The retail industry resumes work safely and quickly, and RFID technology solves the problem of "maintaining social distance"

People all over the world have begun to restore life order from the new coronary pneumonia epidemic. In order to minimize the continuous spread of disease and ensure people's safety, the usual social distance recommendation is: people should maintain a distance of one to two meters. This rule means that small stores can only enter one or two customers at a time, and dozens of customers at large. An Austrian solution provider is working hard to create a fully automated system to help the store reopen, while following the guidelines for maintaining social distance.

Resource-intensive processes

In order to control the customer flow of retail stores, merchants have different ideas and ingenuity. Some companies appoint employees as gatekeepers, and open doors to welcome new customers after customers leave; some companies set up manual counters at the door, assign employees on duty, and count the number of people in and out. When the number of people in the store approaches the upper limit, new customers are suspended. Large retail stores may need to arrange more employees. They will designate an entrance and an exit, and assign an employee to monitor the number of people at the entrance and exit. When the number of people leaving the store reaches a certain number, the employees at the exit will send a signal to the employees at the entrance telling them that more customers can enter the store.

These methods can effectively control customer traffic and limit the number of people in the store, but from an operational point of view, the efficiency is slightly lower. Each of these methods requires the assignment of dedicated staff who will be on duty throughout the business hours of the store.

Red lights stop, green lights go

It is reported that the system will provide different forms of devices, the simplest form is a plug-and-play system that can be used out of the box. No technicians are required to install it. Store staff simply unpacks, places the system at the entrance, and plugs into a normal power outlet.

系统由两个单位,即一个automatic retrieval device and a gate. The automatic retrieving device is placed a few feet in front of the entrance and displays simple instructions on the display. The customer takes out the RFID electronic label sticker from the automatic pick-up device and sticks it on the clothes or bag. The gate is placed at the entrance, using UHF RFID reading and writing equipment to read the tags, and the number of people entering and exiting is counted electronically. The top of the gate is equipped with traffic lights, which can be used to inform customers when it is safe to enter the store. A green light means that you can enter, while a red light means that the store is full and customers need to wait for the admission signal.

Unlimited number of doors

If the store has only one entrance and exit, only one system needs to be installed to count the number of customers, control the flow of customers, and maintain social distance. For stores with a more complex layout, the system can use the built-in WiFi function to connect to the online platform and monitor multiple entrances and exits simultaneously.

The business suspension caused by the epidemic has put many retail stores in financial difficulty and it is difficult to quickly return to previous income levels. This is partly because consumer confidence has declined and consumption has been reduced. Another reason is that stores need to increase additional expenses to comply with maintaining social distance. New regulations. The new regulations require counting the number of customers, which usually means additional fees are required to hire existing employees or hire new employees to manage the number of people entering and leaving. With the help of RFID technology, the store can maintain an appropriate number of people during business hours, allowing employees to focus on their daily work.

RFID technology behind intelligence

This system relies on the high reliability and long reading range of UHF RFID technology, which means that it is unlikely that shoppers will be missed through the gate. RFID electronic tags are specially coded for entrance and exit devices, so they will not interfere with any tag systems already in use in the store.

The RFID system also has an anonymous tracking function for detailed analysis. Measure the stay time of customers in the store and determine the peak hours, which can more effectively allocate the working time of the employees in the store. Store managers can use RFID handheld terminals or industrial tablet PCs to download the data on the residence time in the store and learn about the dynamics in the store in real time. Through the WiFi interface, the system configuration can also be modified according to a customizable device. For example, you can increase or decrease the number of people allowed to enter the store as needed to comply with the ever-changing social distance criteria.