 Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of an

object (typically referred as RFID tag) applied to or

incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the
purpose of identification and tracking using radio
waves.

 Tags can be read from several meters away and

beyond the line of sight of the reader.

 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.
 In 1946, Léon Theremin invented an espionage device for the
erstwhile Soviet Union, which used radio waves and had
applications as a secret listening device. It has been recognized
to be the first device to actually use something similar to RFID
technology.

 This technology was introduced on paper by Harry Stockman in

1948 in his report "Communication by Means of Reflected Power”

 The first true ancestor of modern RFID was Mario Cardullo's U.S.
Patent 3713148 in 1973 which was demonstrated in 1971 to the
New York Port Authority with applications as a toll and traffic
detection device at the ports.

 The first patent to be associated with the abbreviation RFID was

granted to Charles Walton in 1983 as U.S. Patent 4384288.
 An RFID system comprises of an RFID Tags or
transponders, RFID transceivers(Readers), high
capacity servers and related application software.
 An RFID chip consists of a tiny computer chip,
which is approximately the size of a small dot, on
which are implanted, the code of the product and
a small antenna
 RFID can incorporate a variety of electronic
architecture and code formats.
 To bring in standardization, especially in the
retail sector, a code format called EPC (Electronic
Product Code) has been proposed by EPCglobal .
 The image of an RFID Tag and the
Electronic Product Code Structure is
shown below
 RFID Tags can be active or passive.
 Active RFID tags are powered by an internal
battery and generate the signals and gives
longer reading range and are of larger size and
higher cost with limited operating life.
 Passive RFID tags operate without external
power source by using just the power generated
from the reader and the incoming radio signal
only. These are lighter than active tags, less
expensive, more widely used, have shorter
reading range and have almost unlimited
operating life
 Low frequency RFID Systems are used in the
30KHz to 500KHz range
 High frequency systems are used in 850MHz to
950MHz and 2.4 GHz to 2.5 GHz range.
 The data transmitted can provide identification
information, location information, the product
details like batch number, colour, date of
purchase, shelf life, time on shelf till now, price,
date of manufacture, time spent in transit,
location of distribution centre, name of last
person to hold the item along the supply chain
among other details depending on the level of
information required on the tag for different
product categories .
 RFID tags need not be visible to be read/scanned. Tags
can be read quickly from significant distances.

 A number of tagged devices can be simultaneously read

at a time.

 Most of the tags come enclosed in a protective covering, it

is difficult to tamper with and are protected from harsh
environments and fluid & chemical environments which
involve rough handling.

 Many tags now come with both read and write capabilities,
rather than just read-only so that information can be
added on after some significant event in the movement of
the tagged item along the supply chain
 Wal-Mart has introduced RFID attached to each pallet
and storage box that comes into/goes out of their
stores and distribution centres and has almost
completely replaced bar codes.
 The use of RFID at Wal-Mart store has reached such a
stage where Wal-Mart can identify in detail which
product moves faster on Fridays, which on Saturdays,
whether Indian Americans buy a particular brand of
product more than Spanish and the system can alert
the store manager when the temperature at which the
perishable goods are stored in the refrigerator comes
down
 Retailers all over the world are tagging their products
and the level of pilferage has come down.
 Throughout the European Union, RFID passes are used for the
public transport systems.

 All the transport payments and toll charges are monitored and
done through RFID Compliant systems. This can reduce a lot of
time spent by logistics companies along the motorway and can
speed up the checking & inspection stages in the logistics. This
automatically brings down the cost of transportation.

 Another major application is in animal tracking when meat and

livestock are transported throughout a country before it reaches
supermarkets. The RFID implantation can help identify the farm
from which the animal has been loaded, its date of birth, age and
nutritional value along with history of any contaminations if any.
The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency began using RFID tags
for its purposes.
 RFID finds applications in bookstores and libraries for tracking
its inventory
 Other applications are in airline baggage tracking,
pharmaceutical items tracking, building access control, shipping
container tracking, truck and trailer tracking.
 The pharmaceutical industry is highly vulnerable to
counterfeiting with figures suggesting that 7-8% of world market
is counterfeit. RFID technology can help protect against
fraudulent introduction of drugs into the drug supply chain.
Pfizer has already incorporated this system to their drug supply
chain.
 The automotive sector introduced use of RFID by tagging the car
keys. With this application, a car will not start without the actual
key. Toyota Avalon 2005, Lexus GS 2006, Toyota Camry 2007,
Toyota Prius and companies like Ford and Honda are introducing
car models with this feature being optional. The driver can even
open the doors and start the car with just the presence of the
key within 3 feet without even taking it out of the pocket .
 Retailers, textiles, aviation, energy and auto sectors in India are
switching to this new concept over the last 5 years after seeing the
results of implementation in the developed world.
 One of the main companies that is testing this technology is Kishore
Biyani's Future group, especially at Pantaloon and Big Bazaar. Pantaloon
has piloted an RFID project at one of its warehouses in Tarapur using
more than thousand RFID tags [
 Madura Garments also experimented with RFID and has incorporated
them in their Planet Fashion stores as well as factories and warehouses
 The national carrier Air India is planning to use RFID for tracking capital
assets.
 Leading oil companies have begun pilot tests to use RFID for LPG
cylinder tracking,
 The Indian railways is also thinking on these lines for tracking wagons
and containers.
 Maruti Udyog Limited has been using RFIDs for component and spare
parts tracking for some time now at their Gurgaon plant..
 Ashok Leyland is also using this for the same
purpose. It has tremendous advantages as there
are more than 20,000 parts in most vehicles and
tracking the movement of each one of them
through the supply chain is a mind-blowing task.
 Mahindra & Mahindra are also using RFID in car
some of the manufacturing processes like
Pretreatment of Body Shell and Electro-
deposition that are done in harsh conditions
 In the pharma sector, Ranbaxy Labs and Pfizer
use it for counterfeit protection.
 Airport Authority of India is considering RFID for
the cargo and passenger goods management
 Savi Technology has completed a series of RFID-based projects with the
Israeli Defense Force (IDF) to evaluate their effectiveness in tracking
military supplies for maintenance, warehousing and in-transit visibility
between locations.T he implementations for the Israeli Defense Force
focus on three different supply chain scenarios:

 - First, RFID solutions were deployed at key checkpoints to monitor in-transit assets
from a major logistics center to a local distribution center and then to a field logistics
unit. Cages, pallets and delivery trucks were affixed with active, battery-powered
RFID tags to identify and monitor assets

 -- Second, the IDF utilized RFID solutions to track the movements of tank power
units (engines, gearboxes and transmission boxes) between warehouse and in-field
locations, as well as to record their maintenance history between workshop stations.

 -- Third, containers of weapons stored in armory warehouses were inventoried,

tracked in and out of the facilities and secured with active RFID devices to guard
against unauthorized openings and removal of the items.
 The war with Iraq created the first opportunity for the
U.S. military to use RFID technology on a massive scale for
tracking combat casualties. The RFID chip embedded in
wristbands is being deployed to track the identification,
status and location of wounded soldiers and civilians
arriving for treatment.
 Now, the U.S. Navy has directly applied the technology to
sailors. Medical data stored in the RFID chip sewn into a
wristband can travel with wounded soldiers, and data can
be read by RFID-enabled handheld devices that can
identify each patient. The chips also allow doctors to add,
change or create new triage records on the chip.
 ScenPro, Inc. (Richardson, Texas) developed the system
called Tactical Media Coordination System (TacMedCS)
used in the Navy's Fleet Hospital Three in Iraq. Texas
Instruments supplied the RFID chips.
 Automatic Non-Line-of-Sight scanning enabling multiple product simultaneous
scanning in milliseconds.

 Labour time savings of close to 36% in Order picking, 90% reduction in verification
costs for shipping.

 The "always on" nature of RFID technology ensures total visibility to all
stakeholders in the supply chain when integrated in a supply chain
communications network. Improvements in functions like asset tracking,
returnable item movement, product recalls and tracing warranties.

 Ability to be used in harsh environments and prevention of theft and pilferage.

 Improves the ability to forecast product demands and lower inventory levels.

 Ability to hold vast amounts of varied information on a single tag.

 Cost savings through better inventory management by the deployment of RFID is

expected to bring in savings of over $ 1.4 billion annually at Wal-Mart [8].
 The retailers are forcing manufacturers to absorb the additional costs of
RFID tagging an item and processing the information that they generate.
 Manufacturers rarely report short-term gains from RFID implementation.
Short term gains are usually seen for the retailers, though in the long term
both parties gain. This makes manufacturers and vendors slightly
apprehensive of the technology.
 Data synchronization, integration and lack of standards except for the
EPCglobal which is still developing itself is a major issue when used across
countries.
 Due to the nascent stage in the technology, the RFID technology is still not
fully fool-proof and there are issues of electromagnetic interference and
wrong reading being reported as the technology is still not fully perfected.
 Metal and liquid are said to play havoc with RFID signals with the current
technology available if not properly done.
 It is disturbing for many customers to have their movements or buying habits
automatically tracked even after purchase. To counter such concerns, some
retailers "switch off" their tags once a purchase is made.
 There are fears that competitors can develop systems which can track a
particular companies' shipments and inventory as there are still
vulnerabilities in the security system as is the case with credit cards. Issues
of whether customer data is safe with the retailer also arises.
 In spite of all the teething problems , RFID is the
next big thing in the strategic plans of companies in
retailing, auto, textiles and many other sectors as the
evidence of savings through better inventory
management is coming through from different parts
of the world.
 The world is waiting for the costs of tags to come
down to $0.05 each (Rs.2 each) so that wide spread
adoption is possible.
 The start has been made and the results are
encouraging and potential applications varied in
scope. Once the technological stumbling blocks are
cleared, it will become a common place item just like
the barcode scanner of the last 10 years..