RFID JOURNAL LIVE! is the world’s largest conference and exhibition in its field, focusing on RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) and related technologies. The recent influence of AI is also evident in the RFID field, as RFID technology is expanding into the IoT field, and AI technology is gradually penetrating into related services.
The event alternates each year between Orlando, Florida and various locations in North America, and this year it was held at the MGM Grand Convention Center in Las Vegas for three days from Tuesday, April 9 to Thursday, April 11. This year’s 22nd annual event featured more than 100 exhibitors from over 26 countries showcasing RFID tags, readers, software, and services. The schedule changes from day to day, but basically the conference is held in the morning, and events are held in the afternoon, mainly in the exhibition hall. Every year, the latest RFID products and solutions are unveiled, which attracts a lot of attention among industry professionals.
Here are some of the themes that were highlighted at this year’s RFID JOURNAL LIVE!
RFID and its Applications
A variety of RFID tools and applications were presented throughout the event, including the efficient use of RFID technology to manage and track products in warehouses. Solutions to promote recycling and reuse by using RFID to understand the lifecycle of products were also discussed.
Augmented Reality (AR) and RFID
At this event, there was a lot of interest in the AR goggles “X-AR” developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that can read RFID tags and locate items around them.
By reading the information on RFID tags and mapping the information and location associated with the tags onto the real-world image, the work can be performed more efficiently.
Artificial Intelligence and RFID
AI is beginning to be used to analyze data from RFID and sensors to understand and manage farm conditions and even predict health problems. Siemens Healthineers presented a solution that uses RFID and AI to track and record medical devices in hospitals.
Keynote and Awards
The event kicked off with a keynote address on the “LIVE! Immersive Stage,” an interactive main stage set up in the center of the exhibition hall. The keynote pointed out that the industry is no longer the domain of early adopters alone, and that more and more companies are transforming their businesses with technologies that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, from RFID and IoT to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
This main stage featured not only keynote speakers, but also immersive product demonstrations and the announcement of the finalists for the RFID Journal Awards as well. The RFID Journal Awards recognize outstanding achievements in the field of RFID, and finalists are selected based on their innovative use of RFID technology in a variety of applications. Six categories were awarded: Best New Product, Best Retail or Restaurant Implementation, Best Manufacturing or IIoT Implementation, Best Supply Chain/Logistics Implementation, Best Use of Disruptive Technology to Enhance a Product or Service or Improve Business Operations, and Best Large-Scale Deployment.
The main RFID Journal Award winners and their summaries are as follows:
Best New Product Award
Zebra Technologies won this award for its FXR90 ultra-durable fixed readers. These RFID readers are designed to perform reliably in harsh environments, with a read rate of more than 1,300 pages per second.
Best Manufacturing and IIoT Award
Zebra Technologies was recognized for its collaboration with Yamaha G3 Boats. Yamaha uses RFID technology to enhance real-time tracking, automate data collection, and improve visibility into manufacturing operations.
Best Large-Scale Deployment Award
UPS won this award for Smart Package Smart Facility, one of the largest RFID deployments in the United States. The implementation reduced operating costs, increased productivity, and enhanced the customer experience through accurate location information.
Best Retail/Restaurant Award
Goodwill Industries of Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia uses RFID to enhance customer experience, improve inventory management, reduce labor costs, and improve loss control in retail stores.
Next year’s event will be held again in Las Vegas from May 6 (Tuesday) to 8 (Thursday), just after the Golden Week holidays in Japan. The venue will be moved from MGM GRAND to PARIS.
