Radio Frequency Identification i.e. RFID is now a widely used technique and many might have even used it. But how many of us understand the technology behind it? Let’s learn a bit more about it today.
How does RFID work?
This technology consists of two parts – a tag and a reader. An RFID Tag is a small object which could be attached to objects that need to be tracked. These tags store some information in a non-volatile memory. This information could be permanent (Read Only) or could be changed using writer devices. The second part is the reader. It is a device which reads the data stored on the tag. The reader sends some signal to the tag and in response to that signal, the tag sends back the data stored with it. This process is known as “interrogation”. The signal that reader sends is a Radio Wave having a frequency between 120kHz and 10GHz.
Typical Use Cases
- Animal identification
- Warehouse Stock Identification
- Promotion Tracking
- Passport
- Libraries
- Payments at the toll booths
Use of RFID tags is growing globally and new use cases or needs are getting addressed.
NFL (National Football League) is using RFID tags on various sports accessories such as football and shoulder pad to collect a lot of data about the game. The data includes parameters like speed, acceleration, deceleration, location etc. Also, this data is captured 25 times per second. This would give a lot of insights to the trainers/coaches as well as to the fans of the NFL.
This type of data collection is possibly done using RFID Tag of type Active Reader Active Tag system. In this system, the readers are set to collect data from a specific interrogation zone so that data collection is strongly controlled.
A drone has been developed by researchers which can read RFID tags in a range which is few hundred square feet, instead of usual few feet range. This could be of significance for large warehouses such as Walmart or Amazon. It could potentially save several thousand dollars and person-hours in finding missing items.
In another significant area of Healthcare, RFID tag has been developed which could read vital body parameters such as heart rate and blood pressure. One central reader can receive data from as many as 200 RFID tags. This could improve the response by the medical team during large-scale emergency situations.
RFID is here to stay and become more and more mainstream.
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Related Keywords
Radio Waves, Barcode, Big Data, Wireless Communication, NFC
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