RFID
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that is a replacement for the barcode. The technology is used for automatically identifying a package or an item. To do this, it relies on RFID tags. These are small transponders that can transmit static information over a short distance, when they are asked to. The other piece to make use of RFID tags is an RFID tag reader.
An RFID tag is an object that can be applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.
Most 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.
There are generally two types of RFID tags: active RFID tags, which contain a battery, and passive RFID tags, which have no battery.
[change] Uses
RFID systems are used for the following:
- General Logistics, tracking a package, parcel; replacing barcodes
- Tracking vehicles for road pricing
- Many countries have started using RFID chips in passports
- Making products harder to falsify; currently proposed for drugs
- Tags in clothing, eg. in Jeans
- Sealing for containers (for the shipping industry). Not required yet.
- Identifying animals; used for tracking pets, but also for reasrch, eg. on turtles.
- Keys for vehicles. The vehicle key has an RFID tag inside; only the key with the right RFID tag can start the vehicle (this makes copying vehicle keys harder). Also used for locking/unlocking vehicles from a distance.
- Contactless smartcards, for example to regulate entry into certain areas; also used for ticketing, or public transport
