What's on Our Bookshelf

A look at some recent RFID books on the market that will help increase your RFID knowledge

RFID Metrics: Decision Making Tools For Today's Supply Chains

by William Oliver Hedgepeth

Published by CRC, November 2006. Hardcover, 9.3" x 6.2" x 0.6", 152 pages, ISBN: 0849379792. $79.95.

In today's competitive business climate, organizations are under constant pressure to adapt to new technological trends or "hot" business process models. RFID is one such trend that promises to revolutionize logistical systems and provide total-lifecycle tracking of products. However, blindly adopting RFID technology without thoroughly considering its impact is just as dangerous as not adopting it at all.

Based on the author's experience testing and implementing RFID technology in both industrial and military cases, RFID Metrics: Decision Making Tools for Today's Supply Chains explains how to evaluate the need for this technology. The author focuses on the problems RFID is meant to solve, if such problems exist in your organization, and the metrics you can use to make effective decisions. After establishing what RFID is and how it fits into the systems concept, the book discusses current RFID applications around the world, reveals key metrics for decision making as well as how to develop new metrics unique to RFID, demonstrates a war game for exploring RFID, and presents statistical methods for analyzing the data collected from the war games or gathered during implementation.

CompTIA RFID+ Study Guide: Exam RFO-101

by Patrick J. Sweeney II

Published by Sybex, December 2006. Paperback, 9" x 7.4" x 1", 293 pages, ISBN: 047004232X. $49.99.

CompTIA RFID+ Study Guide: Exam RF0-101 is a comprehensive study guide that thoroughly covers the CompTIA RFID+ exam: the only certification exam offered for RFID. The book focuses on RFID frequencies, readers, transponders, antennas, RF cables, interrogation zone basics, testing and troubleshooting, standards and regulations, design selection, installation, site analysis, RF physics, and RFID peripherals. It is also accompanied by a CD-ROM that provides two bonus exams, a detailed glossary of terms, and a searchable PDF book along with Electronic Flashcards that can run on your PC, Pocket PC, or palm handheld. At the end of each chapter, there are review questions that help to prepare for the exam. A handy tear card that maps every official exam objective to the corresponding chapter in the book is also included, so readers can track the exam prep objective by objective.

The main ingredient for a successful RFID integration is to have a strong foundation of RF physics involved in setting up readers capable of successful communication with the tag. The book provides this strong foundation to emerging RF Engineers and technicians. It also covers some of the latest RF tools used in tag testing and reader installation.

RFID Explained, a Primer to Radio Frequency Identification Technologies

by Roy Want

Published by Morgan and Claypool, December 2006. Paperback, 9" x 7.3" x 0.4", 94 pages, ISBN: 1598291084. $35.00.

RFID Explained provides an introduction to RFID with a focus on passive tags. An overview of the principles of the technology divides passive tags into devices that use either near field or far field coupling to communicate with a tag reader. The strengths and weaknesses of the approaches are considered, along with the standards that have been put in place by ISO and EPCglobal. A section of the lecture has been dedicated to the principles of reading co-located tags.

The book classifies the primary RFID applications. The uses and applications of RFID sensors are further described and classified as well. Important lessons surrounding the deployment of RFID for the Wal-Mart and Metro AG store experiences are also examined, along with deployments in some more exploratory settings. Extensions of RFID that make use of read/write memory integrated with the tag are also discussed, in particular looking at novel near term opportunities. The pros and cons of issues surrounding the use of RFID, such as privacy and social implications, are explained, as are approaches for mitigating the problems and future possibilities for RFID.

Global RFID: The Value of the EPCglobal Network for Supply Chain Management

Edmund W. Schuster, Stuart J. Allen, and David L. Brock

Published by Springer, January 2007. Hardcover, 9.4" x 6.4" x 0.9", 310 pages, ISBN: 3540356541. $69.95.

This book explores the essentials of RFID and the EPCglobal Network from the perspective of a practitioner that needs to make business decisions concerning the adoption of the technology. The perspective is from the supply chain management standpoint with emphasis on case studies.

The EPCglobal Network and RFID technology holds great promise for transforming business through the use of low-cost RFID tags to improve information flow and productivity. The EPCglobal Network uses the Internet to transmit data gathered from RFID tags as well as a sophisticated information infrastructure designed at MIT.

The book contains nearly 600 citations from a number of different sources, providing a unique blend of journalism and applications research. Written for a general audience, the emphasis is on case studies concerning the value of the EPCglobal Network and RFID technology along with a focus on supply chain management and implementation. Kevin Ashton, Vice President of Marketing for ThingMagic, and Professor Sanjay Sarma of MIT provide individual essays that appear in the Foreword.

Radio Frequency Identification Handbook for Librarians

by Connie Haley, Lynne A. Jacobsen and, Shai Robkin

Libraries Unlimited, March 2007. Paperback, 7" x 10", 176 pages, ISBN 1591583713. $45.00.

The popularity of Radio Frequency Identification technology has increased as its cost has decreased and the growth shows no signs of abating. Academic and public librarians wishing to convert to RFID technology will find in this book the background they need to ask the right questions of prospective vendors, such as: "Why should my library consider implementing RFID?" "What components make up an RFID system?" "How do I select a vendor?" "How do I manage a barcode/RFID conversion project?"

The book includes: an introduction to RFID; considering implementation of RFID; tags, readers, and applications; how to select a vendor; how to manage the RFID conversion project; answers to frequently asked questions; budget sheet; conversion guidelines; survey results of library RFID products; a survey letter; on tag sorting features; RFID resources; using OpenRFP for RFID vendor selection; and suggested readings.

RFID Applied

by Jerry Banks, David Hanny, Manuel A. Pachano, and Les G. Thompson

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., April 2007. Hardcover, 8.5" x 11", 528 pages, ISBN 9780471793656. $95.00.

This book targets industrial, mechanical, electrical, or computer engineers working in the industries being impacted by RFID (mainly manufacturing, consumer products, computer/electronics, automotive, aerospace, and defense) as an introduction to the fundamentals and global applications of this technology. RFID is a broad-based technology that impacts business and society. With the rapid expansion of the use of this technology in everything from consumer purchases to security ID tags, to tracking bird migration, there is very little information available in book form that targets the widest range of the potential market. This wide ranging market is what has been targeted by the authors in the proposed book. Where most of the books available cover specific technical underpinnings of RFID or specific segments of the market, the proposed book – co-authored by both academic and industry professionals –provides a broad background on the technology and the various applications of RFID around the world. Coverage is mainly non-technical, more business related for the broadest user base, however there sections step into the technical aspects for advanced, more technical readers.