University of Arkansas Study Finds RFID Can Add Value to EAS

In the recently completed study, researchers at the University of Arkansas laboratory used EAS technology for comparison sake, against a variety of RFID readers and tags that the laboratory already owned. Both ADT and Checkpoint provided information about shoplifting methods and how to test EAS technology in a "noncooperative environment," such as individuals trying to shield the EAS or RFID tags as they leave the store. Often thieves will hide tags under their arm, in a hat or in a foil-lined bag. The researchers replicated those scenarios with the study.

Armed with the results of the preliminary testing, ADT is now seeking input from its retailer customer base about the use of RFID in conjunction with existing EAS. Randy Dunn, director of RFID sales and marketing at ADT says the study proved that RFID could be used as a security option for retailers when tagging items in the store. However, he says, the redundancy provided by an RFID solution, with alerts sent both through the EAS system and the RFID system, makes a combined solution a good choice. He adds that when an RFID chip is embedded in a plastic EAS card, it is much less vulnerable to tampering while in the store.

"I think we will see combinations of those technologies at least in the near term," agrees Hardgrave, in part because EAS systems are already so prevalent in the retail environment and stores may be more inclined to add RFID technology to an existing solution than replace the EAS system entirely. What RFID offers, Hardgrave says, is knowledge not just that something is being stolen, but what that item is. With existing EAS systems, Hardgrave says, "When something is stolen, the store gets a double hit. They know something is being stolen but, they don't know what it is," he says. Without that knowledge—what is being stolen and how much of it—stores not only lose an item, but also don't have the knowledge they need to replenish their stock. RFID, combined with a traditional EAS system, would provide that data.

A year ago, Checkpoint released its Evolve hybrid system, which incorporates an RFID inlay and a traditional EAS inlay in one tag (see Checkpoint Combines EAS Tags With RFID). Within the past few months, UPM Raflatac began selling EPC Gen 2 tags with a built-in electronic article surveillance (EAS) function that retailers could turn on or off (see Raflatac Releases RFID Tags With Built-In EAS).

At the RFID Journal LIVE! 2008 conference and exhibit, which will be held in Las Vegas on April 16-19, Dunn says ADT will release prototypes of combined EAS and RFID solutions, with an RFID chip embedded in a plastic EAS tag and an RFID reader in the store's EAS deactivator at the point of sale and in the exit pedestals, which detects when live labels pass through its field and then sound an alarm.