MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – With holiday shopping in full swing, the ability to track packages is essential.
The University of Memphis researches tracking technology called Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, in their AutoID lab.
According to the university, the lab includes a simulator of the package labeling and logistic process and has a national reputation because of partnerships with FedEx and other shipping and labeling companies.
Dr. Kevin Berisso, an associate professor at the University of Memphis and director of the AutoID Lab, has been in the industry since the ’90s. He said the RFID technology has come a long way.
“Apparel was originally where a lot of this took off because RF works well around cloth. It does not work around metal or well around water, but with that sensitivity improvement, we are now able to put it on more and more products,” said Berisso.
Inside the lab, there is a conveyor belt that includes an RFID tunnel. According to Berisso, the tunnel scans the barcode, and if everything supposed to be in the box is inside, it makes its way down the belt ready to go out for delivery.
Berisso said if the package is wrong or missing something, it gets pushed off to the side for a check.
“You want to ensure that you’re picking the right thing, shipping the right thing and getting it to the right place at the right time and automatic identification is the enabling technology that allows for all of that to occur and for us to experience that quick turnaround, that overnight delivery, second delivery that we have really kind of come to expect and demand,” said Berisso.
Berisso said this helps improve stocking by the stores and allows customers to get what they need when they need it.
There’s still a long way to go, and now Berisso, along with students, is working to increase efficiency when it comes to using the technology, including shipping packages.
“Scanning one or two boxes with a barcode is easy. If I have a pile of 70, or 80, or 90 items that I have to receive as a driver, that’s going to take me quite a while. If I can take a handheld device and ping that stack of boxes with an RFID reader, I can pick up all of those boxes very quickly,” said Berisso.
He hopes this technology will help to get last-minute holiday gifts into the hands of those who need them sooner.
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