RFID Technology

RFID
Technology
Mike Arnold
Randall Chang
Brent Hedberg
Lauren Nelson
Brad Samples
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RFID What is it?

Acronymn: Radio Frequency Identification

Device
Holds a small amount of unique data a serial
number or other unique attributes of the item
The data can be read from a distance no
contact or even line of sight necessary
Enables items to be individually tracked from
manufacture to consumption
Many uses: Logistics, Military, Pets.

RFID History

Technology used in RFIDs was first developed

in the 1920s
First used by Soviets in 1945 as an espionage
tool (passive, covert listening)
Similar technology, the IFF transponder, was
used by the British in WWII to identify airplanes
as friend or foe
A 1948 paper by Harry Stockman first explored
the vast potential for RFID technology
RFID systems did not appear until the 1960s
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RFID System Components

RFID Tag
Transponder
Located

on the object

RFID Reader
Transceiver
Can

read and write data to Tag

Data Processing Subsystem

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Transponder
Consists of microchip (tag) that stores
data and antenna
Active transponders have on-tag batteries
Passive transponders obtain all power
from the RF interrogation signal of reader
Active and passive only communicate
when interrogated by transceiver

Transceiver
Consists of an RF module, a control unit,
and a coupling element to interrogate tags
via RF communication
Also have secondary interface to
communicate with back-end systems
Reads tags located in an external
environment and are obscured from view

Data Processing Subsystem

Backend System
Connected via high-speed network
Computers used for business planning
(ERP)
Database storage

Can be as simple as a reader attached to a

cash register
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RFID - Current Uses

RFIDs are currently used for:

Inventory Monitoring
Library book and bookstore tracking
Pallet tracking (Wal-Mart and the Dept. of Defense)
Access Control
Hand Implants
ID badges (Mt. Bachelor ski resort season passes)
Payment Systems
The American Express Blue Card, a feature they call
ExpressPay
Exxon Mobile SpeedPassAirline baggage tracking
Cell phones are including RFID tags built in
High-end VIP nightclubs
Commercially for truck and trailer tracking in shipping yards
Long range access control for vehicles
Entry gates
Electronic toll collection

RFID Implants

Before

After implant surgery

RFID Potential Future Uses

RFID tags are often envisioned as a replacement for

UPC barcodes in the future

Proposed to use RFID for point of sale store checkout to replace

the cashier with an automatic system which needs no barcode
scanning

Possibility of your refrigerator tracking what groceries

you are out of, what has gone bad, etc. (eg. How old is
the milk in the fridge?)
Sporting events have readers at the start and finish lines
Passports

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Auto-ID Center

A non-profit partnership by major software, consulting,

tag and reader manufacturers and by MIT, Cambridge
University and Adelaide University
All research and solutions publicly available
Mission of a global approach to automatic ID of every
product
Developed standards for tags and readers

Electronic Product Code (EPC)

Has since dissolved and transferred work and research

to EPCglobal and the Auto-ID Labs at University of St.
Gallen, Keio University and MIT

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RFIDs and EPC Systems

Electronic Product Codes (EPC)
A code electronically recorded on an RFID
tag

EPC

is a 64-bit or 96-bit code

Intended to be an improvement on the

UPC barcode system

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RFIDs - Active vs. Passive

Active RFID

Passive RFID

Tag Power Source

Internal to tag

Energy transferred using

RF from reader

Tag Battery

Yes

No

Availability of power

Continuous

Only in field of reader

Required signal strength Very Low

to read tag

Very High

Range

Up to 100 meters

Up to 3-5m, usually less

Multi-tag reading

1000s of tags recognized

speeds up to 100 miles/hour.

Few hundred within 3m of

reader

Data Storage

Up to 1Mb of read/write with

sophisticated search and
access

128 bytes of read/write

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Active RFID Tags

Battery Powered tags

Have much greater range 100m
Hold much more information Kbytes
Can integrate sensing technology

Temperature, GPS

Can signal at defined time

Multiple tags can be recorded/read at once

Used for higher value items

Shipping containers
Electronic assets

Cost between $20 and $40 per item

Life between 2 4 years

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Passive RFID Tags

Traditional tags used in retail security

applications

Tag contains an antenna, and a small chip that

stores a small amount of data
Tag can be programmed at manufacture or on
installation
Tag is powered by the high power electromagnetic
field generated by the antennas usually in
doorways
The field allows the chip/antenna to reflect back an
extremely weak signal containing the data
Collision Detection recognition of multiple tags in
the read range is employed to separately read
the individual tags

These passive tags form the basis of the AutoID designs, and, if manufactured in billions, will
come down in price from $0.80 to $0.05 in the
next 2 years.

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Controversy

Consumer privacy advocates often refer to RFIDs as spychips

RFIDs can be tracked by anyone with a high-gain antenna, potentially
allowing the contents of a home to be scanned at a distance.
Could be used to track an individuals movements without their knowledge
Information about an individual can be gleaned from an RFID even after its
disposal
Three main privacy concerns in a retail scenario:

Purchaser of item may not be aware of its presence

Tag can be read at a distance without purchasers knowledge
May be possible to tie RFID ID to purchasers credit card and personal
information

Julie England, vice president at Texas Instruments has

stated that the key to success is finding this right
balance between privacy protection and the appropriate
use of data.
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Case Study: Wal-Mart

Their main interest is in tracking pallets or
crates containing many items, rather than
to tag items individually
By providing accurate, real-time inventory
data, RFID has the potential to enhance
supply-chain efficiency and reduce costs.
In general, item-level tagging of consumer
goods is unlikely to occur for some years.

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Case Study: Wal-Mart

First phase of implementation involved its top 100 suppliers

tagging cases and pallets of products headed to three Dallas/Fort
Worth area distribution centers by January 2005.
After that, an additional 37 suppliers voluntarily asked to meet
the same milestone.
In the initial test in April, 2004, cases and pallets of 21 products
from eight suppliers were shipped to Wal-Mart's Sanger,Texas
distribution center and then local Supercenters with RFID tags
attached.
Although Wal-Mart is currently focusing on case and pallet
tagging, there were three products in which the case is also
consumer packaging. On the outer packaging of these suppliers
placed an EPCglobal sticker next to the RFID tag to notify
customers of its existence.
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Regulation
Currently no global body governing RFID
frequency allocation
In Europe, tags must be removed from
packaging before disposal due to recycling
disruptions and health regulations
There is limited or no regulation of RFIDs
for the most part leading to more
controversy

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Conclusion
RFID technology is rapidly is becoming
more standardized, but problems do still
exist
The number of adopters of RFID
technology is growing
Regulation and education is necessary to
quell some of the fears regarding RFID
technology and its implications

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References

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/cjs/tech.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID
http://www.rfidanalysis.org/
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml
?articleID=181401622&subSection=Breaking+News
http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/2178/1/1/
http://www.rsasecurity.com/rsalabs/node.asp?id=2115
http://walmartstores.com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate.
do?catg=25&contId=4833

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