Thread

1. hollow-moe · 1791010412 · focus · HN ↗

   What a bad piece. Optical is obsolete. Decathlon (here in France at least) has RFID on all their products, they're used as anti-theft, automatic tilling: you just put them in a box at the register and it knows what it is (also kills the chips once paid) and very likely they're used all along the logistic chain.

   1. cocoto · 1791011643 · focus · HN ↗

      Too pricey for food, it’s cheaper to print.

      1. qayxc · 1791014428 · focus · HN ↗

         Passive ones can be less than a cent per unit.

         1. clintonb · 1791015271 · focus · HN ↗

            Ink is cheaper.

            1. bnegreve · 1791016229 · focus · HN ↗

               Not if you include the cost of the employee scanning the bar codes.

               Even if the customers does it, it still takes a lot more time and space than scanning a basket full of RFIDs labels. It literally takes seconds.

            2. qayxc · 1791020057 · focus · HN ↗

               I've worked in wholesale logistics (backend for inventory management) for many years way back when and let me tell you, cost of ink vs cost of a chip the least of the problems. Barcodes (and QR codes as used here) have two major flaws: reading them is challenging (works fine if the package is undamaged and you TRUST that it contains what it says on the box) and they're still just a number. RFID can help with both these issues and the savings from that can outweigh the additional cost by a lot.

               Utility is key and RFID has a lot of advantages over bar codes (and QR codes).

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.