differences between Barcodes and RFID
Barcodes and RFID are common aspects in inventory control systems that are common in malls and supermarkets. What they do is that, they are involved in stock identification through the application of modern technology. The most popular of the two indeed is the barcode that has been indeed been widely used in large malls and supermarkets. The RFID which also serves the same purpose is new and relatively more advanced in terms of the technology it uses. What we are going to focus on in this article is the general comparisons of either in terms of their characteristics and the consequent advantages and disadvantages of the two.
The main difference between the RFID and the barcode that we need to start with is the fact that the barcode as opposed to the RFID is to some extent manual. In barcodes, the concerned article or product is identified by a series of lines that are read by a barcode reader in close proximity. In RFID, the reading by any device for identification is not very close to the article or product to be identified. Barcodes methods are very useful in keeping inventory records of any stock in a super market or shopping mall. Barcodes are simply a series of lines that are hanged or stuck on a product to identify it and hence develop an invoice when it is sold out.
RFID which actually means radio frequency identification involves the wide use of electronic chips which generate an identity code for identification when read by a RFID reader. The basic difference that the RFID has from a barcode is based on the fact that, signals from the RFID scanner can pass through objects and therefore can identify a product which is far and hidden. When it comes to the barcodes, the product to be identified is indeed placed very close to the reader and in some cases when the codes are hidden; the scanner is not able to identify the product. In short, RFIDs are by many accounts efficient and reliable compared to barcodes.