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Understanding RFID—Technology and Applications
Throughout the manuacturing, logistics, and perishable ood industries, radio requency identication (RFID)technologies enable asset tracking, streamline the supply chain, and help improve operational eciency. RFID is anautomatic identication technology that relies on radio requency (RF) waves to read encoded digital data. RFIDis similar to bar code technology in concept. However, reading a bar code requires a line o sight optical scan.RFID does not require a visible tag or label to read its stored data—a powerul benet unmatched by any othertechnology today.The discussion that ollows provides an overview o RFID technology, describes current standards, and details howRFID can complement existing bar code technology while enabling new applications in diverse industries.
Passive RFID—The Basics
Passive RFID Tags
Passive RFID tags contain a low-power integrated circuit (IC) attached to an antenna, and are enclosed with pro-tective packaging (like a plastic card) as determined by the application. On-board memory within the IC storesdata. The IC then transmits/receives inormation through the antenna to an external reader, called an interroga-tor. High-requency (HF) tags use antennas made o a small coil o wires, while ultrahigh-requency (UHF) tagscontain dipole antennas with a matching wire loop.Depending on the application, users sometimes call tags transponders or inlays. Technically, an inlay is a tag on afexible substrate that is ready or conversion into a smart label. RFID tags come in many orms and sizes, some assmall as 10 x 10 mm.Passive tags receive all o their power rom the external tag reader, allowing the tag to “wake up” and transmit data.Tags also can be read-only (stored data can be read but not changed), read/write (stored data can be altered orrewritten), or a combination in which some data is permanently stored while other memory remains accessible orlater encoding and updates.Another type o tag, a smart label, extends basic RFID unctionality by combining human-readable inormationand bar code technology. A smart label consists o a paper or synthetic adhesive label embedded with an RFID taginlay. Smart labels combine the read range and unattended processing capability o tags with the convenience andfexibility o on-demand label printing.Users can pre-print and pre-code smart labels or unique requirements. In on-demand applications, a printer en-codes the tag inlay with xed or variable data. The label can retain all existing ormats and layouts needed to sup-port bar codes, text, and graphics or the specic application. Like an RFID tag, smart labels allow reprogrammingater initial data encoding. Smart labels typically range rom 1 x 1 inch to 4 x 6 inches.An emerging RFID technology—Battery Assist Passive (BAP) tags—unctions like a passive tag, but uses a battery to boost the RF signal, enabling a much longer range. With all the passive RFID options currently available, busi-ness and government enterprises gain a wide range o unique capabilities or automatic data capturing including:
•Arobustreal-timesystemthatenableswirelessidenticationofdata,reduceshumanintervention,and
improves operational eciency.
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