RuBee proposed as RFID alternative
RuBee proposed as RFID alternative
The move toward full adoption of radio frequency identification technology has encountered many hurdles along the way. But some seem just a bit too high to clear, especially for the produce industry.
Probably the biggest hurdle is that radio frequency signals have trouble penetrating liquid. In technology-speak, cartons of fresh produce present a "harsh environment" that result in RFID readings that are less accurate than are typically recorded when RFID chips are used on hard goods or non-liquid grocery items, such as soap or cereal.
There have been tests using ultra high frequency radio waves that seem to offer promise. But there are also drawbacks to UHF that make it somewhat unworkable for the shipping of produce to retail warehouse, which is where the RFID value-proposition appears to lie these days.
But a new technology has emerged which is, according to its developer, the polar opposite of RFID, in that it does not use radio waves. "RFID is 99.9 percent radio waves and .01 percent magnetic," said John K. Stevens, chairman of Visible Assets, which has offices in Toronto, Miami and New York. "P1902.1 is 99.9 percent magnetic and .01 radio waves."
The Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Inc., the international governing group for such technology, has designated P1901.1 as the technical designation given to the RuBee technology, which was named RuBee by Visible Assets. "There is no real reason we named it RuBee," said Mr. Stevens. "It actually was named after the song 'Ruby Tuesday.' It just sounded good."
That aside, Mr. Stevens explained that RFID is actually the reflection of a signal that is sent out using an inductive method of communication. That is why it has trouble passing through water- based products such as fruits and vegetables. He said that RuBee is a long-wave, conductive method of communication. He explained that it is two-way communication -- like a walkie talkie or a wireless Internet connection. As such, it also allows for much more communication between the "tag" and the reader. In its regular application, Mr. Stevens said that the tag can be used to transmit a large amount of data, including the temperature surrounding the product.
The good news is that this appears to have perfect applicability for produce suppliers trying to comply with the RFID mandates from retailers.
The bad news, according to Mr. Stevens, is that Visible Assets is not interested in pursuing the application of the product as it applies to the tracking of product.
"We are a small company; that is not where we are going," he said. He said that working in the retail environment is a difficult proposition. "Retailers work from quarter to quarter, and this is an eight- to 12-quarter project. They are looking for a five-cent chip, and that isn't the solution."
Visible Assets is a solutions-based company that works mostly with manufacturers of high-valued items. "We don't sell tags, we sell solutions," he said. "If the company doesn't have a [return on investment] of 50 times the cost of the product, we are not working with them."
He explained that RuBee - and RFID for that matter - are brand- new technologies that offer lots of advantages to the manufacturer. He believes that giving a manufacturer's product "visibility" is the key advantage of RuBEE. "RFID is amazing technology. We play with it in our office. It might be great for tracking, but not for visibility."
Mr. Stevens does not believe the return on investment is there for manufacturers if the only advantage is allowing a retailer the opportunity to track a product through his system. But if a manufacturer has need for visibility - and he believes produce companies may fit this description - RuBee could be the answer. The product is currently being used by what Mr. Stevens calls a number of "Fortune 500 companies" with "high-valued" products. He said that the company is also involved in a test project tracking livestock, which has proved very successful. He said that with the beef industry confronting issues of disease and how cattle are being fed, suppliers see great applicability in a tag that can give an individual cow "visibility" throughout its life cycle. If a manufacturer can sell the meat as premium and prove where the livestock has been throughout the system, that is a solution to a current problem that Visible Assets can offer.
He admitted that he does not have intimate knowledge of the produce industry, so he does not know the various applications for RuBee within the industry. But he envisioned using a RuBee tag on a pallet of product so the supplier can maintain contact with that product throughout the distribution system.
Mr. Stevens said that temperature could be tracked real time, and no product would be lost as the supplier would always know where it was. "How much is lost now?" he asked, obviously having no idea, "10 or 20 percent? What would it be worth to not lose any product? Is it worth a buck or two for a tag?"
Mr. Stevens would not discuss what a RuBee tag would cost because providing cheap tags is not the business he is in - and is not the business he wants to get in. "If someone came to me and wanted to buy 100 million, of course we could get the price pretty low."
While he is not in that business, he said that the company is currently negotiating with a few other firms that envision marketing the product to the mass-market. It is possible, he said, that RuBee could be considered a cost-efficient workable alternative to RFID, but he doesn't see it that way. "We're complementary. P1902.1 offers visibility. RFID does not."
As somewhat of an aside in response to this reporter's question, Mr. Stevens is not at all sold that RFID will ever provide what it is promising, which is cheap tracking of product.
"I'm confused," he said. "Alien is selling tags for half what they cost to make. They just issued an S1 for an [initial public offering]. They have revenues of $20 million, costs of $40 million and their burn rate is $50 million annually. How does that make sense?"
He expressed pessimism that any tag manufacturer will be able to get the price so low that there will be an ROI for tracking low-price items. If so, more power to them, he said, but that is not the business Visible Assets is in.
Probably the biggest hurdle is that radio frequency signals have trouble penetrating liquid. In technology-speak, cartons of fresh produce present a "harsh environment" that result in RFID readings that are less accurate than are typically recorded when RFID chips are used on hard goods or non-liquid grocery items, such as soap or cereal.
There have been tests using ultra high frequency radio waves that seem to offer promise. But there are also drawbacks to UHF that make it somewhat unworkable for the shipping of produce to retail warehouse, which is where the RFID value-proposition appears to lie these days.
But a new technology has emerged which is, according to its developer, the polar opposite of RFID, in that it does not use radio waves. "RFID is 99.9 percent radio waves and .01 percent magnetic," said John K. Stevens, chairman of Visible Assets, which has offices in Toronto, Miami and New York. "P1902.1 is 99.9 percent magnetic and .01 radio waves."
The Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Inc., the international governing group for such technology, has designated P1901.1 as the technical designation given to the RuBee technology, which was named RuBee by Visible Assets. "There is no real reason we named it RuBee," said Mr. Stevens. "It actually was named after the song 'Ruby Tuesday.' It just sounded good."
That aside, Mr. Stevens explained that RFID is actually the reflection of a signal that is sent out using an inductive method of communication. That is why it has trouble passing through water- based products such as fruits and vegetables. He said that RuBee is a long-wave, conductive method of communication. He explained that it is two-way communication -- like a walkie talkie or a wireless Internet connection. As such, it also allows for much more communication between the "tag" and the reader. In its regular application, Mr. Stevens said that the tag can be used to transmit a large amount of data, including the temperature surrounding the product.
The good news is that this appears to have perfect applicability for produce suppliers trying to comply with the RFID mandates from retailers.
The bad news, according to Mr. Stevens, is that Visible Assets is not interested in pursuing the application of the product as it applies to the tracking of product.
"We are a small company; that is not where we are going," he said. He said that working in the retail environment is a difficult proposition. "Retailers work from quarter to quarter, and this is an eight- to 12-quarter project. They are looking for a five-cent chip, and that isn't the solution."
Visible Assets is a solutions-based company that works mostly with manufacturers of high-valued items. "We don't sell tags, we sell solutions," he said. "If the company doesn't have a [return on investment] of 50 times the cost of the product, we are not working with them."
He explained that RuBee - and RFID for that matter - are brand- new technologies that offer lots of advantages to the manufacturer. He believes that giving a manufacturer's product "visibility" is the key advantage of RuBEE. "RFID is amazing technology. We play with it in our office. It might be great for tracking, but not for visibility."
Mr. Stevens does not believe the return on investment is there for manufacturers if the only advantage is allowing a retailer the opportunity to track a product through his system. But if a manufacturer has need for visibility - and he believes produce companies may fit this description - RuBee could be the answer. The product is currently being used by what Mr. Stevens calls a number of "Fortune 500 companies" with "high-valued" products. He said that the company is also involved in a test project tracking livestock, which has proved very successful. He said that with the beef industry confronting issues of disease and how cattle are being fed, suppliers see great applicability in a tag that can give an individual cow "visibility" throughout its life cycle. If a manufacturer can sell the meat as premium and prove where the livestock has been throughout the system, that is a solution to a current problem that Visible Assets can offer.
He admitted that he does not have intimate knowledge of the produce industry, so he does not know the various applications for RuBee within the industry. But he envisioned using a RuBee tag on a pallet of product so the supplier can maintain contact with that product throughout the distribution system.
Mr. Stevens said that temperature could be tracked real time, and no product would be lost as the supplier would always know where it was. "How much is lost now?" he asked, obviously having no idea, "10 or 20 percent? What would it be worth to not lose any product? Is it worth a buck or two for a tag?"
Mr. Stevens would not discuss what a RuBee tag would cost because providing cheap tags is not the business he is in - and is not the business he wants to get in. "If someone came to me and wanted to buy 100 million, of course we could get the price pretty low."
While he is not in that business, he said that the company is currently negotiating with a few other firms that envision marketing the product to the mass-market. It is possible, he said, that RuBee could be considered a cost-efficient workable alternative to RFID, but he doesn't see it that way. "We're complementary. P1902.1 offers visibility. RFID does not."
As somewhat of an aside in response to this reporter's question, Mr. Stevens is not at all sold that RFID will ever provide what it is promising, which is cheap tracking of product.
"I'm confused," he said. "Alien is selling tags for half what they cost to make. They just issued an S1 for an [initial public offering]. They have revenues of $20 million, costs of $40 million and their burn rate is $50 million annually. How does that make sense?"
He expressed pessimism that any tag manufacturer will be able to get the price so low that there will be an ROI for tracking low-price items. If so, more power to them, he said, but that is not the business Visible Assets is in.
