In a newly released analyst report, the Venture Development Corporation (VDC) estimated that total rugged mobile device sales – comprised of notebooks, slates / tablets, fixed vehicle, handheld/PDAs, and wearable computers – generated $5.4 billion in 2007 worldwide and is expected to grow 6.8% through to 2012.1 
As the market grows, there is growing evidence that user demands are already shifting towards 2D area imaging, speech, voice and RFID. Another VDC report indicated that the growth for imaging technology is expected to outpace that of laser technology due to declining price points and enhanced performance capabilities, and is strengthening imaging’s position as a viable alternative.2
With warehouse and retail predicted as being applications that will see significant uptake in the amount of mobile computers sold in coming years, these emerging trends will have significant impact.
 VDC indicates that the global market for mobile devices sold into a warehouse or distribution centre environments was estimated at USD$1,045.5M and is expected to grow 8.2% annually through to 2012.1 VDC also indicates that the global market for mobile devices sold into retail services was measured at USD$855.7M in 2008 and is expected to grow 5.1% annually through 2012. Leading applications besides inventory control applications include price marking / shelf labelling and backroom to shelf stocking. 1
Besides adapting to emerging trends, with current economic challenges, businesses must focus on streamlining operations, increasing productivity, and maximizing return on investment. To do so, CIO’s and Operation Managers must focus on the future of data capture – namely, the future of 2D Imaging Technology within scanning and the future of RFID.
The growth of 2D Imaging Technology
Scanning technology has undergone unprecedented innovation in the past two to three years, with 2D imaging now the fastest growing type of data capture technology. While the scanning market as a whole has grown 8%, the 2D imaging technology market has experienced 20% growth this year alone.
The surge in popularity of imaging represents a tremendous role reversal compared to the recent past, when laser-based scanning technologies had an 80% market share. Since 2006, however, imager-based products have steadily outsold laser-based ones.
The migration towards 2D imaging can be attributed to a number of benefits provided by the technology over existing alternatives:
Ability to read more data
Two dimensional barcodes are able to encode more data than traditional 1D barcodes. While linear barcodes can contain up to 20 characters, 2D barcodes can hold up to 4,000 characters in an even smaller amount of space, making them more space-efficient as well.
For customers, this means that instead of only being able to track a product or package with a number as it moves throughout the supply chain, they can include a database with complete item details along with the product or package.
Ability to read barcodes omni-directionally
Another benefit of 2D imaging technology is the ability to read barcodes better and faster. In tests carried out by Intermec on the company’s breakthrough EX25 two dimensional imaging scanner, workers were told to scan a number of items from different directions 100 times. The results found scanning with the EX25 to be 66% faster than with linear laser scanners, saving forklift drivers as much as one hour per day by using it.
Ability to recover damaged data
Two-dimensional barcodes embed error correction capability in order to recover data encoded in damaged or poorly printed barcodes. This ability to greatly reduce exceptions and manual processing has a direct impact on the overall productivity of data collection applications. It should be noted that all 2D solutions in the marketplace are not equivalent when it comes to reading difficult barcodes.
Ability to provide more than just barcode scanning
Since imaging scanners work by taking photographs of the barcodes and then reading these barcodes, this technology opens the door to a host of new applications that rely on images. One such example is professional document capture: Transport and Logistics companies tend to grow by acquisition, and each acquired company generally has its own shipping label and IT system. Integrating and standardising these systems can be a long and painstaking process. However, this way, at the point of pickup a worker can take a picture of a non-standard delivery bill and send it electronically to their company for processing which saves valuable time.
Future data capture applications include ID control for the delivery of valuable goods (iris recognition, passports and ID cards verification) and advanced OCR (optical character recognition) for recognising and deciphering characters on a document.
Ability to read barcodes directly off metal items (Direct Part Marking)
Finally, imaging scanners’ ability to read barcodes off items such as metal is a tremendous advantage. This means that instead of companies having to attach a sticker containing a barcode onto their product, they can emboss a barcode directly on the product. This is especially useful in the spatial, aeronautical or automotive industries for identifying key parts.
 The Future of RFID
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has always been considered a forward-looking technology. Today, most of the focus is on how emerging Electronic Product Code (EPC) RFID tags can help connect trading partners and align supply chains across borders to deliver wide business benefits.
There have been a number of key achievements that have driven RFID technology development and led to increased understanding and adoption of the technology (i.e. the retail mandates set down by large firms like Wal-Mart in the U.S, instructing those within the company’s wider supply chain to adapt to RFID technology), as well as the fact that the electronic chips inside RFID tags are being produced in ever smaller dimensions - and for rapidly falling costs. The development of global RFID standards has helped ensure consistency of application across borders.
When considering widespread growth in adopting RFID though, it is not so much nations as vertical markets which many experts view in terms of market maturity and growth with RFID. There are a number of RFID vertical markets which are well established globally, these include:
- Railroads – Container / freight carriage tracking
- Automotive manufacturing – Tracking of high value parts
- T&L – Asset tracking and toll roads
- Building – Access control
- Live Stock Tracking
The Return of the Closed Loop
Despite the past press attention and financial investment in open loop RFID systems, the attitudes of the RFID industry are currently undergoing a paradigm shift in the direction of closed loop systems.
The majority of RFID deployments that Intermec is currently involved in are closed loop; specifically because this method allows the client to gain the benefit through streamlining their own supply chain, asset management or manufacturing processes. Closed loop directly and exclusively serves the interests of the individual corporation and leaves the deployment and MIS (management information systems) integration issues within the corporation’s control.
About Intermec
Intermec Inc. develops, manufactures and integrates technologies that identify, track and manage supply chain assets. Core technologies include RFID, mobile computing and data collection systems, bar code printers and label media. The company’s products and services are used by customers in many industries worldwide to improve the productivity, quality and responsiveness of business operations. For more information about Intermec, visit www.intermec.com.au or Ph 1800 333 120 or +61 2 9330 4400
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