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Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) technologies are a diverse family of technologies that share the common purpose of identifying, tracking, recording, storing and communicating essential business, personal, or product data. In most cases, AIDC technologies serve as the front end of enterprise software systems, providing fast and accurate collection and entry of data.
AIDC technologies include a wide range of solutions, each with different data capacities, form factors, capabilities, and "best practice" uses. AIDC technologies also include mobile computing devices that facilitate the collection, manipulation, or communication of data from data carriers as well as through operator entry of data via voice, touch screens or key pads. Each member of the AIDC technology family has its own specific benefits and limitations—meaning there is no "best" technology. Rather, applications may be best served by one or more AIDC technologies. Multiple AIDC technologies are often used in combination to provide enterprise-wide solutions to business issues. Most AIDC technologies are defined by international and national technical standards. International, national or industry application standards also exist to define the use of AIDC technologies. |
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See below for overviews of the following AIDC technologies:
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Barcodes
Biometrics Card Technology Data Communication Direct Part Marking |
Electronic Article Surveillance
RFID Real-Time Locating Systems Contact Memory Voice |
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition
Optical Character Recognition Optical Mark Recognition Machine Vision |
Barcodes |
Since their invention more than 50 years ago, barcodes have been enablers for accurate data capture, the rapid movement of goods, and all types of automation. Whether at the Point-of-Sale, in a hospital, or in a manufacturing environment these little black and white images deliver incredible value.
There are many different bar code symbologies, or languages. Each symbology has its own rules for encoding characters (e.g., letter, number, punctuation), printing, decoding requirements, and error checking. Bar code symbologies differ both in the way they represent data and in the type of data they can encode: some encode numbers; others encode numbers, letters, and a few punctuation characters; still others offer encodation of the 128 or 256 ASCII character sets. Recently unveiled symbologies include options to encode characters in any language as well as specialized data types. Bar codes in common use are covered by international standards. International standards also cover print quality measurements and equipment. Bar code technology standards define:
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Biometrics |
Biometrics are automated methods of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic. Among the features measured are face, fingerprints, hand geometry, handwriting, iris, retinal, vein, and voice.
Biometric technologies are becoming the foundation of an extensive array of highly secure identification and personal verification solutions. As the level of security breaches and transaction fraud increases, the need for highly secure identification and personal verification technologies is becoming apparent. The need for biometrics can be found in federal, state and local governments, in the military, and in commercial applications. Enterprise-wide network security infrastructures, government IDs, secure electronic banking, investing and other financial transactions, retail sales, law enforcement, and health and social services are already benefiting from these technologies. Biometric-based authentication applications include workstation, network, and domain access, single sign-on, application logon, data protection, remote access to resources, transaction security and Web security. Trust in these electronic transactions is essential to the healthy growth of the global economy. Utilized alone or integrated with other technologies such as smart cards, encryption keys and digital signatures, biometrics are set to pervade nearly all aspects of the economy and our daily lives. Utilizing biometrics for personal authentication is becoming convenient and considerably more accurate than current methods (such as the utilization of passwords or PINs). This is because biometrics:
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Card Technology |
Card technology encompasses more than credit or bank cards--other sizes and materials are used for different applications. The card can be made of plastic (polyester, pvc, or some other material), paper, or even some amalgamation of materials. The common point is that the card is used to provide "access" to something and it includes some form of automatic identification and data capture technology. There are currently three main technologies we think of when we mention card technologies:
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Data Comm |
Radio frequency transmission has been with us since Guglielmo Marconi first demonstrated wireless communications a century ago. Within 30 to 40 years of Marconi’s discovery, radios had become a fixture in nearly every U.S. household. However, it has been only within the last half-dozen years that wireless data transmission has come into its own in a business environment.
RFDC first appeared in warehouses and distribution centers as an enabling technology for automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) implementations, where hardwiring was unfeasible and/or real-time updating of the host database was critical. Early applications typically ran on PCs or controllers, scattered throughout a facility, which were interfaced to what was essentially a batch-oriented host. Those early systems were costly, quirky, and limited in transaction processing. However, they often made automated data capture a reality in environments where hard-wired systems were impossible. Further, RFDC offered certain advantages over hard-wired AIDC systems — interactivity and real-time updates of inventory, shipments, or manufacturing applications — that companies could turn to their own competitive advantage. Technology improvements kept pace with RFDC’s steady growth, so that present-day RFDC-based systems provide powerful, sophisticated, and reliable wireless solutions for a wide variety of both local-area and wide-area networked applications. Five frequently cited benefits to using Radio Frequency Data Communication are
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Direct Part Marking |
Direct Part Marking (DPM) is a technology used to produce two different surface conditions on an item. These markings can be created by laser etching, molding, peening, etc.
Traditional print quality measures are based on the assumption that there will be a measurable difference between dark and light elements of a symbol. Because DPM symbols frequently do not have sufficient contrast between elements intended to be dark and light, it is often necessary to provide specialized lighting in order to produce highlights or shadows in order to distinguish the various elements of the symbol. DPM Quality Guidelines Document Acknowledging that current ISO print quality specifications for matrix symbologies and two-dimensional print quality are not exactly suited for DPM symbol evaluation, an ad-hoc committee under the supervision of the AIM Technical Symbology Committee developed a guideline to act as a bridge between the existing specifications and the DPM environment in order to provide a standardized image based measurement method for DPM that is predictive of scanner performance. The document describes modifications which are to be considered in conjunction with the symbol quality methodology defined in ISO/IEC 15415 and two-dimensional symbology specifications. It defines alternative illumination conditions, modifications to the measurement and grading of certain parameters and the reporting the grading results. |
Electronic Article Surveillance |
Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) is a technology used to identify items as they pass through a gated area. Typically this identification is used to alert someone of the unauthorized removal of items from a store, library, or data center.
There are several types of EAS systems. In each case, the EAS tag or label is affixed to an item. The tag is then deactivated when the item is purchased (or legally borrowed) at the checkout desk. When the item is moved through the gates (usually at a door to the premises), the gate is able to sense if the tag is active or deactivated and sound an alarm if necessary. EAS systems are used anywhere there is a chance of theft from small items to large. By placing an EAS tag on an item, it is not necessary to hide the item behind locked doors and so makes it easier for the consumer to review the product. Today's EAS source tagging, where the tag is built into the product at the point of manufacture or packaging, has become commonplace. This makes the labeling of goods unnecessary, saving time and money at the store. |
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) |
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is in use all around us. If you have ever chipped your pet with an ID tag, used EZPass through a toll booth, or paid for gas using SpeedPass, you've used RFID. In addition, RFID is increasingly used with biometric technologies for security. Unlike ubiquitous UPC bar-code technology, RFID technology does not require contact or line of sight for communication. RFID data can be read through the human body, clothing and non-metallic materials.
Components A basic RFID system consists of three components:
The antenna emits radio signals to activate the tag and to read and write data to it. Antennas are the conduits between the tag and the transceiver, which controls the system's data acquisition and communication. Antennas are available in a variety of shapes and sizes; they can be built into a door frame to receive tag data from persons or things passing through the door, or mounted on an interstate toll booth to monitor traffic passing by on a freeway. The electromagnetic field produced by an antenna can be constantly present when multiple tags are expected continually. If constant interrogation is not required, the field can be activated by a sensor device. Often the antenna is packaged with the transceiver and decoder to become a reader (a.k.a. interrogator), which can be configured either as a handheld or a fixed-mount device. The reader emits radio waves in ranges of anywhere from one inch to 100 feet or more, depending upon its power output and the radio frequency used. When an RFID tag passes through the electromagnetic zone, it detects the reader's activation signal. The reader decodes the data encoded in the tag's integrated circuit (silicon chip) and the data is passed to the host computer for processing. RFID tags come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Animal tracking tags, inserted beneath the skin, can be as small as a pencil lead in diameter and one-half inch in length. Tags can be screw-shaped to identify trees or wooden items, or credit-card shaped for use in access applications. The anti-theft hard plastic tags attached to merchandise in stores are RFID tags. In addition, heavy-duty 5- by 4- by 2-inch rectangular transponders used to track intermodal containers or heavy machinery, trucks, and railroad cars for maintenance and tracking applications are RFID tags. Active or Passive RFID tags are categorized as either active or passive. Active RFID tags are powered by an internal battery and are typically read/write, i.e., tag data can be rewritten and/or modified. An active tag's memory size varies according to application requirements; some systems operate with up to 1MB of memory. In a typical read/write RFID work-in-process system, a tag might give a machine a set of instructions, and the machine would then report its performance to the tag. This encoded data would then become part of the tagged part's history. The battery-supplied power of an active tag generally gives it a longer read range. The trade off is greater size, greater cost, and a limited operational life (which may yield a maximum of 10 years, depending upon operating temperatures and battery type). Passive RFID tags operate without a separate external power source and obtain operating power generated from the reader. Passive tags are consequently much lighter than active tags, less expensive, and offer a virtually unlimited operational lifetime. The trade off is that they have shorter read ranges than active tags and require a higher-powered reader. Read-only tags are typically passive and are programmed with a unique set of data (usually 32 to 128 bits) that cannot be modified. Read-only tags most often operate as a license plate into a database, in the same way as linear barcodes reference a database containing modifiable product-specific information. Frequencies RFID systems are also distinguished by their frequency ranges. Low-frequency (30 KHz to 500 KHz) systems have short reading ranges and lower system costs. They are most commonly used in security access, asset tracking, and animal identification applications. High-frequency (850 MHz to 950 MHz and 2.4 GHz to 2.5 GHz) systems, offering long read ranges (greater than 90 feet) and high reading speeds, are used for such applications as railroad car tracking and automated toll collection. However, the higher performance of high-frequency RFID systems incurs higher system costs. Advantages The significant advantage of all types of RFID systems is the noncontact, non-line-of-sight nature of the technology. Tags can be read through a variety of substances such as snow, fog, ice, paint, crusted grime, and other visually and environmentally challenging conditions, where barcodes or other optically read technologies would be useless. RFID tags can also be read in challenging circumstances at remarkable speeds, in most cases responding in less than 100 milliseconds. The read/write capability of an active RFID system is also a significant advantage in interactive applications such as work-in-process or maintenance tracking. Though it is a costlier technology (compared with barcode), RFID has become indispensable for a wide range of automated data collection and identification applications that would not be possible otherwise. Developments in RFID technology continue to yield larger memory capacities, wider reading ranges, and faster processing. It is highly unlikely that the technology will ultimately replace barcode — even with the inevitable reduction in raw materials coupled with economies of scale, the integrated circuit in an RF tag will never be as cost-effective as a barcode label. However, RFID will continue to grow in its established niches where barcode or other optical technologies are not effective. If some standards commonality is achieved - whereby RFID equipment from different manufacturers can be used interchangeably - the market will very likely grow exponentially. |
Real-Time Locating Systems |
Real-time visibility into exact locations of containers and cargo has never been as important as today with increased movement of cargo from offshore, the need to move it quickly to final destinations and new security requirements. Today’s wireless technology provides critical visibility into supply chain activities, delivering benefits to carriers, shippers and customers.
Real Time Locating Systems are fully automated systems that continually monitor the locations of assets and personnel. An RTLS solution typically utilizes battery-operated radio tags and a cellular locating system to detect the presence and location of the tags. The locating system is usually deployed as a matrix of locating devices that are installed at a spacing of anywhere from 50 to 1000 feet. These locating devices determine the locations of the radio tags. The systems continually update the database with current tag locations as frequently as every several seconds or as infrequently as every few hours for items that seldom move. The frequency of tag location updates may have implications for the number of tags that can be deployed and the battery life of the tag. In typical applications, systems can track thousands of tags simultaneously and the average tag battery life can be five or more years. |
Contact Memory |
Contact memory technology is ideal for use in harsh industrial applications and in situations that would render barcodes unreadable or impractical. Buttons can mark hazardous and radioactive waste for long-term storage, track the maintenance of airplane brakes, and store repair diagrams. Attached to the ears of livestock, buttons track the animals from birth through processing, and carry data on feed and antibiotic use. Contact memory technology is well-suited to guard tour and access control applications in which users can access secure areas conveniently. Versatile touch/button technology can be used in healthcare to create records and match mothers and newborns, or to track items along an assembly line and to store manufacturing history.
Key Attributes and Limitations
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Voice |
Voice recognition technology converts human speech into electrical signals and transforms these signals into coding patterns with assigned meanings. Voice terminals shine as automated input devices in applications where an operator's hands and eyes are occupied, enabling source data capture in real time.
Voice Data Collection (also called Voice Data Entry) requires no special printed or encoded symbols, no exotic-looking equipment, nothing much more intimidating than a telephone headset. It is also the only technology that is generally trained to the way a human works rather than requiring the human to learn the machine's way of doing things. Key Attributes and Limitations
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Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) |
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) is most commonly used to encode and read information on checks and bank drafts to speed clearing and sorting. It is also effective for uncovering fraud, such as color copies of payroll checks or hand-altered characters on a check, both of which are easily detected by the absence of magnetic ink. Fast clearing and sorting, as well as fraud detection, benefits customers, financial institutions, and retail establishments.
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Optical Character Recognition (OCR) |
Forty years ago, before bar code technology was a gleam in the grocery industry's eye, OCR was being used in commercial applications. The technology enables scanners and computers to read human-readable text. OCR shines in applications where human-readability is required, in electronic document processing and management, and in high-volume scanning of numerical transaction data.
Key Attributes and Limitations
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Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) |
Generations of students subjected to standardized testing are all too familiar with optical mark recognition, though few are likely to recognize it by name. One of the earliest types of automated data entry, also referred to as mark sense, OMR processes marked data by detecting and measuring reflected light flooding the form. When a mark has been made within a constrained area (with a #2 pencil or more recently, a felt-tipped pen), it absorbs light. Subsequently, electronic circuitry recognizes the mark as valid and sends a digital signal to the computer. The form data, represented by mark positions, are translated to ASCII text records for use in a variety of applications.
Another huge application is in lotteries, where participants can quickly and easily mark their selection of numbers on a machine-readable ticket. Although less sophisticated than other optical data collection technologies, OMR can serve certain high-volume data collection applications very cost-effectively because of labor and cost efficiencies. It has a lock on the educational market and is growing steadily in commercial and government applications. Key Attributes and Limitations
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Machine Vision |
Video camera-based machine vision systems have been used for industrial inspection and quality control for a number of years. However, they have only recently been integrated into AIDC applications because 1D linear barcodes were scanned far more cost-effectively with laser scanners. The recent development and use of 2D matrix barcodes has rapidly driven technology refinements and cost-efficiencies in vision-based scanning used for AIDC applications.
Key Attributes and Limitations
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