User:Infochamil

RFID – Radio Frequency Identification

--Infochamil (talk) 03:14, 19 August 2012 (UTC)Prepared by: Chamil Gunasekera (IT Engineer) - BSc(Hons)MIS, MSc IT, Pg.D BM.--Infochamil (talk) 03:14, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

This article briefly describe about RFID (RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION) technology by focusing on its importance which relates with the e-commerce and the modern techniques.

1. About RFID

RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION system is kind of a reader and a tag communicating over the air at a certain frequency. RFID is a wireless technology which uses to uniquely identify objects or people. This is a kind of a short range communication technology.

RFID enables identification from a distance. Also it’s advanced than earlier bar-code technology. These RFID tags support a large set of unique IDs than bar-codes. Not only that the RFID systems can work with had many different tags located in the same general area without human assistance.

When considering about inside of the RFID, its uses a semiconductor (micro-chip) in a tag or label to transmit stored data when the tag or label is exposed to radio waves of the correct frequency.

This RFID system uses a radio frequency signals for purpose of broadcasting the data captured and maintain it to the RFID chip. This chip is a kind of a small computer that stores a series of numbers unique to that chip. RFID System is a most useful Business and Technology tool which offers the following features,  Electronic Product Code (EPC)  NVRAM storing user data  RF system allowing wireless EPC & user data exchange

2. Components of RFID and how it Works

RFID systems includes the following parts,

• Readers
• Antennas
• Tags

When considering about RFID architecture it’s includes an electronic device called RFID tag, reader which uses to communicate with the tag. This system use Radio Frequency signals as a communication media and its allowed to carry data either uni-directionally or bi-directionally.

The antenna emits radio waves to make active the tag and to read and write data to tag. Then the reader emits radio signals in different ranges of everywhere from 1 inch to 100 ft or extra, based on its output and the radio frequency. RFID tag passes through the magnetic field; after that it detects the RFID reader's activation signal. Finally this RFID reader decodes the data programmed in the RFID tag's silicon chip and the data is passed to the host or computer for processing.

RFID Antenna

Passive RFID tags utilize an induced antenna coil voltage for operation. This induced AC voltage is rectified to provide a voltage source for the device. As the DC voltage reaches a certain level, the device starts operating. By providing an energizing RF signal, a reader can communicate with a remotely located device that has no external power source such as a battery. Since the energizing and communication between the reader and tag is accomplished through antenna coils, it is important that the device must be equipped with a proper antenna circuit for successful RFID applications.

RFID Reader

RFID reader is a device that is used to interrogate an RFID tag. The reader has an antenna that emits radio waves; the tag responds by sending back its data. The unit powers the coil of wire known as the antenna, filters and powers them for transmission over distance

RFID tag

An RFID tag is a microchip combined with an antenna in a compact package; the packaging is structured to allow the RFID tag to be attached to an object to be tracked. "RFID" stands for Radio Frequency Identification. The tag's antenna picks up signals from an RFID reader or scanner and then returns the signal, usually with some additional data (like a unique serial number or other customized information). RFID tags can be very small - the size of a large rice grain. Others may be the size of a small paperback book.

Active tags

An RFID tag is an active tag when it is equipped with a battery that can be used as a partial or complete source of power for the tag's circuitry and antenna. Some active tags contain replaceable batteries for years of use; others are sealed units. Active RFID includes following features:

• Greatest communication range
• Capability to perform independent control
• Ability of performing diagnostics
• Maximum data bandwidth
• Active tags are not functioning without battery power
• Active tags are more expensive.
• Active tags are typically larger.

The following features are includes with the passive RFID tags:

• The tag can only read at very small distances,
• Passive tag functions without a battery
• Passive tags have a long life of more than twenty years.
• Passive tags are much less expensive
• The tags are very smaller.

Advantages of RFID

• Reduced Human Intervention
• Higher Throughput
• Inventory Accuracy with Real Time Information
• Increased Security and Traceability

Disadvantages of RFID

• RFID systems can be hard to debug
• Unknown RF sources

                 - welding machines
                 - rotating electrical machinery

• RF emissions in airports and hospitals
• Expert RFID technicians are hard to find

3. RFID Application Standards

There are mainly three types of RFID frequency bands available in the industry those standards are given below:  Low Frequency: This frequency band represents the range of 100 – 500 kHz. This is comparatively less expensive. Also the reading speed is comparatively low than others. This type of frequency bands typically used in Animal Tracking Applications, Access controls and Inventory Management applications.

* Medium Frequency:

This frequency band represents the range of 10-15 MHz and 850-950 MHz. This is also including with short to medium read range and potentially inexpensive compared with high range bands. This type of frequency bands typically used in Smart card applications.

* High Frequency:

This frequency band represents the range of 2.4-5.8 GHz. Therefore it includes comparatively high reading speed with long read range. This type of bands are comparatively expensive than other bands. In the industry high frequency bands applying in Railroad car monitoring applications, Toll collection and Vehicle identification applications.

4. Importance of the RFID technology to the organizations and individuals

In any of the industry there are lots of people to do the following roles. But if we use RFID technology, we have a great chance to replace some of scarce human resources to the RFID applications. Also it would be boost the drive value and effectiveness. Also it would reduce the wastage and time.

Following roles can be easily done by applying RFID technology:

• Counting things again and again
• Searching things that are not where they should be
• Proving to someone you have something you say you have
• Recording the use of items in a value-added process

Therefore most of the organizations and individuals use various types of RFID applications in order to increase their productivity while reducing wastages.

Following industries have successfully applying RFID technology to speed – up their recent activities:

RFID in Health Care Industry:

The solution to healthcare industry is real time location systems based on both active and passive RFID. Most of the leading hospitals are finding that just one technology or the other is not enough to get the job done. Active RFID is too big and expensive for a lot of items, passive RFID can't provide a foot by foot trail of an asset in transit. Combine the two into a cohesive RTLS system and it will solve many issues associated with a modern healthcare industry. Add the ability to roll up multiple facilities into a single RTLS.

Automating those rote processes can drive meaningful return on investment (ROI) and improve accuracy and compliance. The following applications can be successfully use for health care industry:

RFID surgical kit tracking systems are help to tracking surgical equipments before the particular surgery happens and after the surgery.

RFID lab test tracking software developed in conjunction with a world's leading Clinic and the first year implemented saved may $2 million and reduced their error rate to .02%

RFID Medical cabinets are in use at every major hospital world-wide. Here it will reduce the times which are previously allocated for: counting and replenishment

RFID Patient's Record Management Manage patient's record digitally and handy .Patients RFID wrist band will contain patient's identity. Doctor's will use handled RFID reader to read patients information about diagnosis, medication etc.

RFID Safety of New Born babies are safe with RFID tag. RFID provides peace of mind by securing the baby. Only authorized people are allowed to handle baby and babies can't be taken out of authorized area without authorization.

RFID at Supermarkets In most of the supermarkets use RFID technology to tracking their products in order to manage inventories correctly. Also it’s providing security to the goods in supermarket. Here nobody cannot misuse or taking outside those products without purchasing it from the cashier.

RFID applications at Publishing, Public Library, & Bookstore This library management system has fully automated RFID tracking system in order to increase efficiency of work. Here they use RFID Tags for books to identify their names, author and categories. The library staffs have RFID Scanners to scan those data. They can easily find the books without take it out from the stack. Also this type of libraries provides RFID ID card tags for students and other library members. Therefore all the activities in the library system functions properly.

RFID Animal Tracking Applications RFID can help famers to tracking their animals correctly Here the tags are attached to the animal’s body. After that it will easy to find the particular animal by scanning it from the readers. This is a very useful application also its very cost effective and its saves the time.

RFID Warehouse & Distribution Applications This is another useful RFID application for warehouses and factories. Here it secure materials by tracking them to movement of goods and asset within warehouses and the outside office buildings,

Following Industries also apply RFID technology to increase their productivity

• Small Item - Jewellery
• Shipping- Case, Pallet, Shipping Container, Truck & Trailer
• Apparel
• Airline
• Pharmaceutical and Bio-Medical
• Logistics & Transportation
• Railroad
• Agricultural- Equipment

5. RFID future development

The following RFID solutions will function in the future in order to make efficiency and effectiveness of work.

• Shipping / Receiving
• Kit Tracking
• Item Level Retail Tracking
• SMART Container
• Weapons Tracking
• IT Asset Tracking

Other than that below examples can be identify as the future developments of RFID technology.

* RFID chips inject into the entire American’s body in 2013 This is a huge innovative RFID project in USA. According to US president Obama accept this inserting RFID chips into living human beings project. This project going to be help for public health, safety, of the United States also it helps to protect the country and peoples from the terrorism attacks and other disasters.

* One billion people to get RFID tracking passports by 2015 The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to incorporate biometrics and RFID chips in all passports. This would be help to linked to a global identity database. The ICAO wish to make these RFID tagging compulsory by 2015.

* In 2020 RFID plan to embed chip into foods In 2020 RFID applications plan to apply for food industry. This vision plan to embed chip into foods and tries to communicate its nutritional information and so on to our smart phone or notebooks via a reader in the plate. With this system, people could be able to check ingredient lists and other valuable information regarding their meal. This concept will help to having and select healthy meals for all of us.

* Surgical sponge that comes with an RFID chip Most of the surgeries become failing due to mistakes like patient up with Scissors, sponges inside their bodies after the surgery. In order to overcome these types of issues RFID innovators introduce this new surgical sponge that comes with an RFID chip. At the beginning of the surgery, the surgeon swipes the packet of sponges over a sensor that registers the contents. Then, once after uses them up, the surgeon drops them into a pail equipped with a sensor that counts them as they fall in.

If any are missing at the end of the surgery, then the surgeon can wave a RFID reader over the patient's body to see if any of them were, ah, left inside the body. This is a quick and very safety process which can be use to make success of surgeries

6. Key players and their strategies of RFID

RFID solutions of Motorola Acording to the Motorola's Business Solutions pages, Motorola provide following RFID solutions by industry and application on RFID Retail Solutions,

• RFID Distribution and Warehouse Solutions
• RFID Manufacturing Solutions
• RFID Asset Management Solutions
• RFID Government Solutions
• RFID Transportation Solutions
• RFID for Energy and Utilities
• RFID Solutions for Healthcare

Other than that motorola provides all the kind of RFID assesories including RFID readers, RFID tags, RFID antenas, RFID batteries and chargers, etc.

RFID solutions of NXP NXP is the world's #1 company in the design and manufacturing of ICs used in smart labels, When consider about RFID, over 4.5 billion RFID-based chips sold up to now by the NXP. NXP mainly doing their RFID business focusing on tags and the related reader components. NXP is in RFID business since 1988 and has developed the most comprehensive ICs covering all available RFID frequency bands and meeting most important ISO and GS1 EPCglobal standards.

RFID solutions of ALIEN Alien Technology manufacturing prtfolio is based on high volumes and at low cost of RFID tags. The Alien reader offers excelent range of reading and user friendlyness softwares for customers to take maximum advantage of RFID for both LAN and WAN based networks. Alien owned various patents mainly in tag design, reader design, RFID protocols, and tag manufacturing.

7. Conclusion

Recently RFID becomes more innovative. Also it provide great support for all type of industries by intergrated with various type of information systems. As a result of RFID: it reduced human intervention, increase higher throughput, and it provides inventory accuracy with real time information to all relevant industries such as supermarket, pharmaceutical, retail, library, air line and other health care industries. Not only that this RFID provides additional Security and Traceability to all the relevant industries by tracking information. Therefore RFID can be identifying as superb technology which can be served for all the industries in the world.

Bibliography

 Data Sources:

www.ti.com/rfid/docs/manuals/appNotes/HFAntennaDesignNotes.pdf http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/rfid.htm http://www.rfidjournal.com/ http://www.bastiansolutions.com/automation/radio_frequency_identification_rfid.asp http://www.scielo.cl/pdf/jtaer/v3n2/art07.pdf http://www.aimglobal.org/technologies/RFID/what_is_rfid.asp http://rfid.net/

 Video and Presentations Sources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqXCwG3LfQ0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lidRv22_l-I&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94e6SFLHns4&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj7pbBg4LpI&feature=related

About the Author of This Article

Infochamil (talk) 12:18, 19 August 2012 (UTC) Chamil Gunasekera Infochamil (talk) 12:18, 19 August 2012 (UTC) is a Sri Lankan IT Engineer.