An Introduction to RFID Technology

While many people believe that the latest 'Hot Technology' - RFID (radio frequency identification)- is new, it's actually been around since World War II. The DoD used Active RFID Tags to save millions of dollars during the first Gulf War by tracking assets and inventory shipped into the war theater. Reports from the Pentagon estimate that RFID technology has saved the US taxpayer hundreds of thousands of dollars in excess inventory costs during the current conflict.

Eventually, RFID technology will be used by all members of the supply chain just as barcodes are used today by grocery and retail stores. The mythical 5 cent RFID tag will need to be invented prior to extensive usage of RFID. Today, RFID tags and labels cost between 60 cents and 2 dollars, depending upon many factors. The most common usage of RFID tags today is for automatic tracking of moving cars and trucks at toll booths, lost pet identification, and wireless security card entry.

Unlike barcodes, RFID tags do not require 'line of sight' in order to be read. Additionally, multiple tags can be read at once. In the not so distant future, shoppers will be able to push entire grocery carts past a check-out station and every item in the cart will be scanned within seconds.

RFID tags are comprised of a chip (used for unique identification), an antenna, and optionally a battery. Passive tags have no battery - active tags have a battery. Passive tags are activated when they detect a specific radio frequency aimed at them. They then reflect an altered signal which contains the tags unique ID number.

Tags can be designed to use one of four different frequencies; low, high, UHF, and microwave. The higher the frequency, the longer the range of the tag. Tags come in either READ ONLY or READ/WRITE versions.

Wal-Mart and DoD have recently announced mandates to their top suppliers for RFID labeling. These mandates are aimed only at case and pallet level packaging. As more and more companies implement RFID systems, the cost will drop. Eventually new technology will emerge, such as metal-based inks which can be used to print RFID tags, that will help drive down the costs also.

Prior to general acceptance of RFID technology, international standards must be agreed upon and adopted worldwide. ECP (Electronic Product Code) standards for product identification and GEN2 (Generation 2) standards for RFID hardware have been published. Many experts predict that within 7 to 10 years, every item in grocery and retail stores will be tagged with RFID tags or labels.

Contact RVB Systems Group to learn more about RFID systems.