(Radio Frequency IDentification) A data collection technology that uses electronic tags for storing data. The tag, also known as an "electronic label," "transponder" or "code plate," is made up of an RFID chip attached to an antenna. Transmitting in the kilohertz, megahertz and gigahertz ranges, tags may be battery-powered or derive their power from the RF waves coming from the reader.
Like bar codes, RFID tags identify items. However, unlike bar codes, which must be in close proximity and line of sight to the scanner for reading, RFID tags do not require line of sight and can be embedded within packages. Depending on the type of tag and application, they can be read at a varying range of distances. In addition, RFID-tagged cartons rolling on a conveyer belt can be read many times faster than bar-coded boxes.
Serialization - A Major Factor
RFID tags hold more data than bar codes, but a major differentiator is the unique serial number in the RFID's Electronic Product Code (EPC) because it allows tracking of individual items. While a UPC bar code might identify a 16 oz. bottle of mayonnaise, an EPC RFID tag could identify that single bottle. In this case, item level tracking could determine if the food had passed its expiration date. See bar code, UPC and EPC.
Tracking livestock was one of the first uses of RFID, as well as vehicle and container tracking. RFID is also used to track people. In 2004, an amusement park in Denmark put RFID wrist bands on children, which could be quickly located by readers in the park if they were lost. RFID chips are even implanted into humans (see VeriChip).
Libraries use RFID tags to quickly check out books and videos, and employees merely wave their RFID badges by a reader rather than insert them into a slot. For entrance ways manned with security guards, RFID tags can trigger calls to a database that puts pictures of the badge holders on screen by the time they approach the gate. To prevent theft, retail stores tag their merchandise with a tag similar to RFID, but without the chip (see EAS).
Passive, Active and Semi Tags
"Passive" tags have no power source but use the electromagnetic waves from the reader to energize the chip and transmit back (backscatter) their data. Passive tags can cost less than a quarter and be read up to approximately 10 feet from the reader's antenna.
"Active" tags have a battery that can transmit up to 300 feet indoors and more than a thousand feet outdoors. Used for tracking trailers in yards and containers on the loading dock, active tags cost several dollars and may periodically transmit a signal for readers to pick up or may lie dormant until they sense the reader's signal.
"Semi-passive" tags, also called "semi-active" tags, combine passive backscattering with a battery that allows the device to beep, blink or perform some operation. For example, a semi-passive tag on refrigerated cartons can include a sensor that, when interrogated, reports the temperature range during shipment.
The Squiggle Tag
Alien Technology was one of the first companies to make RFID tags, and its various Squiggle designs became widely used (see RFID tags). (Image courtesy of Printronix, Inc., www.printronix.com)
Reusable Vs. One-Time
RFID tags for applications such as highway toll collection and container tracking are in continuous use for several years. Like regular electronic components, the tags are adhered to rigid substrates and packaged in plastic enclosures. In contrast, tags on shipping cartons are used for a much shorter time and are then destroyed. Disposable tags are adhered to printed, flexible labels pasted onto the carton, and these "smart labels" contain an RFID chip and antenna on the back. A thermal printer/encoder prints alphanumeric and bar code data on the labels while encoding the chip at the same time. See RFID tag.
RFID Goes Way Back
Although first used in World War II to identify friendly aircraft, RFID technology really materialized in the 1980s and began to reach the masses in the 1990s. In 1993, the E-ZPass highway toll system was launched in the Northeast. In 1996, General Motors introduced OnStar, which is satellite-based RFID. A year later, Mobil's Speedpass let people wave a keychain tag at the gas pump to pay by credit card. After the turn of the century, RFID began to proliferate.
When Tags Cost a Few Cents
When the price of tags becomes economical enough, it is expected that RFID will take off in a myriad of areas. Pundits have suggested applications such as reading a full supermarket cart as it passes by the reader, a washer/dryer that determines its settings from clothing tags and a refrigerator that automatically creates a shopping list. See RFID tag, RFID reader, RFID printer, EPC, Gen 2 and tag singulation.
Keeping Pallets Intact
The unique serial number in the electronic product code (EPC) lets RFID readers scan all the cases in a pallet without having to break it down. This provides a huge cost savings in warehouse management and is the reason why Wal-Mart required its suppliers to begin using RFID in 2005. (Image courtesy of Intermec Technologies, www.intermec.com)
Like bar codes, RFID tags identify items. However, unlike bar codes, which must be in close proximity and line of sight to the scanner for reading, RFID tags do not require line of sight and can be embedded within packages. Depending on the type of tag and application, they can be read at a varying range of distances. In addition, RFID-tagged cartons rolling on a conveyer belt can be read many times faster than bar-coded boxes.
Serialization - A Major Factor
RFID tags hold more data than bar codes, but a major differentiator is the unique serial number in the RFID's Electronic Product Code (EPC) because it allows tracking of individual items. While a UPC bar code might identify a 16 oz. bottle of mayonnaise, an EPC RFID tag could identify that single bottle. In this case, item level tracking could determine if the food had passed its expiration date. See bar code, UPC and EPC.
Tracking livestock was one of the first uses of RFID, as well as vehicle and container tracking. RFID is also used to track people. In 2004, an amusement park in Denmark put RFID wrist bands on children, which could be quickly located by readers in the park if they were lost. RFID chips are even implanted into humans (see VeriChip).
Libraries use RFID tags to quickly check out books and videos, and employees merely wave their RFID badges by a reader rather than insert them into a slot. For entrance ways manned with security guards, RFID tags can trigger calls to a database that puts pictures of the badge holders on screen by the time they approach the gate. To prevent theft, retail stores tag their merchandise with a tag similar to RFID, but without the chip (see EAS).
Passive, Active and Semi Tags
"Passive" tags have no power source but use the electromagnetic waves from the reader to energize the chip and transmit back (backscatter) their data. Passive tags can cost less than a quarter and be read up to approximately 10 feet from the reader's antenna.
"Active" tags have a battery that can transmit up to 300 feet indoors and more than a thousand feet outdoors. Used for tracking trailers in yards and containers on the loading dock, active tags cost several dollars and may periodically transmit a signal for readers to pick up or may lie dormant until they sense the reader's signal.
"Semi-passive" tags, also called "semi-active" tags, combine passive backscattering with a battery that allows the device to beep, blink or perform some operation. For example, a semi-passive tag on refrigerated cartons can include a sensor that, when interrogated, reports the temperature range during shipment.
The Squiggle Tag
Alien Technology was one of the first companies to make RFID tags, and its various Squiggle designs became widely used (see RFID tags). (Image courtesy of Printronix, Inc., www.printronix.com)
Reusable Vs. One-Time
RFID tags for applications such as highway toll collection and container tracking are in continuous use for several years. Like regular electronic components, the tags are adhered to rigid substrates and packaged in plastic enclosures. In contrast, tags on shipping cartons are used for a much shorter time and are then destroyed. Disposable tags are adhered to printed, flexible labels pasted onto the carton, and these "smart labels" contain an RFID chip and antenna on the back. A thermal printer/encoder prints alphanumeric and bar code data on the labels while encoding the chip at the same time. See RFID tag.
RFID Goes Way Back
Although first used in World War II to identify friendly aircraft, RFID technology really materialized in the 1980s and began to reach the masses in the 1990s. In 1993, the E-ZPass highway toll system was launched in the Northeast. In 1996, General Motors introduced OnStar, which is satellite-based RFID. A year later, Mobil's Speedpass let people wave a keychain tag at the gas pump to pay by credit card. After the turn of the century, RFID began to proliferate.
When Tags Cost a Few Cents
When the price of tags becomes economical enough, it is expected that RFID will take off in a myriad of areas. Pundits have suggested applications such as reading a full supermarket cart as it passes by the reader, a washer/dryer that determines its settings from clothing tags and a refrigerator that automatically creates a shopping list. See RFID tag, RFID reader, RFID printer, EPC, Gen 2 and tag singulation.
Keeping Pallets Intact
The unique serial number in the electronic product code (EPC) lets RFID readers scan all the cases in a pallet without having to break it down. This provides a huge cost savings in warehouse management and is the reason why Wal-Mart required its suppliers to begin using RFID in 2005. (Image courtesy of Intermec Technologies, www.intermec.com)
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Wildlife and Environmental Monitoring Using RFID and WSN Technology
- Wireless Sensor Networks enable scientists to collect information about the environment with a granularity unseen before, while providing numerous challenges to software designers. Since sensor devices are often powered by small batteries, which take considerable effort to replace, it is of major importance to use energy carefully. The paper presents...
- White papers 2009-11-06
- Demo Abstract: Measuring Foot Pronation Using RFID Sensor Networks
- Running efficiency is an important factor to consider in order to avoid injury. In particular, foot pronation, the angle of the foot as it hits the ground, is a common cause for many types of injuries among runners. Though pronation is common, diagnosing pronation is difficult and imprecise. Currently there...
- White papers 2009-11-06
- Laydown Yard Optimization Using RFID: A Cost and Time Perspective
- This project reports the use and applications of Radio Frequency Identification RFID technique in a laydown yard zone. Every construction site has a laydown yard with equipments and materials worth millions of dollars. The real-time exact tracking and location of these items saves money by avoiding duplicating the equipment and...
- White papers 2009-10-21
- TConnector ActiveX 2.3.1.29 (Windows)
- The data acquisition software component TConnector extends your application (Microsoft Office applications, web-applications, Visual basic, C/C++, Delphi and .NET programs) with automated data collection features. The data acquisition ActiveX control TConnector reduces programming efforts to a minimum. It provides a very flexible solution for all kind of data acquisition applications....
- Software downloads 2009-10-09
- Netgear offers an open source router that is an applications platform
- Much of what you list sounds intresting but...[i]Security systems that can let police watch your break-in in progress, even from their police cars[/i]What a scary idea. Who is to say they'll only be watching when there is a break in? Some of the other ones are scary as...
- Discussion threads 2009-10-06
- Recognizing Daily Activities With RFID-Based Sensors
- This paper explores a dense sensing approach that uses RFID sensor network technology to recognize human activities. In the setting, everyday objects are instrumented with UHF RFID tags called WISPs that are equipped with accelerometers. RFID readers detect when the objects are used by examining this sensor data, and daily...
- White papers 2009-10-03
- SmartDEGREE From TCS to Combat Certificate Malpractices
- Tata Consultancy Services Limited's TCS SmartDEGREE, a Radio Frequency Identification RFID based solution, enables universities to curb the problem of fake degree certificates and forgery of mark sheets. Using SmartDEGREE, a university can award certificates with an embedded RFID tag that is encoded with the holder's name, date of graduation,...
- White papers 2009-10-01
- The new Dell: innovation, not just standards, to attract business customers
- Dell is unveiling a new Latitude business notebook computer today but it's a bit different from what Dell - at least the old Dell - used to represent. When Dell first hit the scene, it made a name for itself by focusing on standardized technology and the business model that...
- Blog posts 2009-09-29
- Coexistence Proof Using Chain of Timestamps for Multiple RFID Tags
- How can a RFID Radio Frequency Identification Devices system prove that two or more RFID tags are in the same location? Previous researchers have proposed yoking-proof and grouping-proof techniques to address this problem - and when these turned out to be vulnerable to replay attacks, a new existence-proof technique was...
- White papers 2009-09-12
- An electrical circuit that runs entirely off power in trees
- You cannot store Voltage!If you're going to write about technical topics, please ensure that you understand what you're talking about. Voltage is electrical pressure. Just as you can't store pressure, you can't store voltage. You can store charge and you can convert a low voltage to a higher one. If...
- Discussion threads 2009-09-09
- RFID-Enabled Inventory Control Optimization: A Proof of Concept in a Small-to-Medium Retailer
- This study examines the impact of Radio-Frequency Identification RFID technology on the inventory control practices of a small-to-medium retailer using a Proof of Concept PoC approach. The exploratory study was conducted using a single case study of a hardware retailer stocking 5000 product lines provided by 110 active suppliers. To...
- White papers 2009-09-08
- LogistiX New (Mobile)
- Mobile Warehouse Management System The LogistiX Retail warehouse management system is based on the MobiAccess tm framework. LogistiX Retail employs best practices of warehouse inventory management blended with state of the art technology achievements. It is designed to efficiently support the warehouse management workflow and reduce costs. Mobile warehouse management...
- Software downloads 2009-09-08
- Design & Development Low Cost RFID Antenna
- This paper describes how Low Cost HF (13.56 MHz) antennas can be built and tuned so that their characteristics match the requirements of the high performance reader and third party RF modules. This third edition places greater emphasis on antennas for the higher power readers. In general, the distance at...
- White papers 2009-09-07
- Cost - Benefit Analysis of an RFID Asset Tracking System
- This paper outlines the cost-benefit analysis of using Ultra High Frequency UHF Radio Frequency Identification RFID technology in an asset-tracking application. To facilitate the analysis, RFID will be compared against the incumbent technology, bar-coding. An experiment comparing these two technologies was conducted, and the findings from this experiment are further...
- White papers 2009-09-02
- Development of Digital Photo System Using RFID Technology in Plant Construction Management
- The paper has studied the applicability of RFID tags and developed systems to provide clear work traceability to streamline administrative task in the construction work of a plant. The test results indicate that RFID tags can be used effectively for these purposes. They have developed a method for effectively proving...
- White papers 2009-09-02
- RFID-Integrated Technologies for Infection Control: Background and Technology Comparison on Key Adoption Considerations
- This whitepaper provides background on the issue of HAIs and the extent to which they can be addressed with RFID technologies. It evaluates the various types of RFID technologies available for infection control on the basis of reliability, flexibility, scalability and interoperability. The first part of this whitepaper will provide...
- White papers 2009-09-01
- Retailer Boosts Sales 14%, Cuts Inventory Management Costs 35% With RFID Solution
- Like virtually all retailers and all businesses, American Apparel wanted to do more with less at its retail locations - specifically, it wanted to boost store sales while reducing the cost of generating those sales. It met that goal with a solution provided by Xterprise, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner,...
- Case studies 2009-09-01
- The RFID Radio Channel Performance in the Vehicular Control
- Most terrestrial wireless communication systems operate in environments that present a multitude of RF propagation problems. The Radio Frequency Identification RFID System, a wireless communication system, applied to vehicular control, is a typical point to point communication system, which one, the radio link formed between the reader, working at the...
- White papers 2009-09-01
- Verichip is back seeking sweet stimulus cash
- Verichip and stimulus cashI personaly would never have a tracking device implanted in my body. If someone else wants it, that is their right however; to have this paid for with our tax monies it totally out of the question. The more "stimuls" cash that's given out is just another...
- Discussion threads 2009-08-27
- When Compromised Readers Meet RFID: Extended Version
- RFID-based access control solutions for mobile environments, e.g. ticketing systems for sport events, commonly rely on readers that are not continuously connected to the back-end system. The readers must so be able to perform their tasks even in offline mode, what commonly requires the management by the readers of sensitive...
- White papers 2009-08-21
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- Reduce risk. Reduce complexity. Increase reliability.
-
A simplified IT environment isn't just less complex. It's also more reliable. Standardize on a single Linux platform with SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell, and get the world's most interoperable Linux
- Learn more >>
- Save time with automated shipping solutions
-
The Business Essentials Guide provides you useful tools and templates to help grow your business and save you time with automated shipping solutions.
- Visit the UPS Business Essentials Guide
- The best support in the Linux business
-
If Linux is going to power your mission-critical applications, you'd better have the best support known to business. Novell was rated the top provider of Linux technical support.
- Learn more >>
- Keep Up With The Latest In Document Management with The DocuMentor.
-
Doc delivers the scoop on today's enterprise content management, printer maintenance, and all other issues related to document management. It's the DocuMentor Blog.
- Learn more >>
SmartPlanet
- Thought-provoking progressive ideas on diverse topics that intersect with technology, business, and life, and matter to the world at large. Visit SmartPlanet
- More from IBM
-
- How to Drive Better Business Outcomes with Exceptional Web Experiences Download the eBook
- Driving Business Agility through SOA Connectivity & Integration Read the White Paper from IBM
- Linking Decisions and Information for Organizational Performance Read the Tom Davenport study
