RFID radio frequency identification technology is essential for laundry and dyeing enterprises to achieve information management.

Author Profile

Director of the Expert Committee on Laundry Industry of China Commercial Federation, Deputy Director of the Expert Committee of China National Garment Association, Deputy Director of the National Garment Engineering Center, Deputy Director of the National Garment Industry Productivity Promotion Center, Chief Engineer of China National Garment Group, Professor at Donghua University (formerly China Textile University).
Concurrently serves as an expert at China Textile Construction Planning Institute, technical expert at China Light Industry Quality Certification Center, consultant of the National Garment Washing Machinery Standardization Committee, principal of the Sino-French joint "Beijing Esmont Advanced Fashion Art School", and deputy editor-in-chief of the textile discipline of the Chinese Encyclopedia.
Professor Wen has long been engaged in teaching and research in mechanical design and garment engineering. He has led and undertaken national key projects on clothing culture and high technology during the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth Five-Year Plans and the Tenth Five-Year Plan, winning multiple National Science and Technology Progress Awards. In 1996, he was awarded the title of Advanced Individual in National Science and Technology Projects. Currently, he focuses on research, consulting, teaching, and training in digital technology for modern garment enterprises, garment engineering technology, and garment equipment. His expertise lies in garment machinery washing and garment fabric science.

      
Currently, the traditional washing process in our laundry enterprises is as follows: front desk receives clothes → numbering → sorting and classification → stain removal → dry cleaning or water washing → drying → ironing, finishing, packaging → transportation to storage → sorting, distribution → customer. The main problems in the entire process are: the operation mode is manual, resulting in very low efficiency; the washing process is unclear, so it cannot be controlled or managed; customers have trouble and waste time finding their clothes or washed products; the entire process is not conducive to modern information management of laundry enterprises. To modernize and informatize our laundry enterprises as soon as possible, it is urgent to apply high technology to transform our traditional laundry enterprises. The reason why our laundry enterprises have relied heavily on manual operations throughout the washing process in the past is mainly due to the lack of a good coding medium and intelligent sensor technology during washing. However, the recently developed Radio Frequency Identification technology (RFID) can manage the entire washing process from receiving clothes coding to delivery along with the washed items. In recent years, with the growth of RFID applications, costs have been continuously decreasing, with the lowest market price dropping to about 1 cent, providing a reliable guarantee for our enterprises to widely use RFID technology. Especially since 2009, the globally promoted Internet of Things technology has made RFID its core.
The so-called Internet of Things (IoT) technology is a new technology based on the Internet, connecting all things in the world organically. Just as interpersonal communication relies on the Internet, things are also connected by networks. The IoT is the third wave of the global information industry after computers, the Internet, and mobile communication networks. Its emergence has transformed the entire social model from human-centered to multi-centered, i.e., thing-to-thing, human-to-thing, and thing-to-human modes. Many IT experts, economists, entrepreneurs, and government officials believe that the innovative integration of the IoT and the Internet will become the technological driving force for the next round of global economic development. Building a vast IoT not only drives new investments but also improves economic operation efficiency. Because of this, RFID technology has become a new technology applied across various industries worldwide. At the 2010 China Laundry Industry Exhibition held in Shanghai, Hangzhou Xiongwei Company launched an RFID washing consultation system. So, what is RFID technology?
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is the abbreviation of radio frequency identification, which means identification through radio waves. RFID is a system where the information to be identified is stored on electronic tags (also called RFID cards, transponders, etc.); the data on the tags is read by readers (also called read-write devices or base stations). Readers can not only read stored information but also write data to electronic tags. A read or write process is achieved through wireless radio communication between both parties.
This is realized through wireless radio communication between both parties, see Figure 1.

In the figure, the reader supplies energy to the electronic tag; if multiple electronic tags need to be read, time sequencing is required; middleware is the interface between enterprise application systems and hardware, connecting the computer with the reader to read data on electronic tags; an electronic tag is essentially a chip that can be powered by the reader during operation or can have its own power supply. The radio frequency signal between the reader and the electronic tag is realized by radio wave spatial coupling, commonly with two types of coupling: one is inductive coupling — similar to a transformer, coupling is achieved through a high-frequency alternating magnetic field in space, with typical frequencies of 125KHZ, 225KHZ, 13.5MHZ, and a recognition distance less than 1m (ideally 10~20cm), see Figure 2. The other coupling method is electromagnetic backscatter coupling — this form is similar to radar principles, where the electronic wave emitted by the reader is reflected back by the electronic tag target, carrying the information on the tag. This method commonly uses ultra-high frequencies such as 433MHZ, 915MHZ, and super high frequencies like 2.45GHZ, 5.8GHZ, with reading distances ranging from over one meter to tens of meters, commonly 3~10 meters, see Figure 3.
From the above, it can be seen that the RFID system has different characteristics from other identification systems:
1) It is a non-contact automatic identification technology realized through electromagnetic coupling;
2) The radio frequency used is standardized according to unified norms, not arbitrary;
3) The stored identification data is digital, encoded through internationally unified coding technology, enabling multiple applications such as identity recognition, product and goods identification, industrial process monitoring, logistics, inventory, distribution, etc.;
4) Multiple readers and electronic tags can be combined to form a network, enabling larger-scale applications, such as bus card systems;
5) The RFID system is a high-tech field composed of multiple disciplines including computer science, radio communication, integrated circuits, and electromagnetic field theory.

As mentioned earlier, RFID electronic tags convert information into digital data for unified encoding, making it easier for readers to read. This requires standardized encoding, which is managed by the "Global Electronic Code Center (EPCglobal)" established in 2003 by the International Article Numbering Association (EAN) and the Uniform Code Council (UCC) in the United States. Its main tasks include the management and allocation of electronic codes (EPC); RFID technical specifications and standards; network system architecture; software system integration, information processing, standards, and specifications. Under the leadership of EPCglobal, each country has its own coding center, such as EPCglobal US in the United States and EPCglobal China (abbreviated as ANCC) in China. Under unified international management, standardization work is carried out, electronic coding EPC is promoted, and EPC users are trained. The purpose is to integrate RFID radio frequency identification technology with existing internet, computer, and communication technologies, using EPC coding technology to create a physical internet that covers all things worldwide, also known as the "Internet of Things" mentioned earlier. At this point, the internet and the Internet of Things merge, meaning both people and things are online, allowing any computer worldwide to interconnect, achieving information resource sharing and collaborative work. Therefore, based on the internet and RFID, the Internet of Things can establish information connections for a much larger number of items, providing advanced information management methods for commercial logistics, warehousing, production, and other fields. If we apply it to the washing process, its management and informatization will be quite advanced. The future EPC large system composed of the Internet of Things and the internet is shown in Figure 4. Figure 4 illustrates the EPC large system. For a washing process, management can be implemented as long as RFID technology and a local network are available. Laundry companies only need to assign an electronic tag to each garment to be washed when collecting clothes. All washing information data is written onto the electronic tag, which then enters the various washing processes. The company's application system computer can obtain various information about the garment during the washing process through the reader, allowing you to track, manage, and control the washing process. This enables modern information management for laundry companies. After implementing this, the traditional washing problems mentioned earlier no longer exist. The entire washing process operation is modernized and highly efficient; the entire washing process is clear at a glance, allowing both control and management; customers can quickly find their clothes or washed products; and the entire washing process achieves modern information management.
After reading the above introduction, everyone may think this technology is excellent but may also have doubts: First, during our washing process, there are temperature, acidity, alkalinity, and impact forces. How can electronic tags be placed on clothes? Can they withstand these conditions? In fact, electronic tags come in various forms, such as card-shaped, strip-shaped, disc-shaped, watch-shaped, round, rectangular, etc., and can be made as small as 0.5mm square. Various electronic tags and readers are shown in Figure 5. If we place the electronic tag chip on thin paper film or plastic thin film, it can be hung, carried, or attached to washing clothes. It is not afraid of impact during washing and is more resistant to temperature, acid, and alkali, meeting any of your choices. Second, some think electronic tags and readers are expensive and will increase washing costs. Regarding price, it should be viewed from two aspects: currently, an electronic tag costs between 0.6 yuan and 2 yuan. The price decreases continuously as the usage quantity increases. Additionally, electronic tags can be reused multiple times and read and written repeatedly. If an electronic tag is bought for 1 yuan and reused ten times, the cost per use becomes 0.1 yuan, so price should not be a problem. Another issue is the security of using electronic tags because RFID readers can read tags remotely without the individual's knowledge, or when customers pay with credit cards, electronic tags may be linked to the customer's identity, affecting personal privacy confidentiality. Also, if a laptop with an RFID reader expansion card and software that can access and modify tag content is used, electronic tags must withstand tampering. These possible situations require electronic tags to have security measures. Generally, electronic tags provide a "kill" command with self-destruct functionality. For safety, two-way encryption can also be used to ensure security. Of course, whether a laundry company should apply RFID radio frequency identification technology to transform traditional washing processes and modernize enterprise management depends on the company's actual situation, especially its talent and informatization level. (The author is the Director of the Expert Committee of the China Commercial Laundry Association)