The Use of RFID in Manufacturing and Packaging Technology Laboratories

Mandated use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) on goods at pallet, case and item level continues to churn the Consumer Product Goods (CPG), logistics and retail industry. The statement ?Internet of things? is slowly becoming true; with concerted efforts from standard setting bodies such as Electronic Product Code (EPC) global, International Standards Organization (ISO), Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies like Gillette, P&G and major retailers like Wal-Mart, TESCO, and the US DoD, to replace barcodes with RFID tags. RFID bridges many areas of manufacturing including inventory management, assembly operation, material handling, packaging and shipping by providing an accurate and real time access to materials and products information.This paper reviews the RFID technology and its significance in engineering and technology education. The conceptual design of four packaging-based RFID projects are presented. The major costs involved in setting up an RFID system for educational applications are also discussed.