by [TC]²
A monthly column of technology rambling, rumination and reality
By: Jud Early, Corporate Vice President, and Chief Technology Officer, [TC]²
October 2006
Hello, faithful readers,
First a big “Thank you” to those who e-mailed or called to say welcome back to the Technology Corner, and those who agreed with my rant about the modern day Luddites who are trying to de-rail the adoption of RFID in a meaningful form. It seems many share my concern that this is much ado over nothing. One reader, in offering his support of my position asked in regard to the concern over big brother watching, “…what are they going to do? Scan my closet?”
In last month’s column, I mentioned attending The AAFA / RFID Journal Summit presentations by representatives from Marks & Spencer and The Laws Group. Both told about successes in implementing RFID from opposite ends of the value chain. I probably should have done a better job of connecting the dots. My intention was to illustrate that both companies are using only a part of potential capability. The Laws Group uses RFID in its manufacturing and distribution operations. M&S employs the technology to maintain full in-store inventories by scanning garments on racks with a hand held no-touch scanner and reacting to the current stock position by filling in units where sales have made the model stock plan out of balance. Both are great applications. I just wish there could be a single tag, applied at the point of manufacture that is utilized by all participants in the value chain, and even extending to use by the consumer. I believe the day will come when that is routine, but to my knowledge, there is no one doing it today. The Metro Store of the Future comes close, but on a limited number of products so far. More on that store later.
Also from last month I promised more detail on how RFID is being used to keep your feet warm and improve your cooking. Here is the story:
While at the RFID Summit in New York City, I encountered a company whose mission is to utilize RFID in wireless heating applications. One of their applications was written up in Popular Science Magazine about three months ago, and told of a wireless cooking system that had a base unit that applied energy to a removable pan which sits on the base unit. The handle of the pan is aligned along a similarly shaped projection from the base. The pan handle contains an RFID transponder and the base unit contains the interrogator. Sensors in the pan communicate via the transponder when the interrogator sends its signal to the pan handle. If the pan requires more heat for a specified temperature, the base unit applies more heat to the pan, continually monitoring the transponder until the pan temperature is at the desired level. Now sold in Japan, this may be one of the next “must have” kitchen gadgets for the precision cook.
Using a similar technology, outdoor footwear such as ski or hiking boots can also benefit. With a foot bed or inner sole containing phase change materials, the temperature of the boot can be adjusted by application of RF energy to the boot as it sits on a warming plate, and as temperature reaches the set point, communication between the boot and the warming plate will be suspended, and the phase change material will then begin to slowly give off heat until it again reaches the ambient temperature. Depending upon the differential temperatures, this might be several hours of foot comfort against the colder ambient. I failed to ask about the ability for a cooling station, but for those who may need to work in an elevated temperature such as firefighters, with a different formulation of phase change material it seems like a possibility that a cooling station might be developed. The graphics below show possible combinations of foot bed, and sensing arrangements, either as an integral design, or user’s insert.
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Images above are courtesy of Michael Bourke of Thermal Solutions. For more information on cookware or footwear, visit www.thermalsolutions.tv
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During travels of almost three weeks in Europe during May, I had the privilege of visiting the Metro Future Store Initiative. The Metro Group is an employer of more than 250,000 people, approximately 45% of which work outside of the home country of Germany. Now celebrating its tenth year, the group was built through selective acquisitions, and comprises wholesale, retail food, non-food specialty and department stores. Forty-nine percent of revenue is generated in international markets. I first learned of the Metro Future Store Initiative from a presentation at SAP’s Sapphire event about three years ago. Since its launch, a lot has been learned, with some of the earlier concepts modified, and new areas incorporated. I made arrangements to visit the store in Rhineburg, a small town north of Dusseldorf and Duisburg in Northwestern Germany. It is not an easy place to visit, but we found a helpful taxi driver who took us from the train station at Duisburg to Rhineburg, and returned for us after we completed the tour.
METRO STORE IN RHINEBURG GERMANY
Mike Fralix, president of [TC]² and I were afforded the greatest of hospitality, and were hosted by a delightful university student whose job is to shepherd visitors through the store and explain the purpose of the initiative.
SILKE MICHELE SHOWS MIKE FRALIX THE COMPUTER FOR SHOPPING TROLLEY
The use of RFID for every imaginable purpose is the reason for the establishment of the demonstration store. Goods at the distribution center are tagged with RFID tags at the carton and pallet level, as are some products originating at manufacturers where tags are placed inside of packaging. Upon receipt at the store, pallets are unloaded from trucks and undergo a receiving scan while being moved from truck to back room.
INTERROGATOR ARRAY FOR RECEIPT FROM TRUCKS
As goods are moved from the back room to the store aisles, the pallet again passes through a second set of interrogators. This allows tracking of the movement of reserve goods to the sales floor, and can provide a placement map for the different items to be dropped off in different aisles.
ALL GOODS PASS THROUGH THIS HALLWAY- INTERROGATORS ON WALL BEHIND MIKE FRALIX SCAN ALL PRODUCT GOING TO SALES FLOOR
Once products reach the sales floor, a unique shopping experience is presented. More than 30% of customers utilize the high tech features of the store. This can range from simply creating a shopping list from an internet site, to uploading the list to the store and into a shopping cart computer. Upon reaching the store, the computer with the shopper’s earlier uploaded list is snapped onto the trolley (cart).
COMPUTERS AWAITING CUSTOMER ARRIVAL
As may be seen in the photo with Silke Michelle and Mike Fralix, the computer snaps onto the trolley with attaching hardware, positioned for easy view. The display interacts with wireless access points at locations throughout the store, and guides the shopper through aisles to products on the list. While following the route prescribed on the display, computers from the store suggest other products on the shelves after analyzing the shopping list and other items picked as the shopper proceeds through the store. The shopper is prompted as they reach the point where suggested product is stocked, to stop and potentially to buy additional products. Some may feel that this is intrusive, but comments from shoppers who have been assisted seem to indicate appreciation for the help provided.
Price tags on shelves take two forms. The first is an electronic tag that is addressable from a central pricing office, and allows price changes at any time, enabling special offers to be made at random times. The central pricing office is not located in the store, but is instead a corporate office. Different pricing structures are possible for different locations, with corporate control. Local changing of the shelf tags is discouraged, but is possible in case there is a need. The tag with red and green in the photo below is the centrally controlled tag. For products that may be purchased from local growers or producers, a different tag is used. The brown colored tag below has price set by the store’s local computer, since the
SHELF TAG SHOWING PRICE AND UNITS OF SALE
LOCALLY ADDRESSED PRICE TAG
pricing of locally produced goods would not be known at the corporate office. Keep in mind that both types of tag may be addressed without anyone going to the shelf, bin or display case.
Fresh produce is weighed at an intelligent scale. Equipped with a camera and image recognition programming, the scale can tell the difference between a bright red apple and a bright red tomato. Other more distinctive produce is easier, so every item weighed by the shopper is recognized by the scale, weighed and a bar code sticker printed to attach to the item. The photo below shows a bunch of bananas being labeled.
OUR GUIDE IS POINTING TO THE CAMERA. NOTE THE DISPLAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE SHOPPER.
Display of fresh produce and fresh meats are beautifully done. The vegetables are packaged in an inviting tray pack, overwrapped with clear film, with many offered in combinations within the same package. This is apparently for the shopper who buys frequently and needs smaller but very fresh products daily. Meats are displayed on ice, open to view with no glass to restrict view. Stanchions with rope swags provide a two meter separation between the public and the product. An attendant will pick and weigh the shopper’s selection, and will custom wrap the cut before applying a bar code label from another intelligent scale. The scale in the meat department did not appear to have image recognition, perhaps because there was to be a store employee always available.
FOODS MAY BE PREPACKED OR CUSTOM PACKAGED ON DEMAND
As shoppers traverse the store, the computer on the trolley is in communication with the store’s computers. This allows the store computer to change the message as the shopper approaches displays that are mounted all around the store. By constantly reinforcing the advertising message, an increase in sales has continued for almost three years.
DISPLAYS ABOVE CHANGE AS THE SHOPPER APPROACHES, PROVIDING PERSONALIZED REMINDERS ABOUT ITEMS THAT ARE STOCKED IN THE AISLE.
MORE DISPLAYS PROVIDING PRODUCT INFORMATION. THESE HAVE FLASHY MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATIONS PRODUCED BY VENDORS.
The wine aisle contains so many items that customers could be put off by not immediately finding the wine that they want. The kiosk shown at the right of this photo brings a fun approach to wine discovery, and may in fact foster sales of wines that were not originally targeted. The consumer starts by selecting from a map of the world where they would like their wine to have been pressed. Each country which is represented by a wine that is in stock may be clicked on, then the wine producing region, and the relevant wines available are listed. To learn more about a given wine, the shopper can “drill-down” by clicking on the item, and a list of all product information will be displayed. Once a selection is made, clicking on it brings to life an IBM-built projector that is mounted high in the ceiling, which sweeps a beam of light down the aisle, stopping in front of the shelf location where the chosen wine is stocked.
WINE ASILE WITH SELECTION AND EDUCATION KIOSK
A PHOTO OF THE SELECTED WINE IS PROJECTED ONTO THE FLOOR IN FRONT OF THE SELECTED WINE. MUST BE FOR THOSE OF US OLD TIMERS WHO MIGHT FORGET OUR SELECTION WHILE WALKING TO ITS LOCATION!
Kraft Foods is a participating vendor, along with Proctor & Gamble, Gillette and other international brands. In the photo below, a smart shelf keeps track of the inventory on hand, and as a package of crème cheese is taken by a shopper, it takes note. When a trigger point is reached, the intelligent shelf notifies the back room that more product is needed for display. An obvious extension of this is the reorder of inventory based upon demand. Items that have an expiration date are tracked by individual package. Although the product flow is managed to keep inventory low, but at adequate levels, if a package should become out of date, the intelligent shelf will notify the stockroom that expired goods are on the floor.
SMART SHELVES HOLD RFID TAGGED PRODUCT AND NOTIFY THE STOCKROOM WHEN MORE PRODUCT IS NEEDED.
Shoppers are not required to pass through a conventional checkout line. Since there are many products that are not yet RFID enabled, bar codes are still used at checkout. Future plans are to allow shoppers to just wheel the trolley through interrogators where all content would be captured, and a receipt printed. Today, it is necessary for the shopper to pass each item through a scanner, and obtain a receipt. There is no store attendant present. Shoppers are expected to be honest, and are randomly checked to ensure no unscanned product is being taken from the store. About one in ten are asked to submit to a re-scan line, where an attendant re-scans the order. Asked if there was resentment about the security checks, our guide said that there had been few complaints, that most people like the freedom afforded and accept the occasional inconvenience. It is not known at this time how well an open system such as this would fare in an urban setting. In this small town, honor seems to triumph. Time is saved, and the shopper is provided as much freedom as possible. With one’s credit card on file, it is possible to enter the store, select an entire order along with suggested additions and leave the store without being checked out or having to present cash or payment cards.
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You may be asking why the story above has significance. First, it is a bold step in evaluating a different technology, and in placing the technology in a very public venue. Second, it illustrates that RFID can be found acceptable in a society that is even more reserved with regard to privacy than we are here in the United States. With adequate concerns for privacy, and protections to prevent mis-use, RFID can be effectively employed and can provide an improvement in convenience and quality of life. As the primary grocery shopper for my family, I’d like to see this adopted in my neighborhood super and specialty markets.
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I’ll be attending a meeting of the Enterprise Competitiveness Council in Cincinnati on October 11-13. On Friday the 13th we will visit the Procter & Gamble Innovation Center. Those taking the tour have signed non-disclosure agreements, so details of that tour will be limited by the content identified as confidential. However, I hope to have more news on which to report. We’ll see.
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Lately in internet blogs there has been a lot of discussion about the performance penalty that anti-virus and firewall software exact. A prominent blogger is suggesting that others should do as he does and not use these products and enjoy faster performance from your home computer. I strongly urge my readers to ignore such advice, and to keep virus definitions and firewall versions up to date. Those of you who have read this column in recent years know that I try to practice safe computing. I recently received an e-mail from a trusted customer in an eastern European country. I had been engaged in an exchange of e-mails with them over a few days, so I was expecting an e-mail with an order attached. When it arrived, I opened the e-mail and something else was attached too! Almost as soon as I opened the e-mail, my firewall captured and quarantined the Trojan horse. It was a particularly nasty one that would have opened a back door and possibly compromised my data. Instead, the offender was caught and after researching more about the named Trojan, I was able to delete the file and no permanent harm was done. The Trojan had slipped through an anti-virus scan of inbound mail, but the backup firewall protection did its job.
Until next month, stay well, compute safely, and continue reading. I appreciate your feedback. Let me know if you have an opinion on anything said above.
Jud