RFID to Foil Shop Lifts

Surely at some stage in our lives we have all seen the electronic article surveillance (EAS) alarm getting triggered at some mall when some one tried to walk past with goods he had lifted.

Starting from June 2006, RFID will be integrated with existing EAS measures to form a more effective surveillance system to curb and check shop lifting. This new system from Vue Technology and Tag Co. will provide up to item-level visibility of high-end items in the store, and possibly catch a theft in action, before the product leaves the store. It will also give the store keeper trace where products are moved within the store which will not only help stop fraud but also improve in locating it location and in logistic upkeep.

This means that if a new employee at the shop decided to shift a large quantity of a certain item fro its original shelf to elsewhere, this change would be picked up and be seen as tantamount to shop lifting and would lead to setting off alarms. Alarms need not always be audible to let the person know his act has been noticed. According to Tim von Kaenel, Vue's senior vice president of product management and business development the alarm could be a message appearing on the store's computer screens to convey shift of certain items has taken place giving full details of the exact location too.

Since these RFID tags cannot be read at distance more than 12 inches they will be ineffective at the doorways. Therefore it is felt that the combination of the two methods EAS (with a 9 foot range) and RFID will give the fool proof solution to check fraud both at the shelf level and at the door way.
Finally the new system with its advantages has one BIG plus point in its favor - there is no need to chuck away your existing EAS readers but merely need to upgrade it to a better solution provider. This along with the new tracking software called IntelliManager will be provided and integrated by Vue Technology at a reasonable price.