What is RFID
...more than you would ever
want to know about RFID
provided by Wikipedia
What is RFID?
The History of RFID?
The use of RFID tags.
What is RFID?
Radio-frequency identification (RFID)
is an automatic identification
method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data
using devices called RFID tags or transponders.
An RFID tag is an object that
can be applied to or incorporated into a product,
animal, or person for the purpose of identification and
tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from
several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the
reader.
Most RFID tags contain at
least two parts. One is an integrated circuit for
storing and processing information, modulating and
demodulating a radio-frequency (RF) signal, and other
specialized functions.
The second is an antenna for
receiving and transmitting the signal. Chipless RFID
allows for discrete identification of tags without an
integrated circuit, thereby allowing tags to be printed
directly onto assets at a lower cost than traditional
tags.
Today, RFID is used in
enterprise supply chain management to improve the
efficiency of inventory tracking and management.
However, growth and adoption in the enterprise supply
chain market is limited because current commercial
technology does not link the indoor tracking to the
overall end-to-end supply chain visibility.
Coupled with fair cost-sharing
mechanisms, rational motives and justified returns from
RFID technology investments are the key ingredients to
achieve long-term and sustainable RFID technology
adoption
History of RFID
In 1946 Léon Theremin invented
an espionage tool for the Soviet Union which
retransmitted incident radio waves with audio
information. Sound waves vibrated a diaphragm which
slightly altered the shape of the resonator, which
modulated the reflected radio frequency. Even though
this device was a passive covert listening device, not
an identification tag, it has been attributed as a
predecessor to RFID technology. The technology used in
RFID has been around since the early 1920s according to
one source (although the same source states that RFID
systems have been around just since the late 1960s).
Similar technology, such as the IFF
transponder invented by the United Kingdom in 1939, was
routinely used by the allies in World War II to identify
aircraft as friend or foe. Transponders are still used
by most powered aircraft to this day.
Another early work exploring RFID is
the landmark 1948 paper by Harry Stockman, titled
"Communication by Means of Reflected Power" (Proceedings
of the IRE, pp 1196–1204, October 1948). Stockman
predicted that "…considerable research and development
work has to be done before the remaining basic problems
in reflected-power communication are solved, and before
the field of useful applications is explored."
Mario Cardullo's
U.S. Patent 3,713,148 in
1973 was the first true ancestor of modern RFID; a
passive radio transponder with memory. The initial
device was passive, powered by the interrogating signal,
and was demonstrated in 1971 to the New York Port
Authority and other potential users and consisted of a
transponder with 16 bit memory for use as a toll device.
The basic Cardullo patent covers the use of RF, sound
and light as transmission media. The original business
plan presented to investors in 1969 showed uses in
transportation (automotive vehicle identification,
automatic toll system, electronic license plate,
electronic manifest, vehicle routing, vehicle
performance monitoring), banking (electronic check book,
electronic credit card), security (personnel
identification, automatic gates, surveillance) and
medical (identification, patient history).
The use of RFID Tags
RFID tags come in three general varieties:-
passive, active, or semi-passive (also
known as battery-assisted). Passive tags require
no internal power source, thus being pure passive
devices (they are only active when a reader is nearby to
power them), whereas semi-passive and active tags
require a power source, usually a small battery.
To communicate, tags respond to queries generating
signals that must not create interference with the
readers, as arriving signals can be very weak and must
be differentiated. Besides backscattering, load
modulation techniques can be used to manipulate the
reader's field. Typically, backscatter is used in the
far field, whereas load modulation applies in the near
field, within a few wavelengths from the reader.
Types of RFID Tags
Passive
Passive RFID tags have no internal power supply. The
minute electrical current induced in the antenna by the
incoming radio frequency signal provides just enough
power for the CMOS integrated circuit in the tag to
power up and transmit a response. Most passive tags
signal by backscattering the carrier wave from the
reader. This means that the antenna has to be designed
both to collect power from the incoming signal and also
to transmit the outbound backscatter signal. The
response of a passive RFID tag is not necessarily just
an ID number; the tag chip can contain non-volatile
data, possibly writable EEPROM for storing data.
Passive tags have practical read distances ranging
from about 11 cm (4 in) with near-field (ISO 14443), up
to approximately 10 meters (33 feet) with far-field (ISO
18000-6) and can reach up to 600 feet (183 meters) when
combined with a phased array. Basically, the reading and
writing depend on the chosen radio frequency and the
antenna design/size. Due to their simplicity in design
they are also suitable for manufacture with a printing
process for the antennas. The lack of an onboard power
supply means that the device can be quite small:
commercially available products exist that can be
embedded in a sticker, or under the skin in the case of
low frequency (LowFID) RFID tags.
In 2007, the Danish Company RFID sec developed a
passive RFID with privacy enhancing technologies
built-in including built-in firewall access controls,
communication encryption and a silent mode ensuring that
the consumer at point of sales can get exclusive control
of the key to control the RFID. The RFID will not
respond unless the consumer authorizes it, the consumer
can validate presence of a specific RFID without leaking
identifiers and therefore the consumer can make use of
the RFID without being trackable or otherwise leak
information that represents a threat to consumer
privacy.
In 2006, Hitachi, Ltd. developed a passive device
called the µ-Chip measuring 0.15×0.15 mm (not including
the antenna), and thinner than a sheet of paper (7.5
micrometers). Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) technology is
used to achieve this level of integration. The Hitachi
µ-Chip can wirelessly transmit a 128-bit unique ID
number which is hard-coded into the chip as part of the
manufacturing process. The unique ID in the chip cannot
be altered, providing a high level of authenticity to
the chip and ultimately to the items the chip may be
permanently attached or embedded into. The Hitachi
µ-Chip has a typical maximum read range of 30 cm (1 ft).
In February 2007 Hitachi unveiled an even smaller RFID
device measuring 0.05×0.05 mm, and thin enough to be
embedded in a sheet of paper. The new chips can store as
much data as the older µ-chips, and the data contained
on them can be extracted from as far away as a few
hundred meters. The ongoing problems with all RFIDs is
that they need an external antenna which is 80 times
bigger than the chip in the best version thus far
developed. Further, the present costs of manufacturing
the inlays for tags has inhibited broader adoption. As
silicon prices are reduced and new more economic methods
for manufacturing inlays and tags are perfected in the
industry, broader adoption and item level tagging along
with economies of scale production scenarios; it is
expected to make RFID both innocuous and commonplace
much like barcodes are presently.
Alien Technology's Fluidic Self Assembly and HiSam
machines, Smartcode's Flexible Area Synchronized
Transfer (FAST) and Symbol Technologies' PICA process
are alleged to potentially further reduce tag costs by
massively parallel production. Alien Technology and
SmartCode are currently using the processes to
manufacture tags while Symbol Technologies' PICA process
is still in the development phase. Symbol was acquired
by Motorola in 2006. Motorola however has since made
agreements with Avery Dennison for supply of tags,
meaning their own tag production and PICA process may
have been abandoned. Alternative methods of production
such as FAST, FSA, HiSam and possibly PICA could
potentially reduce tag costs dramatically, and due to
volume capacities achievable, in turn be able to also
drive the economies of scale models for various silicon
fabricators as well. Some passive RFID vendors believe
that industry benchmarks for tag costs can be achieved
eventually as new low-cost volume production systems are
implemented more broadly. (For example, see )
Non-silicon tags made from polymer semiconductors are
currently being developed by several companies globally.
Simple laboratory-printed polymer tags operating at
13.56 MHz were demonstrated in 2005 by both PolyIC
(Germany) and Philips (The Netherlands). If successfully
commercialized, polymer tags will be roll-printable,
like a magazine, and much less expensive than
silicon-based tags. The end game for most item-level
tagging over the next few decades may be that RFID tags
will be wholly printed – the same way that a barcode is
today – and be virtually free, like a barcode. However,
substantial technical and economic hurdles must be
surmounted to accomplish such an end: hundreds of
billions of dollars have been invested over the last
three decades in silicon processing, resulting in a
per-feature cost which is actually less than that of
conventional printing.
Active
Unlike passive RFID tags, active RFID tags have their
own internal power source, which is used to power the
integrated circuits and to broadcast the response signal
to the reader. Communications from active tags to
readers is typically much more reliable (i.e. fewer
errors) than those from passive tags due to the ability
for active tags to conduct a "session" with a reader.
Active tags, due to their onboard power supply, also
may transmit at higher power levels than passive tags,
allowing them to be more robust in "RF challenged"
environments with humidity and spray or with
RF-dampening targets (including humans and cattle, which
contain mostly water), reflective targets from metal
(shipping containers, vehicles), or at longer distances:
Generating strong responses from weak reception is a
sound approach to success. In turn, active tags are
generally bigger (due to battery size) and more
expensive to manufacture (due to price of the battery).
However, their potential shelf life is comparable, as
self-discharge of batteries competes with corrosion of
aluminated printed circuits.
Many active tags today have operational ranges of
hundreds of meters, and a battery life of up to 10
years. Active tags may include larger memories than
passive tags, and may include the ability to store
additional information received from the reader.
Special active RFID tags may include specialized
sensors. For example, a temperature sensor can be used
to record the temperature profile during the
transportation and storage of perishable goods. Other
sensor types used include humidity, shock/vibration,
light, nuclear radiation, pressure and concentrations of
gases such as ethylene.
The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has
successfully used active tags to reduce search and loss
in logistics and to improve supply chain visibility for
more than 15 years (concept of in-transit-visibility
ITV).
Semi-passive
Semi-passive tags are similar to active tags in that
they have their own power source, but the battery only
powers the microchip and does not power the broadcasting
of a signal. The response is usually powered by means of
backscattering the RF energy from the reader, where
energy is reflected back to the reader as with passive
tags. An additional application for the battery is to
power data storage.
If energy from the reader is collected and stored to
emit a response in the future, the tag is operating
active.
Whereas in passive tags the power level to power up
the circuitry must be 100 times stronger than with
active or semi-active tags, also the time consumption
for collecting the energy is omitted and the response
comes with shorter latency time. The battery-assisted
reception circuitry of semi-passive tags leads to
greater sensitivity than passive tags, typically 100
times more. The enhanced sensitivity can be leveraged as
increased range (by one magnitude) and/or as enhanced
read reliability (by reducing bit error rate at least
one magnitude).
The enhanced sensitivity of semi-passive tags places
higher demands on the reader concerning separation in
denser population of tags. Because an already weak
signal is backscattered to the reader from a larger
number of tags and from longer distances, the separation
requires more sophisticated anti-collision concepts,
better signal processing and some more intelligent
assessment of which tag might be where. For passive
tags, the reader-to-tag link usually fails first. For
semi-passive tags, the reverse (tag-to-reader) link
usually collides first.
Semi-passive tags have three main advantages: greater
sensitivity than passive tags; longer battery powered
life cycle than active tags; they can perform active
functions (such as temperature logging) under their own
power, even when no reader is present for powering the
circuitry.
Extended capability
Extended capability RFID defines a category of RFID
that goes beyond the basic capabilities of standard RFID
as merely a "license plate" or barcode replacement
technology. Key attributes of extended capability RFID
include the ability to read at longer distances and
around challenging environments, to store large amounts
of data on the tag, to integrate with sensors, and to
communicate with external devices.
Examples of extended capability RFID tag technologies
include EPC C1G2 with extended memory (e.g. 64Kb),
battery-assisted passive, and active RFID.
Battery-assisted passive, also known as semi-passive or
semi-active, has the ability to extend the read range of
standard passive technologies to well over 50 meters, to
read around challenging materials such as metal, to
withstand outdoor environments, to store an on-tag
database, to be able to capture sensor data, and to act
as a communications mechanism for external devices.
Also, battery-assisted passive only transmits a signal
when interrogated, thus extending battery life. Active
RFID, which can have some of the features of
battery-assisted passive, is commonly used for even
longer distances and real-time locationing. It also
actively transmits a signal, which often results in
shorter battery life.
Common applications of extended capability RFID
include Yard Management, Parts Maintenance and Repair
Operations, Cold-Chain Management, Reusable Transport
Items tracking, High Value/High Security Asset tracking,
and other applications where extended capabilities are
needed.
Antenna types
The antenna used for an RFID tag is affected by the
intended application and the frequency of operation.
Low-frequency is 30–300 kHz. LFID or LowFID passive tags
are normally inductively coupled, and because the
voltage induced is proportional to frequency, many coil
turns are needed to produce enough voltage to operate an
integrated circuit. Compact LowFID tags, like
glass-encapsulated tags used in animal and human
identification, use a multilayer coil (3 layers of
100–150 turns each) wrapped around a ferrite core.
High frequency is 3-30 MHz. At 13.56 MHz, a HFID or
HighFID tag, using a planar spiral with 5–7 turns over a
credit-card-sized form factor can be used to provide
ranges of tens of centimeters. These coils are less
costly to produce than LF coils, since they can be made
using lithographic techniques rather than by wire
winding, but two metal layers and an insulator layer are
needed to allow for the crossover connection from the
outermost layer to the inside of the spiral where the
integrated circuit and resonance capacitor are located.
Ultrahigh-frequency or UHF is 300 MHz-3 GHz. UHFID
and microwave passive tags are usually radiatively-coupled
to the reader antenna and can employ conventional
dipole-like antennas. Only one metal layer is required,
reducing cost of manufacturing. Dipole antennas,
however, are a poor match to the high and slightly
capacitive input impedance of a typical integrated
circuit. Folded dipoles, or short loops acting as
inductive matching structures, are often employed to
improve power delivery to the IC. Half-wave dipoles (16
cm at 900 MHz) are too big for many applications; for
example, tags embedded in labels must be less than 10 cm
(4 inches) in extent. To reduce the length of the
antenna, antennas can be bent or meandered, and
capacitive tip-loading or bowtie-like broadband
structures are also used. Compact antennas usually have
gain less than that of a dipole — that is, less than 2
dBi — and can be regarded as isotropic in the plane
perpendicular to their axis.
Dipoles couple to radiation polarized along their
axes, so the visibility of a tag with a simple
dipole-like antenna is orientation-dependent. Tags with
two orthogonal or nearly-orthogonal antennas, often
known as dual-dipole tags, are much less dependent on
orientation and polarization of the reader antenna, but
are larger and more expensive than single-dipole tags.
Patch antennas are used to provide service in close
proximity to metal surfaces, but a structure with good
bandwidth is 3–6 mm thick, and the need to provide a
ground layer and ground connection increases cost
relative to simpler single-layer structures.
HFID and UHFID tag antennas are usually fabricated
from copper or aluminum. Conductive inks have seen some
use in tag antennas but have encountered problems with
IC adhesion and environmental stability.
Tag attachment
There are three different kinds of RFID tags based on
their attachment with identified objects, i.e.
attachable, implantable and insertion
tags . In addition to these conventional RFID tags,
Eastman Kodak Company has filed two patent applications
for monitoring ingestion of medicine based on a
digestible RFID tag.
Tagging positions
RFID tagging positions can influence the performance
of air interface UHFID passive tags.
In many cases, optimum power from RFID reader is not
required to operate passive tags. However, in cases
where the effective radiated power (ERP) level and
distance between reader and tags are fixed, such as in a
manufacturing setting, it is important to know the
location in a tagged object where a passive tag can
operate optimally.
Resonance Spot (R-Spot), Live Spot (L-Spot) and Dead
Spot (D-Spot) are defined to specify the location of
RFID tags in a tagged object, where the tags can still
receive power from a reader within specified ERP level
and distance .
Tag environments
The proposed ubiquity of RFID tags means that readers
may need to select which tags to read among many
potential candidates, or may wish to probe surrounding
devices to perform inventory checks or, in case the tags
are associated to sensors and capable of keeping their
values, question them for environmental conditions. If a
reader intends to work with a collection of tags, it
needs to either discover all devices within an area to
iterate over them afterwards, or use collision avoidance
protocols.
Finding tags in a search environment.
To read tag data, readers use a tree-walking
singulation algorithm, resolving possible collisions and
processing responses one by one. Blocker tags may
be used to prevent readers from accessing tags within an
area without killing surrounding tags by means of
suicide commands. These tags masquerade as valid tags
but have some special properties: in particular, they
may possess any identification code, and may
deterministically respond to all reader queries, thus
rendering them useless and securing the environment.
Besides this, tags may be promiscuous,
attending all requests alike, or secure, which
requires authentication and control of typical password
management and secure key distribution issues. A tag may
also be prepared to be activated or deactivated in
response to specific reader commands.
Readers that are in charge of the tags of an area may
operate in autonomous mode (as opposed to
interactive mode). When in this mode, a reader
periodically locates all tags in its operating range,
and keeps a presence list with a persist time and some
control information. When an entry expires, it is
removed from the list.
Frequently, a distributed application requires both
types of tags: passive tags are incapable of continuous
monitoring and perform tasks on demand when accessed by
readers. They are useful when activities are regular and
well defined, and requirements for data storage and
security are limited; when accesses are frequent,
continuous or unpredictable, there are time constraints
to meet or data processing (internal searches, for
instance) to perform, active tags may be preferred.
RFID is becoming increasingly prevalent as the price
of the technology decreases. In January 2003 Gillette
announced in that it ordered 500 million tags from Alien
Technology. Gillette VP Dick Cantwell says the company
paid "well under ten cents" for each tag. The Japanese
HIBIKI initiative aims to reduce the price to 5 Yen (4
eurocent).
Race Timing
Many forms of Transponder timing have been in use for
timing races of different types since 2004. "Software
Outsourcing System" of India has designed and
implemented this method for registering race start and
end timings for individuals in a marathon-type race
where it is impossible to get accurate stopwatch
readings for every entrant. Individuals wear a chest
number containing passive tags which are read by
antennae placed alongside the track. Rush error and
accidents at start time are avoided since anyone can
start and finish anytime without being in a batch mode.
This method is being adapted by many recruitment
agencies which have a PET (Physical Endurance Test) as
their qualifying procedure especially in cases where the
candidate volumes may run into millions (Indian Railway
Recruitment Cells, Police and Power sector).
Passports
RFID tags are being used in passports issued by many
countries, including Malaysia (early 2000), New Zealand
(November 4, 2005), Belgium, The Netherlands (2005),
Norway (November 2005), Ireland (2006), Japan (March 1,
2006), Pakistan, Germany, Portugal, Poland (2006), The
United Kingdom, Australia and the United States (2007).
Standards for RFID passports are determined by the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and
are contained in ICAO Document 9303, Part 1, Volumes 1
and 2 (6th edition, 2006). ICAO refers to the ISO 14443
RFID chips in e-passports as "contactless integrated
circuits". ICAO standards provide for e-passports to be
identifiable by a standard e-passport logo on the front
cover.
The first RFID passports ("E-passport") were issued
by Malaysia in 1998. In addition to information also
contained on the visual data page of the passport,
Malaysian e-passports record the travel history (time,
date, and place) of entries and exits from the country.
In 2006, RFID tags were included in new US passports.
The US produced 10 million passports in 2005, and it has
been estimated that 13 million will be produced in 2006.
The chips will store the same information that is
printed within the passport and will also include a
digital picture of the owner. The US State Department
initially stated the chips could only be read from a
distance of 10 cm (4 in), but after widespread criticism
and a clear demonstration that special equipment can
read the test passports from 10 meters (33 ft) away, the
passports were designed to incorporate a thin metal
lining to make it more difficult for unauthorized
readers to "skim" information when the passport is
closed. The department will also implement Basic Access
Control (BAC), which functions as a Personal
Identification Number (PIN) in the form of characters
printed on the passport data page. Before a passport's
tag can be read, this PIN must be entered into an RFID
reader. The BAC also enables the encryption of any
communication between the chip and interrogator
[15].
The new Passport Card also incorporates RFID
technology. The Center for Democracy and Technology has
issued warnings that significant security weaknesses
that the Passport Card could be used to track U.S.
travelers are apparent in the specifications of the card
design as outlined by the U.S. Department of State.
Security expert Bruce Schneier has suggested that a
mugger operating near an airport could target victims
who have arrived from wealthy countries, or a terrorist
could design an improvised explosive device which
functioned when approached by persons from a particular
country.
Some other European Union countries are also planning
to add fingerprints and other biometric data, while some
have already done so.
Transportation payments
An
Electronic Road Pricing gantry in Singapore. Gantries
such as these collect tolls in high-traffic areas from
active RFID units in vehicles.
PayPass
RFID chip removed from a MasterCard.Throughout Europe,
and in particular in Paris (system started in 1995 by
the RATP), Lyon, Bordeaux, Nancy and Marseilles in
France, Porto and Lisbon in Portugal, Milan, Turin, and
Florence in Italy, and Brussels in Belgium, RFID passes
conforming to the Calypso (RFID) international standard
are used for public transport systems. They are also
used now in Canada (Montreal), Mexico, Israel, Bogotá
and Pereira in Colombia, Stavanger in Norway,Luxembourg,
etc.
- In Toronto, Ontario, Canada and surrounding
areas, Electronic Road Pricing systems are used to
collect toll payments on Highway 407.
- In Seoul, South Korea and surrounding cities,
T-money cards can be used to pay for public transit.
Some other South Korean cities have adopted the
system, which can also be used in some stores as
cash. T-money replaced Upass, first introduced for
transport payments in 1996 using MIFARE technology.
- In Turkey, RFID has been used in the motorways
and bridges as a payment system over ten years; it
is also used in electronic bus tickets in
Istanbul.
- In Hong Kong, mass transit is paid for almost
exclusively through the use of an RFID technology,
called the Octopus Card. Originally it was launched
in September 1997 exclusively for transit fare
collection, but has grown to be similar to a cash
card, and can still be used in vending machines,
fast-food restaurants and supermarkets. The card can
be recharged with cash at add-value machines or in
shops, and can be read several centimeters from the
reader. The same applies for Delhi Metro, the rapid
transit system in New Delhi, capital city of India.
- The Moscow Metro, the world's second busiest,
was the first system in Europe to introduce RFID
smartcards in 1998.
- The Washington, D.C. Metrorail became the first
U.S. urban mass-transit system to use RFID
technology when it introduced the SmarTrip card in
1999.
-
JR East in Japan introduced SUICa (Super Urban
Intelligent Card) for transport payment service in
its railway transportation service in November 2001,
using Sony's FeliCa (Felicity Card) technology. The
same Sony technology was used in Hong Kong's Octopus
card, and Singapore's EZ-Link card.
- In Singapore, public transportation buses and
trains employ passive RFID cards known as EZ-Link
cards. Traffic into crowded downtown areas is
regulated by variable tolls imposed using an active
tagging system combined with the use of stored-value
cards (known as CashCards).
- RFID is used in Malaysia Expressways payment
system. The name for the system is Touch 'n Go. As
the system's name indicates, the card is designed to
only function as an RFID card when the user touches
it.
- Since 2002, in Taipei, Taiwan the transportation
system uses RFID operated cards as fare collection.
The Easy Card is charged at local convenience stores
and metro stations, and can be used in Metro, buses
and parking lots. The uses are planned to extend all
throughout the island of Taiwan in the future.
- In the
USA, The Chicago Transit Authority has offered
the Chicago Card and the Chicago Card Plus for rail
payments across the entire system since 2002 and for
bus payments since 2005. The New York City Subway is
conducting a trial during 2006, utilizing PayPass by
MasterCard as fare payment. The Massachusetts Bay
Transportation Authority introduced the use of a
CharlieCard RFID as a fare payment system which is
cheaper than its paper or cash equivalent. Six
transit agencies in the King County region of
Washington State are collaborating to introduce the
Smart Card, or Orca Card.
- In the UK, operating systems for prepaying for
unlimited public transport have been devised, making
use of RFID technology. The design is embedded in a
creditcard-like pass, that when scanned reveals
details of whether the pass is valid, and for how
long the pass will remain valid. The first company
to implement this is the NCT company of Nottingham
City, where the general public affectionately refer
to them as "beep cards". It has since been
successfully implemented in
London, where "Oyster cards" allow for
pay-as-you-go travel as well as passes valid for
various lengths of time and in various areas.
- In Oslo, Norway, the upcoming public transport
payment is to be entirely RFID-based. The system was
slated for introduction around spring 2007.
- In Norway, all public toll roads are equipped
with an RFID payment system known as AutoPass.
- RFID tags are used for electronic toll
collection at toll booths with Georgia's Cruise
Card, California's FasTrak, Colorado's E-470,
Illinois' I-Pass, Oklahoma's Pikepass, the expanding
eastern states' E-ZPass system (including
Massachusetts's Fast Lane,Delaware, New Hampshire
Turnpike, Maryland, New Jersey Turnpike,
Pennsylvania Turnpike, West Virginia Turnpike, New
York's Thruway system, Virginia, and the Maine
Turnpike),Central Florida also utilizes this
technology, via its E-PASS System. E-PASS and
Sunpass are mutually compatible. Florida's SunPass,
Various systems in Texas including D/FW's NTTA
TollTag, the Austin metro TxTag and Houston HCTRA EZ
Tag (which as of early 2007 are all valid on any
Texas toll road), Kansas's
K-Tag, The "Cross-Israel
Highway" (Highway 6),
Philippines
South Luzon Expressway E-Pass,
Brisbane's Queensland Motorway E-Toll System in
Australia, Autopista del Sol (Sun's Highway),
Autopista Central (Central Highway), Autopista Los
Libertadores, Costanera Norte, Vespucio Norte
Express and Vespucio Sur urban Highways and every
forthcoming urban highway (in a "Free
Flow" modality) concessioned to private
investors in
Chile, all toll tunnels in
Hong Kong (Autotoll)
and all highways in
Portugal (Via
Verde, the first system in the world to span the
entire network of tolls),
France (Liber-T system),
Italy (Telepass),
Spain (VIA-T),
Brazil (Sem
Parar - Via Fácil). The tags, which are usually
the active type, are read remotely as vehicles pass
through the booths, and tag information is used to
debit the toll amount from a
prepaid
account. The system helps to speed traffic
through toll plazas as it records the date, time,
and billing data for the RFID vehicle tag. The
plaza- and queue-free
407 Express Toll Route, in the
Greater Toronto Area, allows the use of a
transponder (an active tag) for all billing. This
eliminates the need to identify a vehicle by licence
plate.
- In
Atlanta,
MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit
Authority) has transitioned its bus and rail lines
from coin tokens to the new
Breeze Card system which uses RFID tags embedded
in disposable paper tickets. More permanent plastic
cards are available for frequent users.
- In
Rio de Janeiro, "RioCard" passes can be used in
buses, ferries, trains and subway. There are two
types, one you cannot recharge, the other one can be
recharged if it's been bought by the company you
work for, if they provided it (only in
Brazil).
- A number of
ski resorts, particularly in the
French Alps and in the Spanish and French
Pyrenees, have adopted RFID tags to provide skiers
hands-free access to
ski lifts. Skiers don't have to take their
passes out of their pockets.
- In
Santiago (Chile) the subway system Metro and the
recently implemented public transportation system
Transantiago use an RFID card called "Bip" or "Multivia".
- In
Medellín (Colombia) the recently-implemented
card system for the Metro system uses an RFID card
called Cívica.
- In
Dubai, (United Arab Emirates) drivers through
Sheikh Zayed Road and Garhoud Bridge pay tolls using
RFID tags called
Salik (Road Toll).
- In
Milano (Italy), the ATM "Azienda Trasporti
Milanese" has implemented RFID tags for frequent
users.
- In
Mumbai, the busiest suburban rail transport in
the world, which transports 3.5 million commuters
per day, has implemented the use of RFID ticket
cards.
- In
New Delhi, the underground subway or metro
system implements RFID ticket coins.
- In
the Netherlands the new
OV-chipkaart system will eventually replace
current bus, tram, metro and train payment systems,
allowing for more accurate fares, access control to
stations, and more accurate determination of
government fees to the various public transportation
companies.
Product tracking
The
Canadian Cattle Identification Agency began using
RFID tags as a replacement for barcode tags. The tags
are required to identify a bovine's herd of origin and
this is used for tracing when a packing plant condemns a
carcass. Currently CCIA tags are used in
Wisconsin and by US farmers on a voluntary basis.
The
USDA is currently developing its own program.
High-frequency RFID or HFID/HighFID tags are
used in
library book or bookstore tracking,
jewelry tracking,
pallet tracking, building
access control, airline baggage tracking, and
apparel and pharmaceutical items tracking.
High-frequency tags are widely used in identification
badges, replacing earlier magnetic stripe cards.
These badges need only be held within a certain distance
of the reader to authenticate the holder. The
American Express Blue credit card now includes a
HighFID tag. In Feb 2008, Emirates airline started a
trial of RFID baggage tracing at London and Dubai
airports.
-
BGN has launched two fully
automated
Smartstores that combine item-level RFID tagging
and
SOA to deliver an integrated supply chain, from
warehouse to consumer.
-
UHF, Ultra-HighFID or UHFID tags are commonly
used commercially in case, pallet, and shipping
container tracking, and
truck and trailer tracking in shipping yards.
-
In May 2007, Bear River Supply
began utilizing ultrahigh-frequency identification
(UHFID) tags to help monitor their agricultural
equipment.
Lap scoring
Passive and active RFID systems are used in off-road
events such as
Enduro and
Hare and Hounds racing. Riders have a transponder on
their person, normally on their arm. When they complete
a lap they swipe or touch the receiver which is
connected to a computer and log their lap time. The
Casimo Group Ltd sells such a system.
Animal identification
Microchip implant (animal)
Implantable RFID tags or
transponders can be used for animal identification.
The transponders are more well-known as passive RFID
technology, or simply "Chips" on
animals.
Inventory systems
An advanced automatic identification technology such
as the Auto-ID system based on the Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) technology has significant value
for inventory systems. Notably, the technology provides
an accurate knowledge of the current inventory. In an
academic study performed at Wal-Mart, RFID reduced
Out-of-Stocks by 30 percent for products selling between
0.1 and 15 units a day. Other benefits of using RFID
include the reduction of labor costs, the simplification
of business processes, and the reduction of inventory
inaccuracies.
In 2004, Boeing integrated the use of RFID technology
to help reduce maintenance and inventory costs on the
Boeing 787 Dreamliner. With the high costs of aircraft
parts, RFID technology allowed Boeing to keep track of
inventory despite the unique sizes, shapes and
environmental concerns. During the first six months
after integration, the company was able to save $29,000
in just labor.
RFID mandates
Wal-Mart and the
United States Department of Defense have published
requirements that their vendors place RFID tags on all
shipments to improve
supply chain management. Due to the size of these
two organizations, their RFID mandates impact thousands
of companies worldwide. The deadlines have been extended
several times because many vendors face significant
difficulties implementing RFID systems. In practice, the
successful read rates currently run only 80%, due to
radio wave
attenuation caused by the products and
packaging. In time it is expected that even small
companies will be able to place RFID tags on their
outbound shipments.
Since January 2005, Wal-Mart has required its top 100
suppliers to apply RFID labels to all shipments. To meet
this requirement, vendors use RFID printer/encoders to
label cases and pallets that require
EPC tags for Wal-Mart. These smart labels are
produced by embedding RFID inlays inside the
label material, and then printing bar code and other
visible information on the surface of the label.
Another Wal-Mart division,
Sam's Club, has also moved in this direction. It
sent letters dated Jan. 7, 2008 to its suppliers,
stating that by Jan. 31, 2008, every full single-item
pallet shipped to its distribution center in DeSoto,
Texas, or directly to one of its stores served by that
DC, must bear an EPC Gen 2 RFID tag. Suppliers failing
to comply will be charged a service fee.
Promotion tracking
Manufacturers of products sold through retailers
promote their products by offering discounts for a
limited period on products sold to retailers with the
expectation that the retailers will pass on the savings
to their customers. However, retailers typically engage
in forward buying, purchasing more product during
the discount period than they intend to sell during the
promotion period. Some retailers engage in a form of
arbitrage, reselling discounted product to other
retailers, a practice known as diverting. To
combat this practice, manufacturers are exploring the
use of RFID tags on promoted merchandise so that they
can track exactly which product has sold through the
supply chain at fully discounted prices.
Human implants
Hand with the planned location of the RFID
chip.
Just after the operation to insert the RFID
tag was completed.
-
Implantable RFID chips designed for animal tagging
are now being used in humans. An early experiment with
RFID implants was conducted by British professor of
cybernetics
Kevin Warwick, who implanted a chip in his arm in
1998. Night clubs in
Barcelona,
Spain and in
Rotterdam,
The Netherlands, use an implantable chip to identify
their VIP customers, who in turn use it to pay for
drinks.
In 2004, the Mexican Attorney General's office
implanted 18 of its staff members with the
Verichip to control access to a secure data room.
(This number has been variously mis-reported as 160 or
180 staff members.)
Security experts have warned against using RFID for
authenticating people due to the risk of
identity theft. For instance a
man-in-the-middle attack would make it possible for
an attacker to steal the identity of a person in
real-time. Due to the resource constraints of RFIDs it
is virtually impossible to protect against such attack
models as this would require complex distance-binding
protocols.
Libraries
RFID tags
used in libraries: square book tag, round
CD/DVD tag and rectangular VHS tag.
Among the many uses of RFID technologies is its
deployment in
libraries. This technology has slowly begun to
replace the traditional barcodes on library items
(books,
CDs,
DVDs, etc.). The RFID tag can contain identifying
information, such as a book's title or material type,
without having to be pointed to a separate
database (but this is rare in North America). The
information is read by an RFID reader, which replaces
the standard
barcode reader commonly found at a library's
circulation desk. The RFID tag found on library
materials typically measures 50 mm X 50 mm in North
America and 50 mm x 75 mm in Europe. It may replace or
be added to the
barcode, offering a different means of inventory
management by the staff and
self service by the borrowers. It can also act as a
security device, taking the place of the more
traditional
electromagnetic security strip And not only
the books, but also the membership cards could be fitted
with an RFID tag.
While there is some debate as to when and where RFID
in libraries first began, it was first proposed in the
late 1990s as a technology that would enhance workflow
in the library setting.
Singapore was certainly one of the first to
introduce RFID in libraries and
Rockefeller University in
New York may have been the first academic library in
the
United States to utilize this technology, whereas
Farmington Community Library in
Michigan may have been the first public institution,
both of which began using RFID in 1999. In
Europe, the first public library to use RFID was the
one in
Hoogezand-Sappemeer, the
Netherlands, in 2001, where borrowers were given an
option. To their surprise, 70% used the RFID option and
quickly adapted, including elderly people.
Worldwide, in absolute numbers, RFID is used most the
United States (with its 300 million inhabitants),
followed by the
United Kingdom and
Japan. It is estimated that over 30 million library
items worldwide now contain RFID tags, including some in
the
Vatican Library in
Rome.
RFID has many library applications that can be highly
beneficial, particularly for circulation staff. Since
RFID tags can be read through an item, there is no need
to open a book cover or DVD case to scan an item. This
could reduce
repetitive-motion injuries. Where the books have a
barcode on the outside, there is still the advantage
that borrowers can scan an entire pile of books in one
go, instead of one at a time. Since RFID tags can also
be read while an item is in motion, using RFID readers
to check-in returned items while on a
conveyor belt reduces staff time. But, as with
barcode, this can all be done by the borrowers
themselves, meaning they might never again need the
assistance of staff. Next to these readers with a fixed
location there are also portable ones (for librarians,
but in the future possibly also for borrowers, possibly
even their own general-purpose readers). With these,
inventories could be done on a whole shelf of materials
within seconds, without a book ever having to be taken
off the shelf.. In
Umeå,
Sweden, RFID is being used to assist visually
impaired people in borrowing audiobooks. In Malaysia,
Smart Shelves are used to pinpoint the exact location of
books in Multimedia University Library, Cyberjaya In the
Netherlands, handheld readers are being introduced for
this purpose.
The Dutch Union of Public Libraries ('Vereniging van
Openbare Bibliotheken') is working on the concept of an
interactive 'context library', where borrowers get a
reader/headphones-set, which leads them to the desired
section of the library (using triangulation methods,
rather like
GPS or
TomTom) and which they can use to read information
from books on the shelves with the desired level of
detail (e.g. a section read out loud), coming from the
book's tag itself or a database elsewhere, and get tips
on alternatives, based on the borrowers' preferences,
thus creating a more personalized version of the
library. This may also lead them to sections of the
library they might not otherwise visit. Borrowers could
also use the system to exchange experiences (such as
grading books).
However, as of 2008 this technology remains too
costly for many smaller libraries, and the conversion
period has been estimated at 11 months for an
average-size library. A 2004 Dutch estimate was that a
library which lends 100,000 books per year should plan
on a cost of €50,000 (borrow- and return-stations:
12,500 each, detection porches 10,000 each; tags 0.36
each). RFID taking a large burden off staff could also
mean that fewer staff will be needed, resulting in some
of them getting fired, but that has so far not happened
in North America where recent surveys have not returned
a single library that cut staff because of adding RFID.
In fact, library budgets are being reduced for personnel
and increased for infrastructure, making it necessary
for libraries to add automation to compensate for the
reduced staff size. Also, the tasks that RFID takes over
are largely not the primary tasks of librarians. A
finding in the Netherlands is that borrowers are pleased
with the fact that staff are now more available for
answering questions.
A concern surrounding RFID in libraries that has
received considerable publicity is the issue of privacy.
Because RFID tags can in theory be scanned and read from
up to 350 feet (100 m), and because RFID utilizes an
assortment of
frequencies (both depending on the type of tag,
though), there is some concern over whether sensitive
information could be collected from an unwilling source.
However, library RFID tags do not contain any patron
information, and the tags used in the majority of
libraries use a frequency only readable from
approximately ten feet. Also, libraries have always had
to keep records of who has borrowed what, so in that
sense there is nothing new. One simple option is to only
let the book transmit a code, that will only mean
anything in conjunction with the library's database.
Another step further is to give the book a new code
every time it is returned. And if in the future readers
become ubiquitous (and possibly networked), then stolen
books could be traced even outside the library. Removing
of the tags could be made difficult if they are so small
that they fit invisibly inside a (random) page, possibly
put there by the publisher.
Schools and universities
School authorities in the Japanese city of Osaka are
now chipping children's clothing, back packs, and
student IDs in a primary school. A school in
Doncaster,
England is piloting a monitoring system designed to
keep tabs on pupils by tracking radio chips in their
uniforms..
St Charles Sixth Form College in
West London, England, started
September,
2008, is using an RFID card system to check in and
out of the main gate, to both track attendance and
prevent unauthorized entrance.
Museums
RFID technologies are now also implemented in
end-user applications in museums. An example is the
custom-designed application "eXsport" at the
Exploratorium, a science museum in
San Francisco, California. A visitor entering the
museum receives an RF Tag that can be carried on a card
or necklace. The eXspot system enables the visitor to
receive information about the exhibit and take photos to
be collected at the giftshop. Later they can visit their
personal Web page on which specific information such as
visit dates, the visited exhibits and the taken
photographs can be viewed.
Social retailing
When customers enter a dressing room, the mirror
reflects their image and also images of the apparel item
being worn by celebrities on an interactive display. A
webcam also projects an image of the consumer wearing
the item on the website for everyone to see. This
creates an interaction between the consumers inside the
store and their social network outside the store. The
technology in this system is an RFID interrogator
antenna in the dressing room and
Electronic Product Code RFID tags on the apparel
item.
Miscellaneous
- In February 2008,
ThingMagic announced a partnership with
Dewalt and
Ford to equip 2009 Ford F-150, F-Series Super
Duty pickups and E-Series vans with an embedded RFID
asset tracking system enabled by ThingMagic's
Mercury5e readers.
- In November 2007,
French company
Violet started selling its RFID-enabled
Nabaztag with children's books (from publisher
Gallimard Jeunesse) that included RFID tags
inside the front cover. When the book is passed in
front of the
Nabaztag, it downloads the audio book on the
Internet and reads the book out loud.
- Some hospitals use
Active RFID tags to perform
Asset Tracking in Real Time.
- In 2006, the
Smart Conveyor Tunnel, designed by
Blue Vector, was introduced. This allowed the
pharmaceutical industry to track both
UHF and
HF tags.
Rite Aid utilized the technology with some of
McKesson Corporation's products.
- The
NEXUS and
SENTRI frequent traveler programs use RFID to
speed up landborder processing between the U.S. and
Canada and Mexico.
-
NADRA has developed an RFID-based
driver license that bears the license holder's
personal information and stores data regarding
traffic violations, tickets issued, and outstanding
penalties. The license cards are designed so that
driving rights can be revoked electronically in case
of serious violations.
-
Sensors such as
seismic sensors may be read using RFID
transceivers, greatly simplifying
remote data collection.
- In August 2004, the
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
(ODRC) approved a $415,000 contract to evaluate the
personnel-tracking technology of
Alanco Technologies. Inmates will wear
wristwatch-sized
transmitters that can detect attempted removal
and alert
prison computers. This project is not the first
rollout of tracking chips in US prisons. Facilities
in
Michigan, California and Illinois already employ
the technology.
-
Transponder timing at mass sports events.
- Used as storage for a
video game system produced by
Mattel, "HyperScan".
-
RFIQin, designed by
Vita Craft, is an automatic cooking device that
has three different sized pans, a
portable
induction heater, and recipe cards. Each pan is
embedded with an RFID tag that monitors the food 16
times per second while an MI tag in the handle of
the pans transmits signals to the
induction heater to adjust the temperature.
-
Slippery Rock University is using RFID tags in
their students' ID cards beginning in the fall 2007
semester.
- 25 real-world application case studies can be
found in a 61 page free Ebook
RFID Technology Applications
- RFID tags are now being embedded into playing
cards that are used for televisied poker tournamnets,
so commentators know exactly what cards have been
dealt to whom, as soon as the deal is complete.
- The Iraqi army uses an RFID security card that
contains a biometric picture of the soldier. The
picture in the chip must match the picture on the
card to prevent forgery.
-
Theme parks (such as
Alton Towers in the United Kingdom) have been
known to use RFID to help them identify users of a
ride in order to make a DVD of their time at the
park. This is then available for the users to buy at
the end of the day. This is voluntary by the users
by wearing a wristband given to them at the park.
-
Access control - many places which employ
traditional swipe cards for access control are
slowly shifting to RFID no-contact cards.
- Meetings and conventions have also implemented
RFID technology into attendee badges allowing the
ability to track people at conferences. This
provides data that can display what rooms people
have enter and exited during the day
. This data is available to show
organizers to help them improve the content and
design of the conference. RFID is also being used to
improve the
lead retrieval process for exhibitors at
exhibitions.
- RFID transponder chips have been implanted in
golf balls to allow them to be tracked. The uses
of such tracking range from being able to search for
a lost ball using a homing device, to a computerized
driving range format that tracks shots made by a
player and gives feedback on distance and accuracy.
- In 2007 artist couple artcoon starts their world
project
Kansa. Sirpa Masalins human like wooden
sculptures carry an RFID inside. Hans-Ulrich
Goller-Masalin created a New Media Art work which
traces the individual sculptures of Kansa in the
internet. Owners are asked to register the city
where their sculpture is located. By comparing the
RFIDs unique number referenced at artcoon the owner
can identify his sculpture as the original one.
- Some casinos are embedding RFID tags into their
chips. This allows the casinos to track the
locations of chips on the casino floor, identify
counterfeit chips, and prevent theft. In addition,
casinos can use RFID systems to study the betting
behavior of players.
Potential uses
Replacing barcodes
RFID tags are often a replacement for
UPC or
EAN barcodes, having a number of important
advantages over the older barcode technology. They may
not ever completely replace barcodes, due in part to
their higher cost and the advantage of multiple data
sources on the same object. The new
EPC, along with several other schemes, is widely
available at reasonable cost.
The storage of data associated with tracking items
will require many
terabytes. Filtering and categorizing RFID data is
needed to create useful information. It is likely that
goods will be tracked by the pallet using RFID tags, and
at package level with Universal Product Code (UPC)
or
EAN from unique barcodes.
The unique identity is a mandatory requirement for
RFID tags, despite special choice of the numbering
scheme. RFID tag data capacity is large enough that each
individual tag will have a unique code, while current
bar codes are limited to a single type code for a
particular product. The uniqueness of RFID tags means
that a product may be tracked as it moves from location
to location, finally ending up in the consumer's hands.
This may help to combat theft and other forms of product
loss. The tracing of products is an important feature
that gets well supported with RFID tags containing a
unique identity of the tag and also the serial number of
the object. This may help companies to cope with quality
deficiencies and resulting recall campaigns, but also
contributes to concern about tracking and profiling of
consumers after the sale.
It has also been proposed to use RFID for
POS store checkout to replace the
cashier with an automatic system which needs no
barcode scanning. This is not likely without a
significant reduction in the cost of tags and changes in
the POS process. There is some research taking place,
however, this is some years from reaching fruition.
An FDA-nominated task force concluded, after studying
the various technologies currently commercially
available, which of those technologies could meet the
pedigree requirements. Amongst all technologies studied
including bar coding, RFID seemed to be the most
promising and the committee felt that the pedigree
requirement could be met by easily leveraging something
that is readily available. (More details see
RFID-FDA Regulations)
Telemetry
Active RFID tags also have the potential to function
as low-cost remote sensors that broadcast
telemetry back to a base station. Applications of
tagometry
data could include sensing of road
conditions by implanted beacons, weather reports, and
noise level monitoring.
It is possible that active or semi-passive RFID tags
used with or in place of barcodes could broadcast a
signal to an in-store receiver to determine whether the
RFID tag (product) is in the store.
Identification of patients and
hospital staff
In July 2004, the US
Food and Drug Administration issued a ruling that
essentially begins a final review process that will
determine whether hospitals can use RFID systems to
identify patients and/or permit relevant hospital staff
to access
medical records. Since then, a number of U.S.
hospitals have begun implanting patients with RFID tags
and using RFID systems, usually for workflow and
inventory management. There is some evidence, as well,
that nurses and other hospital staff may be subjected to
increased surveillance of their activities or to labor
intensification as a result of the implementation of
RFID systems in hospitals.The use of RFID to prevent
mixups between
sperm and
ova in
IVF clinics is also being considered .
In October 2004, the FDA approved USA's first RFID
chips that can be implanted in humans. The 134 kHz RFID
chips, from VeriChip Corp. can incorporate personal
medical information and could save lives and limit
injuries from errors in medical treatments, according to
the company. The FDA approval was disclosed during a
conference call with investors. Shortly after the
approval, authors and anti-RFID activists
Katherine Albrecht and
Liz McIntyre discovered a warning letter from the
FDA that spelled out serious
health risks associated with the VeriChip. According
to the FDA, these include "adverse tissue reaction",
"migration of the implanted transponder", "failure of
implanted transponder", "electrical hazards" and
"magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] incompatibility."
In 2007
John Wiley & Sons published a guide to RFID use in
the book
RFID Applied (ISBN
978-0-471-79365-6)
Possible uses for medical
field
Human tagging and tracking could be useful in
hospitals, especially emergency rooms. A nurse or doctor
could easily access patient history or information
concerning files, allergies, or any other complications
from the incoming patient.
Yoking
It has been proposed to use a
strong cryptography-based scheme to generate
forensic evidence that two RFID tags were in proximity
at the time of scanning.
Regulation and standardization
There is no global public body that governs the
frequencies used for RFID. In principle, every country
can set its own rules for this. The main bodies governing
frequency allocation for RFID are:
Low-frequency (LF: 125–134.2 kHz and 140–148.5 kHz) (LowFID)
tags and high-frequency (HF: 13.56 MHz) (HighFID) tags
can be used globally without a license.
Ultra-high-frequency (UHF: 868–928 MHz) (Ultra-HighFID
or UHFID) tags cannot be used globally as there is no
single global standard. In North America, UHF can be
used unlicensed for 902–928& MHz (±13 MHz from the 915
MHz center frequency), but restrictions exist for
transmission power. In Europe, RFID and other low-power
radio applications are regulated by ETSI recommendations
EN 300 220 and EN 302 208, and ERO recommendation 70 03,
allowing RFID operation with somewhat complex band
restrictions from 865–868 MHz. Readers are required to
monitor a channel before transmitting ("Listen Before
Talk"); this requirement has led to some restrictions on
performance, the resolution of which is a subject of
current research. The North American UHF standard is not
accepted in France as it interferes with its military
bands. For China and Japan, there is no regulation for
the use of UHF. Each application for UHF in these
countries needs a site license, which needs to be
applied for at the local authorities, and can be
revoked. For Australia and New Zealand, 918–926 MHz are
unlicensed, but restrictions exist for transmission
power.
These frequencies are known as the
ISM bands (Industrial Scientific and Medical bands).
The return signal of the tag may still cause
interference for other radio users.
Some
standards that have been made regarding RFID
technology include:
-
ISO
14223/1 –
Radio frequency identification of Animals, advanced
transponders – Air interface
-
ISO 14443:
This standard is a popular HF (13.56 MHz) standard
for HighFIDs which is being used as the basis of
RFID-enabled passports under ICAO 9303.
-
ISO 15693:
This is also a popular HF (13.56 MHz) standard for
HighFIDs widely used for non-contact smart payment
and credit cards.
-
ISO/IEC 18000: Information technology — Radio
frequency identification for item management:
- Part 1: Reference architecture and
definition of parameters to be standardized
- Part 2: Parameters for air interface
communications below 135 kHz
- Part 3: Parameters for air interface
communications at 13.56& MHz
- Part 4: Parameters for air interface
communications at 2.45 GHz
- Part 6: Parameters for air interface
communications at 860-960 MHz
- Part 7: Parameters for active air interface
communications at 433 MHz
-
ISO 18185: This is the industry standard for
electronic seals or "e-seals" for tracking cargo
containers using the 433 MHz and 2.4 GHz
frequencies.
-
EPCglobal – this is the standardization
framework that is most likely to undergo
International Standardisation according to ISO rules
as with all sound standards in the world, unless
residing with limited scope, as customs regulations,
air-traffic regulations and others. Currently the
big distributors and governmental customers are
pushing EPC heavily as a standard well-accepted in
their community, but not yet regarded as for
salvation to the rest of the world.
-
ASTM D7434, Standard Test Method for Determining
the Performance of Passive Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) Transponders on Palletized or
Unitized Loads
-
ASTM
D7435, Standard Test Method for Determining the
Performance of Passive Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) Transponders on Loaded
Containers
EPC Gen2
EPC Gen2 is short for EPCglobal UHF Class 1
Generation 2.
EPCglobal (a joint venture between
GS1 and
GS1 US) is working on international standards for
the use of mostly passive RFID and the
EPC in the identification of many items in the
supply chain for companies worldwide.
One of the missions of EPCglobal was to simplify the
Babel of protocols prevalent in the RFID world in the
1990s. Two tag air interfaces (the protocol for
exchanging information between a tag and a reader) were
defined (but not ratified) by EPCglobal prior to 2003.
These protocols, commonly known as Class 0 and Class 1,
saw significant commercial implementation in 2002–2005.
In 2004 the Hardware Action Group created a new
protocol, the Class 1 Generation 2 interface, which
addressed a number of problems that had been experienced
with Class 0 and Class 1 tags. The EPC Gen2 standard was
approved in December 2004, and is likely to form the
backbone of passive RFID tag standards moving forward.
This was approved after a contention from
Intermec that the standard may infringe a number of
their RFID-related patents. It was decided that the
standard itself did not infringe their patents, but it
may be necessary to pay royalties to
Intermec if the tag were to be read in a particular
manner. The EPC Gen2 standard was adopted with minor
modifications as ISO 18000-6C in 2006.
The lowest cost of Gen2 EPC inlay is offered by
SmartCode at a price of $0.05 apiece in volumes of
100 million or more. Nevertheless, further conversion
(including additional label stock or encapsulation
processing/insertion and freight costs to a given
facility or DC) and of the inlays into usable RFID
labels and the design of current Gen 2 protocol standard
will increase the total end-cost, especially with the
added security feature extensions for RFID Supply Chain
item-level tagging.
Problems and concerns
Global standardization
The frequencies used for RFID in the USA are
currently incompatible with those of Europe or Japan.
Furthermore, no emerging standard has yet become as
universal as the
barcode.
Security concerns
A primary RFID security concern is the illicit
tracking of RFID tags. Tags which are world-readable
pose a risk to both personal location privacy and
corporate/military security. Such concerns have been
raised with respect to the
United States Department of Defense's recent
adoption of RFID tags for supply chain management.More
generally, privacy organizations have expressed concerns
in the context of ongoing efforts to embed electronic
product code (EPC) RFID tags in consumer products.
EPCglobal Network, by design, is also susceptible to
DoS attacks. Using similar mechanism with DNS in
resolving EPC data requests, the ONS Root servers become
vulnerable to DoS attacks. Any organization planning to
embark on EPCglobal Network may cringe upon discovering
that the EPCglobal Network infrastructure inherits
security weaknesses similar to DNS'.
A second class of defense uses cryptography to
prevent tag cloning. Some tags use a form of "rolling
code" scheme, wherein the tag identifier information
changes after each scan, thus reducing the usefulness of
observed responses. More sophisticated devices engage in
Challenge-response authentications where the tag
interacts with the reader. In these protocols, secret
tag information is never sent over the insecure
communication channel between tag and reader. Rather,
the reader issues a challenge to the tag, which responds
with a result computed using a cryptographic circuit
keyed with some secret value. Such protocols may be
based on
symmetric or
public key cryptography. Cryptographically-enabled
tags typically have dramatically higher cost and power
requirements than simpler equivalents, and as a result,
deployment of these tags is much more limited. This
cost/power limitation has led some manufacturers to
implement cryptographic tags using substantially
weakened, or proprietary encryption schemes, which do
not necessarily resist sophisticated attack. For
example, the Exxon-Mobil
Speedpass uses a cryptographically-enabled tag
manufactured by
Texas Instruments, called the
Digital Signature Transponder (DST), which
incorporates a weak, proprietary
encryption scheme to perform a challenge-response
protocol for lower cost.
Still other cryptographic protocols attempt to
achieve privacy against unauthorized readers, though
these protocols are largely in the research stage. One
major challenge in securing RFID tags is a shortage of
computational resources within the tag. Standard
cryptographic techniques require more resources than are
available in most low cost RFID devices.
RSA Security has patented a prototype device that
locally jams RFID signals by interrupting a standard
collision avoidance protocol, allowing the user to
prevent identification if desired. Various policy
measures have also been proposed, such as marking
RFID-tagged objects with an industry standard label.
Exploits
Ars Technica Reported in March 2006 an RFID
buffer overflow bug that could infect airport
terminal RFID Databases for baggage, and also Passport
databases to obtain confidential information on the
passport holder.
Passports
In an effort to make passports more secure, several
countries have implemented RFID in passports. However,
the encryption on UK chips was broken in under 48 hours.
Since that incident, further efforts have allowed
researchers to clone passport data while the passport is
being mailed to its owner. Where a criminal used to need
to secretly open and then reseal the envelope, now it
can be done without detection, adding some degree of
insecurity to the passport system.
Shielding
A number of products are available on the market that
will allow a concerned carrier of RFID-enabled cards or
passports to shield their data. In fact the United
States government requires their new employee ID cards
to be delivered with an approved shielding sleeve or
holder. There are contradicting opinions as to whether
aluminum can prevent reading of RFID chips. Some people
claim that aluminum shielding, essentially creating a
Faraday cage, does work. Others claim that simply
wrapping an RFID card in aluminum foil, only makes
transmission more difficult, yet is not completely
effective at preventing it.
Shielding is again a function of the frequency being
used. Low-frequency LowFID tags, like those used in
implantable devices for humans and pets, are relatively
resistant to shielding, though thick metal foil will
prevent most reads. High frequency HighFID tags (13.56
MHz — smart cards and access badges) are sensitive to
shielding and are difficult to read when within a few
centimeters of a metal surface. UHF Ultra-HighFID tags
(pallets and cartons) are difficult to read when placed
within a few millimeters of a metal surface, although
their read range is actually increased when they are
spaced 2–4 cm from a metal due to positive reinforcement
of the reflected wave and the incident wave at the tag.
UHFID tags can be successfully shielded from most reads
by being placed within an anti-static plastic bag.
Human
implantation
The Food and Drug Administration in the US has
approved the use of RFID chips in humans. Some business
establishments have also started to chip
customers, such as the Baja Beach nightclub in
Barcelona. This has provoked concerns into privacy of
individuals as they can potentially be tracked wherever
they go by an identifier unique to them. There are
concerns this could lead to abuse by an authoritarian
government or lead to removal of freedoms.
On July 22, 2006, Reuters reported that two hackers,
Newitz and Westhues, at a conference in New York City
showed that they could clone the RFID signal from a
human implanted RFID chip, showing that the chip is not
hack-proof as was previously believed.
Please Note:
All information provided on this page has been pulled
from the well respected Wikipedia Website. Access Denied
make no claims to this information and can not vouch for
its accuracy. To view updates and additional postings to
this information please visit the site directly at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID.
Learn more about these fine products.
[click
on selection below for details]
|
