The real-time awareness of the location, amount, origin, destination and schedule of materials can be achieved by automatic identification and communication technologies.

Automatic identification equipment and technologies are:

Automatic, paperless communication includes:

Bar codes offer the simplest, most accurate, cost-effective method of data entry and collection. Compared to manual entry methods-which possess an error rate of one in every 300 characters entered-bar coding is virtually error-free. With less than one error per one million characters entered, bar coding offers numerous advantages over traditional, manual methods of data entry.

Bar codes can be printed at a low cost with a wide variety of printing techniques. Symbols can be scaled to suit particular requirements, can be printed at very high speeds, and can be read by a variety of readily available reading/scanning equipment. Bar codes offer exceptional security, minimize errors and offer highly successful first-time read rates. Scanning a bar code brings speed and productivity improvements, and real-time data interchange (via radio frequency scanning equipment) allows timely information to be accessed almost instantly while the data is still current. Bar codes are frequently printed with human-readable text, which allows for simultaneous automatic and human decoding.

Additionally, reduced labor costs, improved organizational productivity and profitability can be realized with the implementation and use of a bar coding system. Any process or procedure that involves manual entry can be made faster and more accurate by using bar codes.

Summary of the advantages of bar coding:

Bar codes typically employ a parallel arrangement of varying-width bars and spaces, arranged in a particular pattern to incorporate data. Both the black bars and white spaces in bar code symbols are used to enter and decode data. While some bar codes use the bar height and/or diameter to incorporate data, linear symbologies are the most common form of bar codes in use today.

UPC symbols are decoded as a twelve-digit number, representing the following:

The Code 39 bar code is a variable length, bidirectional, discrete, self-checking, alphanumeric symbol. Its standard data character set contains 43 characters: 0-9; A-Z; -.$/+%, and space. An asterisk is used exclusively for both Start and Stop characters, and must be included in every symbol. Code 39's flexibility to encode alpha and numeric characters has contributed to its widespread use.

Each Code 128 symbol contains data framed by a start symbol, check digit, and a stop symbol. The start pattern selects the initial character set (A, B, or C), and the data portion can be of arbitrary length. Any character on a CRT keyboard (including control characters) can be encoded, thus giving users more versatility than other industrial bar codes.

I2-of-5 characters are interleaved together using the bars to represent data characters occupying the odd positions and spaces for the even positioning. Complete 12 of 5 symbols consist of the start code, the data characters, and the stop code, Check digit use is optional.

Incorporates numeric numbers, the $ + - characters, and Start/Stop codes which are lower case a, b, c or d

Codabar is a discrete, self-checking code, whose characters are constructed from four bars and three intervening spaces - a particularly large number of printed element widths. A complete Codabar symbol begins with one of the Stop/Start characters. Since any of the Stop/Start characters may be used on either end of the symbol, four different types of information may be encoded in these characters.

Optical characters are human and machine readable. An example is the account number printed along the bottom of a bank check. Optical character recognition (OCR) systems read and interpret alphanumeric data. OCR labels are read with handheld scanners. Data are read slower than bar code systems. OCR systems are attractive when both human and machine readable capabilities are required.

Both the radio frequency (RF) and surface acoustical wave (SAW) tags encode data on a chip which is attached to a tag. When a tag is within range of a special antenna, the chip is decoded by a tag reader. Radio frequency tags can be programmable or permanently coded. RF tags can be read from up to 30 ft away. SAW tags are permanently coded and can be read only within a 6-ft range. A common example is the tag that is placed in the windshield of automobiles that permits high speed auto recognition and account debiting at toll booths.

RF and SAW tags are typically used for permanent identification of a container, where the durability of the tag is an advantage. These technologies are very attractive in harsh environments where printed codes may deteriorate and become illegible.

A magnetic stripe can be used to store a large amount of information in a small place. The stripes appear on the back of credit cards, bank cards, ATM cards, library identification cards, health insurance cards, etc. The stripe is readable through dirt or grease, and the data contained in the stripe can be changed. The stripe is read by contact. Magnetic stripe systems are generally more expensive than bar code systems.

In vision or image processing systems, computers analyze and interpret images. Though there may be different approaches to analysis, most vision systems begin the task with a camera scene which is divided into pixels. The computer compares the pixels to identify prominent object features such as edges or holes. Comparing these features with those of the images stored in memory allows recognition.

The type of cameras used in vision systems are :

Vision systems can carry out a variety of tasks in the following categories:

Identifying includes all the tasks in which symbols determine an object's identity, whereas recognizing uses observed features of the object. Multimedia integrating combines the image data with word processing, data base, graphic and communication systems.

Vision systems applications include sorting, material handling, process control, machine monitoring, safety and guidance.

A handheld, arm-mounted, or lift truck -mounted radio data terminal (RDT) is a reliable device for inventory and vehicle/driver management. An RDT incorporates a multi-character display, full keyboard, and special function keys. It communicates and receives messages on a frequency via antennae and a host computer interface.

Synthesized voice communication and human voice recognition (VR) systems are computer-based systems that translate human speech into computer data. A headset with ear phones and an attached microphone is used to interact with the computer system. Radio frequencies are used to transmit communications to mobile operators. The examples for VR systems are order picking, lift truck storage and retrieval operations, inspections.

The objective of light and computer aids are to reduce the search time , extract time, and documentation time portions of total order picking time and to improve order picking accuracy. Search time is reduced by a computer automatically illuminating a lighted display at the correct storage or retrieval location. Extract time is reduced since the lighted display also indicates the correct quantity to pick. Documentation time is reduced by allowing the order picker to push a button at the pick location to inform the host computer that the pick has been completed.

A smart card is similar to a credit card with a magnetic stripe. Smart cards are used to identify the employees, content of a trailer load of material, composition of an order picking tour. These cards are inserted into a reader on each order picking cart. Upon insertion of the smart card, the picking tour is illuminated on an electronic map of the warehouse in front of the cart.