Newsletter #250 (View other news stories)
Cascade integrates RFID technology into attachments
PORTLAND, OR, United States
Thursday, 9 Mar 2006
by US correspondent Roger Renstrom
Cascade Corp and Intermec Inc are working with US software and technology providers to create an integrated radio frequency identification (RFID) system for forklifts.
The two principals, along with Cisco Systems Inc and RedPrairie Corp, aim to integrate a mobile computer into any forklift’s structure without having the hardware look like a bolted, taped or wired add-on.
Cascade product manager Brad Vandehey said the Portland-based firm focused on two concepts, an RFID-enabled load backrest applicable to any forklift platform and an RFID-enabled carton-clamp-force solution for pallet-less warehouse handling of boxes.
Intermec, of Everett, Washington, supplies second-generation RFID technology, known as Gen 2, and related equipment including computers. Intermec has experience with barcode technology that RFID may replace.
A unified wireless real-time location system from Cisco, of San Jose, California, improves a forklift driver’s operational accuracy and efficiency.
Mobile resource management software from RedPrairie, of Waukesha, Wisconsin, complements the Cisco system or other software. RedPrairie software provides the X and Y coordinates of an RFID-enabled forklift, reports a truck’s movements and monitors the time it spends in each location.
Chris Johnston, Intermec principal product manager for RFID marketing, said market introduction of components for the forklift RFID system would occur over many months.
During 2006’s second quarter, a cable-management strap of thermoplastic elastomer will be available for connecting power and communications cables to a forklift frame. The connector adjusts to various sizes of forklift structures, keeps cabling safe and avoids cobbling with zip ties or duct tape.
During 2006’s third quarter, Intermec plans to begin shipment of an in-dash-mounted CV30 computer, a smaller version of the firm’s CV60 vehicle-mount computer.
Distribution of the adaptable load backrest is slated for late 2006. The Cascade-designed component has seven vertical compartments or cavities and is usable on any forklift platform. Having the compartments as a framework "drives down the cost of installing the antenna cell and thinline RFID reader", Johnston said.
Once a user has the backrest on a forklift, an Intermec technician can install the antenna and reader in the cavities with no need for customisation. The antenna is on a transparent polycarbonate plate measuring 7 inches (175 millimetres) square. Neither the antenna nor the reader obstruct a driver’s vision.
Cascade "will manage data cabling and electrical cabling" for any forklift manufacturer’s original equipment, Vandehey said.
In a year, Intermec expects to offer an ergonomic, trademarked control grip. "Traditional vehicle-mount installations are often cumbersome for operators to use, and keyboards are subject to damage and failure," Johnston said.
Intermec designed the grip to manage the RFID system and an embedded laser scanner for barcode exceptions. As needed, a driver can remove the grip from a stationary holster, scan a defective tag and manage the exception himself.
Vandehey said modulation of clamp force was important. "We see damage reduction as a large part of the RFID world," he said. Cascade has collaborated with carton handlers on RFID-related clamp-force tests in several pilot locations for about six months.
In mid-2005, Intermec established a corporate priority to develop an RFID system for forklifts. From an initial list of 150 firms, a team of industrial designers, product marketers and engineers selected and visited eight current US customers that were early RFID adopters and operated forklifts with vehicle-mounted Intermec computers.
By listening to the "voice of the customer" through interviewing operations and information technology managers and forklift operators Intermec "developed a concept with a lot of features", Johnston said.
The concept vehicle was displayed initially on February 8 at Intermec’s Global Partner Conference and from February 27 to March 1 during RFID World 2006, both in Dallas, Texas, USA. For the project, developers used a sit-down counterbalanced FC 4000 series forklift from Crown Equipment Corp, of New Bremen, Ohio, USA.
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