by Jayakrishna Gudapati

INTRODUCTION

An automatic identification relying on remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags. Technology theory in similar to barcodes. Consists of antenna, transceiver & tag. Tag is a object that can be incorporated into an animal, object or person etc.

CONTENTS

RFID TAGS CURRENT USES POTENTIAL USES REGULARIZATION AND STANDARDIZATION PROBLEMS AND CONCERNS CONTROVERSIES

RFID TAGS
FIGURE SHOWS AN RFID TAG

TYPES OF TAGS

PASSIVE ACTIVE SEMI PASSIVE

PASSIVE TAGS

They require no internal power source. Antenna has to be designed to both collect power & also to transmit power. The reading distance is from 10 cm to few meters.

ACTIVE TAGS
They

have own internal power source. More reliable than passive tags. They are bigger & more expensive. Practical range of 100s of meters.

SEMI PASSIVE TAGS

They

have own power source. More sensitivity than passive tags. Better battery life than active tags. It performs active functions.

ANTENNAS USED

DEPENDS ON THE FREQUENCY OF APPLICATION. DIPOLE ANTENNAS PATCH ANTENNAS HF AND VHF ANTENNAS

TAG ATTACHMENT
1. 2. 3. 4.

Deals with how the tags are attached with the object. There are four ways Attachable. Implantable. Insertion tags. Digestible tags.

TAGGING POSITIONS
Important

to know the position of the tagged object. R-spot ,L-spot, D-spot are used to define the location of RFID tags.

CURRENT USES

Passports Transportation payments. Product tracking Automotives Animal identification Human implants In libraries Schools and universities

PASSPORTS

Standards for RFID passports are determined by the ICAO. First RFID passport (E passport) was issued by Malaysia in 1998. In 2006, RFID tags were included in new US passports and introduced 13millions passports in the same year.

TRANSPORTATION PAYMENTS

PRODUCT TRACKING

The CCIA begin using RFID tags as replacement for Barcode Tags. High freq RFID tags are used in Jewelry tracking, Building access control, Airline baggage tracking. UHF RFID tags are used in shipping container tracking, truck & trailer tracking

AUTOMOTIVES

Microwave RFID tags are used in long range access control for vehicles. Since 1990s tags are used in car keys. FORD, HONDA and other manufacturers use RFID tags as anti-theft measures.

HUMAN IMPALNTS

Planned location for placing RFID tag

After the implantation

LIBRARIES

POTENTIAL USES

Replacing barcodes Telemetry Patient Identification

REPLACING BARCODES

They have number of advantages over the older barcode technology. RFID tag data capacity is big enough that any tag have unique code. Unique means that each product is individually tracked, therefore thefts and product losses can be avoided

TELEMETRY

They act as low cost remote sensors. Road conditions can be sensed by implanted beacons & noise level monitoring.

PATIENT IDENTIFICATION

US hospitals implants patients with RFID tags. The use of RFID to prevent mix-ups between sperm and ova in IVF clinics is also being considered.

REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS

1.
2. 3.

There is no Global public body that Governs the frequencies used for RFID. Every country sets its own rules. The main bodies governing frequency allocations are : USA : FCC CANADA : DOC EUROPE : ERO, CEPT

PROBLEMS AND CONCERNS

Physically these tags can be disabled Global Standardization Security concerns Viruses

PROTECTION OF RFID DATA

RFID shielding A number of products are available in the market that will allow RFID enabled cards to shield the data. Aluminium shielding is effectively used. Low-frequency tags used in implantable devices for pets are resistant to shielding through metal foil.

CONTRAVERSIES

Privacy Human Implantation Religious Opinion

PRIVACY

The owner of an item will not necessarily be aware of the presence of a RFID tag. If the tagged items are purchased using RFID credit cards, it would be possible to deduce the identity of the purchaser.

Human Implantation

Food and Drug Administration in US has approved the use of RFID chips in Humans. On July 22, 2006 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.

RELIGIOUS CONCERNS

Most Evangelical Christians believe that RFID tagging could represent the mark of the beast (666) mentioned in the book of Revelation. They strongly oppose the Corporations and Governments plan to track their every movement with RFID.

IS IT SAFE ?

Are these beliefs true ? and is it safe to use RFIDs ?

IT IS SURELY SAFE TO USE

In Jan 2004 privacy advocates from CASPIAN and the German privacy group FoeBuD conducted a seminar and analyzed that, it is perfectly safe and no problems occurs by using these RFIDs by showing several practical examples.