Interview with Francisco Melo
1. What do you think about the potential of UHF in smartphones – is it the next game-changer, or are you more sceptical?
Avery Dennison has been a thought leader in UHF RFID technology for a number of years, as well as an active ecosystem player. In this context, our opinion is that integrating UHF RFID into smartphones will be game-changing. This is not just a technological advancement; it’s a catalyst for transforming how consumers interact with the world around them. We’re excited to be leading the charge.
2. What technological challenges need to be addressed to successfully integrate UHF into smartphones?
Integrating UHF technology into smartphones and establishing an application ecosystem to take advantage of the technology are all key requirements. As the population of RFID tagged items increases it will create broader ambient intelligence, allowing users to realize greater value. Smartphones will require additional systems to unlock this potential in a seamless way.
As this capability is added to new generation chipsets, adoption of the technology is likely to begin with enterprise devices before gradually extending into consumer use as phone models become more prevalent in the market. Avery Dennison has the cloud infrastructure in place with our connected product cloud platform atma.io to help support users and brands as they begin to connect to the digitally aware items around them.
3. What added value does UHF in smartphones offer, and which target groups or markets benefit the most?
Integrating UHF RFID into smartphones presents a win-win scenario for both enterprises and consumers, with benefits extending across various markets. One of the main advantages for an enterprise is lower cost of deployment, added to a new window of connection with consumers. Meanwhile, consumers benefit from new use cases and applications.
UHF in smartphones will bring consumers and brands closer by allowing the sharing of product reviews and usage, care and content or even reordering capabilities. Consumers will have access to all of the products around them, providing the capability to connect them together, assign ownership, request repair or return shipping labels from brands. This level of interaction will open up new opportunities for smarter end-end supply chains, including reducing food waste, recycling or repurposing apparel items.
4. What applications for end users could you imagine?
“Smartphones with UHF RFID open up an exciting array of applications that improve and transform everyday experiences and create new possibilities.”
Francisco Melo – President, Solutions Group, Avery Dennison
Healthcare is a great example. Users can receive notifications that tagged medication has already been taken, that medicine dosage is overdue or if two tagged medicines have adverse effects when taken together.
There are also many retail applications, such as consumers receiving alerts on product recalls and the ability to quickly scan shopping deliveries to make sure all the items are correct. The technology can also be used to find specific items in crowded stores, engage with dynamic in-store displays in a personalized way for product information and promotions, and discover a product’s origin, carbon footprint, and recycling instructions.
In both the food and beauty space, alerts allow users to receive timely notifications about expiring items to minimize safety concerns or waste. UHF-enabled smartphones have the potential to revolutionize how we shop, manage our homes, and interact with the world around us.
