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Krause Outlet Takes Window-Shopping to the Ultimate Level
As with reservations phoned in by customers standing in front of the store window, orders placed by Internet users result in instructions from the computer system to the hanging rack. The rack is instructed as to which item to take out of circulation, then reads the tags on all items that pass by the interrogator and automatically sorts out those that have been reserved.
Tags used in the application are 13.56 MHz, with a proprietary air-interface protocol. The system's designers chose these tags because EPC Gen 2 tags were not yet considered the industry standard at the time the system was developed. Krause uses about 2,000 tags, which are made by X-Ident Technology. Readers and antennas were provided by Feig Electronic. The tags are the size of a credit card, and are attached to clothing in the same way other hangtags are attached with a plastic thread. For garments such as shirts and jackets, tags are always placed near the brand label at the back of the collar. For pants, the tags are always located near the brand label on the back of the waistband. Interrogators are able to read the tags even at short range, since the tags are always in the same place on each garment.
At the point of tagging, the RFID tag's unique ID number is linked in the store's database to the bar-coded ID number printed on the label attached to the item.
If Krause ultimately expands the application to all 50,000 items in his warehouse—which he is currently considering doing—he says he would endeavor to switch over to EPC Gen 2 tags, since that is the standard for the retail and textiles industry.
What's more, Krause is considering setting up the automated hanging rack system to automatically photograph each item. At present, employees must manually photograph garments intended for placement in the store window when they are RFID-tagged.
Krause says his decision to invest in radio frequency identification was "right on the money," given the potential of RFID compared with bar-coding. He has yet to experience high sales with his 24-hour store in the industrial zone, but feels he would do so if he implemented such a system in a large city.
Click here to watch a video about the application.
Krause has filed for a patent for the system.
Tags used in the application are 13.56 MHz, with a proprietary air-interface protocol. The system's designers chose these tags because EPC Gen 2 tags were not yet considered the industry standard at the time the system was developed. Krause uses about 2,000 tags, which are made by X-Ident Technology. Readers and antennas were provided by Feig Electronic. The tags are the size of a credit card, and are attached to clothing in the same way other hangtags are attached with a plastic thread. For garments such as shirts and jackets, tags are always placed near the brand label at the back of the collar. For pants, the tags are always located near the brand label on the back of the waistband. Interrogators are able to read the tags even at short range, since the tags are always in the same place on each garment.
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| After a customer pays for an item, an RFID-enabled conveyor system delivers it directly to the purchaser. |
If Krause ultimately expands the application to all 50,000 items in his warehouse—which he is currently considering doing—he says he would endeavor to switch over to EPC Gen 2 tags, since that is the standard for the retail and textiles industry.
What's more, Krause is considering setting up the automated hanging rack system to automatically photograph each item. At present, employees must manually photograph garments intended for placement in the store window when they are RFID-tagged.
Click here to watch a video about the application.
Krause has filed for a patent for the system.
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