The End of the Bar Code

valdean writes "The University of Wisconsin RFID Lab, principally funded by a dozen Wal-mart suppliers including 3M, Kraft Foods, and S.C. Johnson & Son, believes that RFID could spell the end of the ubiquitous bar code. The big draw? Speeding up supply-chain management. Wal-mart's warehouse conveyor belts presently move products at 600 feet per minute... but they want to be faster. And better informed."

600 feet per minute...

[It doesn't come easy]

Zoom. That's 10 feet per second. Reminds me of the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy and Ethel were newly employed at a candy factory with them packing boxes while trying to keep pace with the machine producing chocolate candies.

Man, better not blink if you work in a Wal-Mart warehouse...

Bar codes more useful

[coinreturn]

I like to know if the bar serves alcohol or just wine and beer, whether the waitresses are topless or merely scantily clad, if there's a cover charge (and how much), if there's a band or a lame jukbox, and finally if they have pool tables.

Oh, you mean those thingies with lines? Nevermind.

Re:600 feet per minute...

[Bnderan]

600 feet per minute ought to be enough for anybody.

New Section Suggestion

[robbkidd]

To our Slashdot Overlords:

Can we get a "The End of ..." section?

The end of ...

[Virtex]

The End of the Bar Code

Yep, the bar code is dead. Right after BSD dies. Should be any day now.

RFID? I'll show you your RFID!

[KiloByte]

In other news, the shares of tinfoil makers have increased.

Speaking of which, can you read the price tag on my new hat?

Re:600 feet per minute...

[Donniedarkness]

That's 6.8 miles per an hour.....

So this thing tops out at a faster speed than my friend's Geo Metro? Wow....

This kind of makes me wonder how fast the RIFD-enabled belts at the Wal-Mart warehouses are gonna be.

Re:600 feet per minute...

[mbelly]

But the checkouts will be just as slow...

All those people

[WormholeFiend]

who got a barcode tattoo because they thought it would look cool and anti-corporate are gonna be pissed off!

Re:I disagree.

[Harald Paulsen]

Personally, I would be glad if these systems were introduced and saved time at stores. To me, spending time at home with my girlfriend and horses is more important than standing in a qeue waiting for a cashier to process everyone's purchases

Dude, you need help.

Re:600 feet per minute...

[pmazer]

I wish you could mod +1 True

I Love Lucy - The Candy Factory

[Ranger]

Wal-mart's warehouse conveyor belts presently move products at 600 feet per minute... but they want to be faster."

Didn't they see the I Love Lucy episode "The Candy Factory" where she and Ethel worked on just such a conveyor belt for chocolates? The conveyor belt sped up and they couldn't wrap the chocolates fast enough. Eventually they had to start stuffing their faces with chocolate. Would RFID tags have made a difference? I think not.

Re:600 feet per minute...

[Anne_Nonymous]

Not after we RFID the customers! Imagine the peoplemover at the airport, cranked up to 10 feet per second.

Re:I know...

[Hognoxious]

But it's the only time most of us get to talk to chicks.

Re:600 feet per minute =

[justforaday]

6.8 would be a light jog.

600 ft/min is just over an 8 minute mile. I'd be amazed if most slashdotters could do that.

Re:600 feet per minute...

[dodobh]

Oh, I don't know. 10 fps is pretty slow. I prefer a nice 70 fps.

Will checkouts really be that slow?

[jd0g85]

The checkout of the future will be accomplished by the simple act of walking through the door. The door will be smart enough to read the tags on everything in your cart and then charge your credit card straight from your back pocket. The credit companies will even share your personal information for you so that the store can pick out the best card to use (if you have more than one). Isn't that nice of them?

Re:The problem

[Thuktun]

First, tin foil hats. Now, tin foil lined cupboards.

walmart checkout speed

[bad-badtz-maru]

In a stark contrast to the warehouse's conveyor belt speed of 600 feet per minute, the store checkout speed is 6 customers per hour.

Re:600 feet per minute...

[gstoddart]

We wouldn't need aeroplanes. Just make sure you are wearing your parachute, step on the correct conveyor belt for your destination, and let the laws governing projectile motion do the rest.

I, for one welcome our new "ballistic trajectory transportation overlords".

It can't be any more dangerous than, say, driving anywhere in Quebec always seems.

Re:600 feet per minute =

[SatanicPuppy]

Bad metric. How many Slashdotters can walk a mile at all?

Re:600 feet per minute =

[kooshvt]

600 ft/min is just over an 8 minute mile. I'd be amazed if most slashdotters could do that.

I am feeling a bit winded from just reading your post.