{"id":7970,"date":"2025-01-30T17:00:25","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T16:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kathrein-solutions.com\/?p=7970"},"modified":"2025-02-12T09:00:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T08:00:47","slug":"interview-uhf-rfid-in-the-smartphone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kathrein-solutions.com\/en\/news\/interview-uhf-rfid-im-smartphone\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: UHF RFID in the smartphone"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Thomas Brunner, Managing Director at KATHREIN Solutions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thomas Brunner, Managing Director of Kathrein Solutions, spoke at the Interview with Anja Van Bocxlaer<\/a> from Think WIoT<\/a> about the potential of RAIN RFID technology through Qualcomm's announced RFID integration into the next Snapdragon\u00ae Mobile Platform.<\/p>\n


\nBackground<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Today there are two large areas in which RAIN* (UHF)\u00a0RFID<\/a>\u00a0is widely used. On the one hand, these are purely\u00a0industrial applications<\/a>to optimize and control the efficiency of production processes, to equip assets with an ID, a digital type plate so to speak, or to digitize a vehicle fleet in order to Tolling systems or parking solutions<\/a> to automate.<\/p>\n

In addition, RAIN RFID has established itself as an identification solution for consumer goods, above all, of course, the clothing sector and luxury goods. This is primarily where global\u00a0Logistics processes<\/a>but also optimizations such as inventories and self-service payment processes can be automated and made more efficient using RAIN RFID.<\/p>\n

The third and least developed area is the use of RFID technology for interaction with the end customer, with the smartphone playing a central role here.<\/p>\n

* RAIN - an acronym for RAdio frequency IdentificatioN - is intended to refer to the connection between UHF RFID and the cloud, where RFID-based data can be stored, managed and shared via the Internet. (RAIN Alliance)<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

1 Mr. Brunner, what are the latest developments in the field of UHF RFID, and how do you assess the integration of this technology in smartphones?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Thomas Brunner:<\/strong>\u00a0The focus of UHF RFID has traditionally been on retail, particularly in product labeling. This segment also accounts for the largest quantities. However, the visionary idea has always been to integrate UHF RFID into smartphones so that end customers can interact directly with the tagged products. This gap is now being closed by Qualcomm's announcement.<\/p>\n

RFID tags are currently mainly used in logistics. Decathlon uses them for self-service checkouts, while other clothing manufacturers use them for intralogistics, store logistics and inventory. But the next step is the \"last mile\" - direct interaction with the end customer.<\/p>\n

This seemed technically challenging for a long time, but we are now at a point where advances in energy efficiency, transmission power and chip technology are making this integration possible. This is primarily intended for consumer smartphones. Here, ranges of up to 120 centimeters should be reliably achieved.<\/p>\n

The long-term goal is to enable interaction with the end user via the air interface. This is not only good news for the industry, but also a catalyst to massively increase the number of tagged products. As a result, the use of RAIN RFID solutions in intralogistics and logistics in general is becoming increasingly sensible across the entire transportation segment - an aspect that is already the subject of intense debate.<\/p>\n

The driver for the use of UHF RFID is the optimization of efficiency in logistics and transport. Integration into smartphones also has the advantage that customers' consumer behavior can be better analyzed and products tailored to their needs can be developed, offered and positioned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The potential to target end customers directly with UHF RFID is the next milestone, and we are only at the beginning of this exciting development.\" - Thomas Brunner<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. how do you see the current challenges in the area of UHF RFID, particularly with regard to reader functionality and standards?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n

\"\"Thomas Brunner:<\/strong>\u00a0The air interface protocol of RAIN RFID is standardized worldwide in a so-called ISO standard (ISO 18000-6C), interoperability is therefore possible without any problems, which is also one of the greatest advantages that RAIN RFID offers.<\/p>\n

Work on the standard is ongoing, particularly with regard to further useful security functions, extensions such as\u00a0Gen2V3<\/a> are of great importance for many security-relevant solutions. Particularly with regard to global standards, I believe it is very important for the global RFID community that there is no diversification or proprietary solutions of chip manufacturer-specific extensions to the standard, which have unfortunately become increasingly common in recent times.<\/p>\n

A key issue is the selective read function, i.e. the ability to prevent multiple devices from reading the same tag at the same time. There are currently still challenges here, as several smartphones or\u00a0Reader<\/a>\u00a0can be in the vicinity of a tag at the same time. Work still needs to be done on the standards here in order to be able to offer a reliable solution. A major step forward will be to enable interaction with the end user via the air interface.<\/p>\n

In practice Load carrier<\/a> with products that are not yet individually tagged. In the future, however, it will become increasingly common for products to be tagged independently, which will drive the technology forward significantly. Major players such as UPS, DHL and Fedex see RAIN RFID as a key technology for the next ten years, especially for collection and sorting systems.<\/p>\n

Through the possibility,\u00a0Transponder<\/a> (technical core of a tag) with a so-called authentication function, personal or otherwise security-relevant data can be protected against unauthorized access. Such security functions are already included in the standard and are used millions of times over.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. how do you see the future of UHF RFID compared to other technologies such as barcodes, QR codes and NFC?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

Thomas Brunner:<\/strong>\u00a0UHF RFID is currently still competing with technologies such as barcodes and QR codes. These are easy to produce, cost-effective and enable fast authentication and serialization.<\/p>\n

The Advantages of UHF RFID<\/a> are becoming increasingly clear, however, as products are increasingly being fitted with RFID tags - a key driver for our industry. We are therefore very optimistic that this development will progress quickly and concretely.<\/p>\n

In the field of industrial mobile devices, we are also seeing a trend towards UHF RFID, as many of these devices now rely on Android as the standard. The Qualcomm chipsets used in these devices support the integration of UHF RFID and offer great potential for the future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"I see NFC more as a supplement to UHF RFID. In the future, however, we will see more and more dual-frequency chips that support both NFC and UHF RFID. Many of the products we develop for toll systems and vehicle registration are now dual-frequency transponders as standard.\" - Thomas Brunner<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Thomas Brunner:<\/strong> Even though Qualcomm will launch UHF RFID chipsets for smartphones in the near future, we expect it will take a few more years before this function is widely used. We expect it will take about five years to reach a market penetration of 20 to 30 % so that this function can be used on a broad basis.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, UHF RFID and NFC will exist in parallel. NFC is already widely used today and can be considered the standard in almost every smartphone, as the global penetration rate is over 50-60%.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

4. what developments do you expect for UHF RFID in the industry, especially for handheld devices and their integration?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

Thomas Brunner:<\/strong>\u00a0Since its introduction, UHF RFID has pursued the vision of item-level tagging, which is primarily used in logistics and industrial production. Originally, the focus was not on the identification of individual products, but on the identification of load carriers or other larger units. However, the development of passive UHF transponders has paved the way for a broader application.<\/p>\n

In the future, it will become increasingly common for products to be tagged directly. This development makes UHF RFID a very relevant technology.<\/p>\n

Another important point is the development of handheld devices. In future, there will be smaller, simpler industrial handhelds that support HF RFID in addition to the existing UHF RFID functionality. This will be made possible by integrated chipsets that combine these technologies. The transmission power can be lower, as consumer applications do not require the same range as industrial devices.<\/p>\n

However, this does not mean that robust devices with a large antenna and long range will become obsolete. On the contrary, these devices will still be needed in specialized areas and could also benefit from this development. There will also be an increase in devices that look like pistol grips, offer UHF functionality and can be paired with mobile devices via Bluetooth.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/h6>\n
The idea of integrating UHF RFID into smartphones so that the end customer can interact directly with the tagged products has always been visionary. An AI guides customers through the current range in the store -
\ncrazy or soon to be realized?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

5 In your opinion, what factors are decisive for end customers when using UHF RFID technologies?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

Thomas Brunner:<\/strong>\u00a0At present, there are still relatively few applications in which the end customer comes into direct contact with the technology. Some large retail companies, such as Decathlon, automate the so-called self-checkout with RFID, and EAS systems are also increasingly relying on RFID technology. Here, too, the end customer can come into direct contact with RFID.<\/p>\n

NFC is already a big step ahead here; we encounter it every day when paying with our smartphones or, more recently, in electronic patient records.<\/p>\n

The breakthrough in distribution came with the integration of NFC into cell phones. In my opinion, a similar development can also be expected for RAIN RFID. The already massive annual quantities of RAIN RFID chips (over 4 trillion units in 2023) are likely to continue to increase massively due to the expected possibility of interaction with the consumer, and there is no end in sight.<\/p>\n

Interaction with the consumer is primarily about recognizing which products the end customer is interested in. Today, we only receive this information if the customer actively scans a product with NFC or a QR code. This will be easier in the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"Due to the limited size and battery capacity of smartphones, it is not possible to achieve ranges comparable to those of industrial readers, but in my view this is not necessary for the focus on end customer applications, for which an RFID detection range of 1 - 2 meters is sufficient.\" - Thomas Brunner<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thomas Brunner, Gesch\u00e4ftsf\u00fchrer von Kathrein Solutions, sprach im Interview mit Anja Van Bocxlaer von Think WIoT \u00fcber das Potential der RAIN RFID Technologie durch die von Qualcomm angek\u00fcndigte RFID Integration in die n\u00e4chste Snapdragon\u00ae Mobile Platform. Hintergrund Heute gibt es zwei gro\u00dfe Bereiche, in denen RAIN* (UHF)\u00a0RFID\u00a0breite Anwendung findet. Dies sind zum einen rein\u00a0industrielle Anwendungen, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":7979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kathrein-solutions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kathrein-solutions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kathrein-solutions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kathrein-solutions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kathrein-solutions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7970"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.kathrein-solutions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8050,"href":"https:\/\/www.kathrein-solutions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7970\/revisions\/8050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kathrein-solutions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kathrein-solutions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kathrein-solutions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kathrein-solutions.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}