluate the use of RFID technology to improve supply chain efficiency and product availability for customers.

A transponder IC from EM Microelectronic has been used by Marks and Spencer in a small-scale trial aimed at evaluating the use of RFID technology to improve supply chain efficiency and product availability for customers.

The four-week trial, which ended on 7th November was conducted at one store in the UK on a limited selection of men's suits, shirts and ties.

The circuit provided by EM Microelectronic is a passive, read-only 868MHz UHF RFID IC containing a 64bit identifier number programmed during fabrication.

The IC is contained within a paper label that is attached to the garment alongside the separate pricing label and is designed to be cut off and thrown away.

The garment information associated with the unique identifier number is held on Marks and Spencer's secure computer database and relates only to that garment's details, for example, the size, style and colour.

As a result, the chip can be of minimum complexity, which is ideal for very cost-effective solutions in closed system logistics applications.

The RFID IC is part of a new generation of UHF chips and is optimised to yield the absolute minimum die area.

The device is a UHF and microwave (300MHz-2.45GHz) single-chip solution with a very small footprint slightly above 0.25mm2 with two pads for antenna attachment.

Depending on the chip programming, tags can be read at speeds between 0.5 and 100m/s.

Up to 240 tags can be read per second, and the average tag ID reading rate is nearly 200 tags per second.

"This kind of UHF circuit can also be used in other applications closely linked to logistics and supply chain management, such as transport management of goods, anticounterfeiting and tampering, toll collection, sport applications, parcel and baggage tracking and pallet tracking", says Mougahed Darwish, President of the Management Board of EM Microelectronic.

"Such achievements and capabilities are no surprise, since EM Microelectronic has more than 14 years experience in this market and is number one in the worldwide RFID IC market, according to a recent study".

Now that the trial has ended, Marks and Spencer will be evaluating the performance of the technology and its acceptance by customers.

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