RFID Technology

RFID History

1939: Watson-Watt: IFF (identification Friend of Foe) for

RADAR
During WWII, the United Kingdom used RFID devices in her
Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) systems to distinguish
returning British airplanes from inbound German ones.
A Russian, Leon Theremin, invented an RFID listening
device (bug), which was embedded in a wooden plague
and presented to the American ambassador Averell
Harriman in Moscow by Soviet schoolchildren in 1946. He
hung it in his office until the bug was discovered in 1952.
In 1973 Mario Cardullo s U.S. Patent ---- first true
ancestor of modern RFID.
significant development-- Norway implemented the first
successful toll collection system. a) Active tag with
rewritable memory b) Passive transponder used to unlock a
door without a key
The first patent was granted to Charles Walton in 1983

 Mid 1980s: First Industrial Systems:

Active System for tracking Dangerous materials
Passive RFID system (125 kHz radio waves) to
track cows
Since:
Move up the spectrum to the unregulated
13.56MHz wavelength and above
Greater range, capacity and data transfer rates
(IBM UHF RFID Patents)
Access control, anti-theft, smart cards
1999: Auto-ID Center set up at MIT RFID
into the supply chain (simple ID on chip is used
to access information online) ->move the data
Off the chip (and thus make it cheaper).

Barcode

RFID

Readers require direct line of

sight

No need to a direct line of sight

Can be read from much more

smaller distance

Reader can pull information from up to 300 feet

Time consuming (slow)

Much more faster

Limited ruggedness and

reusability

More rugged, electronic components better protected

by plastic cover, reusability

No read/write capability

Can be read/write devices (reader can communicate

with it and pull information needed)

Barcode

RFID

Scanning?

Yes, line of sight

No

Unique ID?

No (product type)

Yes (identify
specific
item)

Tracking?

No

Yes

Cost?

Cheaper

More

Practicality?

Pallet/case

Item level

Security?

Unique ID

May be duplicated

Reliability?

Long history of use

Early adoption

 Data Storage:
Both active and passive RFID tags are capable to
store data
Passive: 128 byte
Active: 128 KB
Necessary elements : a reader and a tag
Reader sends a wave at a given frequency
If a tag is close enough to the reader, it will receive
the wave
The tag is designed to take advantage of the wave
energy to send back an answer, enclosing (for
example) its identity

ACTIVE RFID is powered by batteries allows very low-level

signals to be received by the tag

tag can generate high-level signals back to the reader

Advantages:

Active RFID tags:

read at distances of one hundred feet or more, greatly improving the

utility of the device
It may have other sensors that can use electricity for power.

Active RFID tags:

Disadvantages

cannot function without battery power, which limits the lifetime of the
tag.
is typically more expensive, often costing $20 or more each
is physically larger, which may limit applications
The long-term maintenance costs for an active RFID tag can be greater
than those of a passive tag if the batteries are replaced.
Battery outages in an active tag can result in expensive misreads

PASSIVE RFID reflects energy from the reader absorbs and

stores small amount of energy requires very strong signals
There are differences in
-impact communication range,
- multi-tag collection capability
-ability to add sensors and
-data logging
Advantages

Disadvantages

functions without a battery; these tags have a useful life of twenty

years or more
is typically much less expensive to manufacture
is much smaller (some tags are the size of a grain of rice). These tags
have almost unlimited applications in consumer goods and other areas.
can be read only at very short distances
It may not be possible to include sensors that can use electricity for
power

tag remains readable for a very long time

Freqency

Price

Read Range

Limitations

Applications

ran
ge
Low frequency
125-134 kHz

low

Low ( < 1 m.)

Low reading speed

Animal/Container tracking

High Frequency
13.56 Mhz

Low to

Low ( < 1.5 m)

Problems with
metal

Library, access control

Ultra-high freq.
860-930 MHz

Middle to
Hi
gh

High ( > 10 m)

Interference
problems

Pallet/Vehicle tracking

Microwave
2.4 GHz

High

High ( > 50 m)

Not widely
deployed

Vehicle access control

Mi
ddl
e

But sometimes
very low range

Mainly valid for

high frequency tags

Depends of
the material
Not all tags have
this functionality
Only valid for low
frequency tags

Complexity
Linking WEB and the real world by RFID Sensor Networks
Internet of Things
Interacting
RFID
Devices

RFID Sensor Networks

Acting
RFID
Devices

EPC
RFID
Devices

Sensing
RFID
Devices

Collecting Ambient Information

2000

2005

2010

2015

Time

RFID Tag Collision

Tag collision occurs when many tags are present in a small area;
but since the read time is very fast, it is easier for vendors to
develop systems that ensure that tags respond one at a time

Low Frequency (LF)Technology

Characteristics

operate at 125 kHz and 134 kHZ

operate on inductive coupling
operating distance is approximately the diameter of the transmission antenna ( 1
cm 50 cm) based on output power
RF field not absorbed by water or human tissue
commonly used for access control, animal tracking, vehicle immobilizers, and
various point-of-sale applications (such as Mobile SpeedPass).

High Frequency (HF)

Technology
generally operate globally at 13.56 MHz
inductive coupling
read range dependant upon output power and antenna size (1 cm to 100 cm)

can transmit data faster than low-frequency tags

use more power than low-frequency tags.
commonly used in smart cards and library books

Characteristics

Ultra High Frequency (UHF)

Technology
800 - 928 MHz

read range ( ~ 3 m)
radio waves will not pass through items with high water content (e.g., fruit,
human tissue)

Characteristics

UHF spectrum is not universally available at the same frequency and power levels
worldwide

Ultra High Frequencies (UHF) - Active

433 MHz, 2.45GHz

Battery powered tags

Long range 100m

Locating systems for large/valuable items (shipping containers, people)

Characteristics

Microwave Technologies

5.8GHz ISM band

20-30 meter read range

AVI (Automated Vehicle Identification) Toll Roads

Characteristics

Layer 5: Movement Vehicle

GPS/Cellular

Layer 4: Container

Layer 3: Unit Load

Active
RFID

Layer 2: Transport Unit

Passive RFID
& Barcode
Layer 1: Packaging

Layer 0: Item