UHF is not a substitute for HF!
RFID technology in the HF and UHF frequencies provides transparency and process reliability in numerous industrial and intralogistic processes. Bernd Wieseler, Head of Product Management RFID at Turck, explains how security can be enhanced and costs can be reduced at the same time. He talks about this in a 8-page story of RFID & Wireless IoT Global, issue 02/2020.
In an interview, Bernd Wieseler underlines the importance of HF technology for industry. The RFID expert sees application-related advantages with UHF, but he also says: "UHF is not a replacement for HF.
Mr. Wieseler, what advantages does the collaboration of HF technology and OPC UA generate?
OPC UA is a very important architecture for Turck. We are convinced that OPC UA will become even more important in the future than it already is today. We have been involved in committees and associations for this technology at an early stage in order to contribute to the corresponding AutoID Companion Specification.
Together with other companies, we have developed a new release. This release is currently being reviewed and approved by the OPC Foundation. The aim of the new release is to simplify communication between different devices and levels. The focus is on simple methods. The release is planned for the end of April 2020.
Is HF RFID in the industrial environment overshadowed by UHF? Is the potential of HF actually being underestimated?
UHF has advantages. These include higher ranges, disposition for bulk readings and performance in metallic environments. UHF is therefore also a driver of RFID solutions in industrial applications.
But one thing must be clear: UHF is not a replacement for HF. HF RFID has its own advantages. Firstly, countless HF applications have been in efficient use for years. The know-how is therefore immensely high. From a pragmatic point of view, there is no good reason for companies using HF to change the radio frequency.
The advantages of HF technology are the low-cost hardware, especially the data carriers and the robust identification almost independent of the environmental conditions. In my opinion, the potential is very high, but has been pushed somewhat into the background by the growth of UHF applications.
Read on!
Bernd Wieseler, Head of Product Management RFID, Turck: “An absolute unique selling point at Turck is that we combine OPC UA and HF RFID. Many of our customers use HF RFID and do not need to switch to UHF because it does not give them any advantages. However, the use of OPC UA is a benefit in order to create an extended communication to the higher-level systems.”
Read the 8-page story in the RFID & Wireless IoT Global, issue 02/2020.