Radio Frequency Identification Technologies A Workshop Summary (2004) / Chapter Skim
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1 Technology and Applications
1 Technology and Applications
Pages 3-20
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Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a means of identifying objects by interrogating a unique characteristic of the object (such as a unique identifying number stored on a silicon chip attached to the object)
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It is important to note that, although many variations are available in each of the elements of an RFID tag, the variations are not necessarily available in all combinations. For example, a tag that can be read from a long way off will most likely require its own power source; a tag with no battery may be limited to a range of a few tens of meters.
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dollars (active tags with their own power source and sensing capability)
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Technologies Adjacent to Tags Technologies adjacent to RFID tags include the following: sensor networks whose nodes are similar to active tags; contactless smart cards, which are similar to near-field tags but have a bit more processing power; and bar codes, the cheapest tagging technology (just ink on paper)
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Higher-Class Tags (informative) The following class descriptions provide an example of how higher-class tag features might be delineated: · Class-2: Higher-Functionality Tags -- Passive tags with the following anticipated features above and beyond those of Class-1 tags: -- An extended TID, -- Extended user memory, -- Authenticated access control, and -- Additional features (TBD)
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The reader must be sensitive enough to pick up this returned signal and interpret it. It is important to note that in passive tags the returned power falls off as the fourth power of the distance, that is, proportionally to 1/d4, where d is the distance from the reader to the tag.
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Readers of active tags can also operate as nodes in a sensor network or simply provide one more communication hop as a gateway between a tag-based sensor network and the information infrastructure. Today's reader costs are typically on the order of $100 to $1,000 for near-field readers reading passive tags and $1,000 to $2,000 for far-field readers reading active tags.
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Other possibilities include tracking items at the level of a store shelf to enable automatic inventory control. GPS-enabled active tags Cost of Tag Active tags (log scale)
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Consequently, RFID tags and readers that cross international boundaries must meet the "lowest common denominator" of competing national and international regulations.10 RFID standards have traditionally been developed using 8 One possible solution to tag pollution might be to design the reader signals to receive significant responses only from classes of ID sequences of interest (for example, clothing, not food) , by having a taxonomy of product types.
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, EN 302 208, "Electromagnetic compatibility and radio spectrum matters (ERM) -- Radio frequency identification equipment operating in the band 865 MHz to 868 MHz with power levels up to 2 W, Part 1 -- Technical characteristics and test methods." European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
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, and a need for the reader to transmit maximum power so that tags receive sufficient operating energy. Given these issues, sorting out how best to manage interference remains a challenge both for regulatory agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
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, contactless smart cards, and RFID. The FCC periodically reviews its regulatory constraints on the basis of the following considerations: · Public need and benefits for the service; · Amount of spectrum required, considering technical limitations on spectrum efficiency and impact on economic viability of service; · Controlling interference with other services; · Other technical considerations, including the ability to control interference, radio frequency propagation, apparatus limitations; and · International allocation considerations, including use in neighboring countries (primarily Canada and Mexico)
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Assuring the security of container shipping is of particular concern. Tamper-detecting active RFID tags on containers as well as passive tags on items within containers are being proposed as a way to streamline port operations while increasing security.
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At a high level, it can assist in tracking product flows and transmitting demand signals back up the supply 14 Workshop participants reported that Wal-Mart plans to require EPC tags at the case and pallet level from dozens of its top suppliers by early 2005 and from all of its suppliers in 2007. See also Mark Roberti 2003, "Analysis: RFID -- Wal-Mart's Network Effect," CIO Insight, September 15, available online at |
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For example, it was suggested that RFID technologies could assist with quality management by providing information about which items have gone through a problematic section of a production process. Such technologies might also aid in delaying product differentiation -- that is, in enabling a large variety of products to be made from common materials and components until feedback via RFID helped determine specifics of needed products.
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In summary, as seen in the discussion of tags, readers, and architectures, the term RFID technology refers to a broad spectrum of functionalities. RFID technologies can do many things.
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, there was not, in their experience, a compelling business case for extensive data mining yet. Demand for data mining would also imply significant changes in the supply chain beyond what RFID for item tracking and some of the other applications require.
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Interestingly, depending on the requirements from any of these organizations, active tags may be more likely to be subject to regulation than passive tags. Although some press accounts would seem to suggest that RFID technology is very simple, in fact there are complications that make large-scale deployments a challenge.
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