Radio-frequency identification

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that uses communication via radio waves to exchange data between a reader and an electronic tag attached to an object, for the purpose of identification and tracking. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader. The application of bulk reading enables an almost parallel reading of tags.
Radio-frequency identification involves interrogators (also known as readers), and tags (also known as labels).


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 other is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal.

There are three types of RFID tags: passive RFID tags, which have no power source and require an external electromagnetic field to initiate a signal transmission, active RFID tags, which contain a battery and can transmit signals once an external source ('Interrogator') has been successfully identified, and battery assisted passive (BAP) RFID tags, which require an external source to wake up but have significant higher forward link capability providing greater range.

There are a variety of groups defining standards and regulating the use of RFID, including the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), ASTM International, the DASH7 Alliance and EPCglobal. (Refer to Regulation and standardization below.)

RFID has many applications; for example, it is used in enterprise supply chain management to improve the efficiency of inventory tracking and management.

History and technology background
Main article: History of radar

An RFID tag used for electronic toll collection.In 1945 Léon Theremin invented an espionage tool for the Soviet Union which retransmitted incident radio waves with audio information. Sound waves vibrated a diaphragm which slightly altered the shape of the resonator, which modulated the reflected radio frequency. Even though this device was a covert listening device, not an identification tag, it is considered to be a predecessor of RFID technology, because it was likewise passive, being energized and activated by electromagnetic waves from an outside source.[1]

Similar technology, such as the IFF transponder developed in the United Kingdom, was routinely used by the allies in World War II to identify aircraft as friend or foe. Transponders are still used by most powered aircraft to this day. Another early work exploring RFID is the landmark 1948 paper by Harry Stockman, titled "Communication by Means of Reflected Power" (Proceedings of the IRE, pp 1196–1204, October 1948). Stockman predicted that "... considerable research and development work has to be done before the remaining basic problems in reflected-power communication are solved, and before the field of useful applications is explored."

Mario Cardullo's device in 1973 was the first true ancestor of modern RFID, as it was a passive radio transponder with memory.[2] The initial device was passive, powered by the interrogating signal, and was demonstrated in 1971 to the New York Port Authority and other potential users and consisted of a transponder with 16 bit memory for use as a toll device. The basic Cardullo patent covers the use of RF, sound and light as transmission media. The original business plan presented to investors in 1969 showed uses in transportation (automotive vehicle identification, automatic toll system, electronic license plate, electronic manifest, vehicle routing, vehicle performance monitoring), banking (electronic check book, electronic credit card), security (personnel identification, automatic gates, surveillance) and medical (identification, patient history).[3]

An early demonstration of reflected power (modulated backscatter) RFID tags, both passive and semi-passive, was performed by Steven Depp, Alfred Koelle, and Robert Freyman at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1973.[4] The portable system operated at 915 MHz and used 12-bit tags. This technique is used by the majority of today's UHFID and microwave RFID tags.[5]

The first patent to be associated with the abbreviation RFID was granted to Charles Walton in 1983.[6]

The largest deployment of active RFID is the US Department of Defense use of Savi[7] active tags on every one of its more than a million shipping containers that travel outside of the continental United States. The largest passive RFID deployment is the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) deployment across 72 facilities implemented by ODIN[8] who also performed the global roll-out for Airbus[9] consisting of 13 projects across the globe.

[edit] Miniaturization
RFIDs are easy to conceal or incorporate in other items. For example, in 2009 researchers at Bristol University successfully glued RFID microtransponders to live ants in order to study their behavior.[10] This trend towards increasingly miniaturized RFIDs is likely to continue as technology advances.

Hitachi holds the record for the smallest RFID chip, at 0.05mm x 0.05mm. The Mu chip tags are 64 times smaller than the new RFID tags.[11] Manufacture is enabled by using the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process. These dust-sized chips can store 38-digit numbers using 128-bit Read Only Memory (ROM).[12] A major challenge is the attachment of the antennas, thus limiting read range to only millimeters.

Potential alternatives to the radio frequencies (0.125–0.1342, 0.140–0.1485, 13.56, and 840–960 MHz) used are seen in optical RFID (or OPID) at 333 THz (900 nm), 380 THz (788 nm), 750 THz (400 nm).[13] The awkward antennas of RFID can be replaced with photovoltaic components and IR-LEDs on the ICs.

[edit] Current uses
In 2010 three key factors drove a significant increase in RFID usage: decreased cost of equipment and tags, increased performance to a reliable 99.9% and a stable international standard around UHF passive[clarification needed]. At RFID Journal Live 2010 in Orlando, Airbus detailed 16 active projects being conducted by ODIN technologies, IBM and — most recently added to the team — CSC. The two other areas of significant use are financial services for IT asset tracking and healthcare with more than 60% of the top medical device companies using passive UHF RFID in 2010. RFID is becoming increasingly prevalent as the price of the technology decreases. The Japanese HIBIKI initiative aims to reduce the price to 5 Yen (4 eurocents). In January 2009 Envego announced a 5.9 cent tag,[citation needed] and in March 2010 a Korean laboratory successfully created a printed chip using carbon nanotubes that would halve the price of a passive UHF RFID tag to about three cents by late 2011.

[edit] Payment by mobile phones
Since summer 2009, two credit card companies have been working with Dallas, Texas-based DeviceFidelity to develop specialized microSD cards. When inserted into a mobile phone, the microSD card can be both a passive tag and an RFID reader.[14] After inserting the microSD, a user's phone can be linked to bank accounts and used in mobile payment.

Dairy Queen in conjunction with Vivotech has also begun using RFIDs on mobile phones as part of their new loyalty and rewards program.[15] Patrons can ask to receive an RFID tag to place on their phone. After activation, the phone can receive promotions and coupons, which can be read by ViVOtech's specialized NFC devices.

Similarly, 7-Eleven has been working alongside MasterCard to promote a new touch-free payment system. Those joining the trial are given a complimentary Nokia 3220 cell phone – after activation, it can be used as an RFID-capable MasterCard credit card at any of 7-Eleven's worldwide chains.[16]

Nokia's 2008 device, the 6212, has RFID capabilities also. Credit card information can be stored, and bank accounts can be directly accessed using the enabled handset. The phone, if used as a vector for mobile payment, has added security in that users would be required to enter a passcode or PIN before payment is authorized.[17]

[edit] Transportation payments
Governments use RFID applications for traffic management, while automotive companies use various RFID tracking solutions for product management. Many of these solutions may work together in the future, though privacy regulations prevent many initiatives from moving forward at the same pace that technology allows.

[edit] Car-sharing
The Zipcar car-sharing service uses RFID cards for locking and unlocking cars and for member identification.

[edit] Season parking tickets
Following a successful pilot, Housing & Development Board (HDB) Singapore called two tenders in 2006 to implement RFID to replace the paper Season Parking Ticket (SPT). The successful tenderers have distributed RFID tags to SPT holders since March 2007.[18]

[edit] Toll roads
In Pakistan, RFID is being used for e–tolling in Motorways, implemented by NADRA.
In Dubai, UAE, RFID is being used for e–tolling – SALIK in Motorways,[clarification needed] implemented by RTA.
In Turkey, RFID has been used in the motorways and bridges as a payment system since Nov 2008;[citation needed] it is also used in public transportation systems in Istanbul, Çanakkale, Izmir and Denizli.
RFID is used in Malaysia's Touch 'n Go. As the system's name indicates, the card is designed to only function as an RFID card when the user touches it.
In Norway, all public toll roads are equipped with an RFID payment system known as AutoPASS.
In Italy, all public toll roads are equipped with an optional RFID payment system named Telepass.
In Ireland, the eToll system uses RFID tags for payments on all road tolls, including the barrier-free M50 toll between exits 6 and 7.
In Singapore, public transportation buses and trains employ passive RFID cards known as EZ-Link cards. Traffic into crowded downtown areas is regulated by variable tolls imposed using an active tagging system combined with the use of stored-value cards (known as CashCards).
In Ontario, Canada, Electronic Road Pricing systems are used to collect toll payments on Ontario Highway 407.
RFID tags are used for electronic toll collection at toll booths with Georgia's Cruise Card, California's FasTrak, Colorado's E-470, Illinois' I-Pass, Oklahoma's Pikepass, the expanding eastern states' E-ZPass system (including Massachusetts's Fast Lane, Delaware, New Hampshire Turnpike, Maryland, New Jersey Turnpike, Pennsylvania Turnpike, West Virginia Turnpike, New York's Thruway system, Virginia, the Maine Turnpike, and Rhode Island's Newport Bridge); Central Florida also utilizes this technology, via its E-PASS System. E-PASS and Sunpass are mutually compatible. Florida's SunPass, various systems in Texas including D/FW's NTTA TollTag, the Austin metro TxTag and Houston HCTRA EZ Tag (which as of early 2007 are all valid on any Texas toll road), Kansas's K-Tag, The "Cross-Israel Highway" (Highway 6), Philippines South Luzon Expressway E-Pass, Brisbane's Queensland Motorways GoVia tag (previously called E-Toll) System in Australia, Autopista del Sol (Sun's Highway), Autopista Central (Central Highway), Autopista Los Libertadores, Costanera Norte, Vespucio Norte Express and Vespucio Sur urban Highways and every forthcoming urban highway (in a "Free Flow" modality) concessioned to private investors in Chile, all toll tunnels in Hong Kong (Autotoll) and all highways in Portugal (Via Verde, the first system in the world to span the entire network of tolls), France (Liber-T system), Italy (Telepass), Spain (VIA-T), Brazil (Sem Parar - Via Fácil). The tags, which are usually the active type, are read remotely as vehicles pass through the booths, and tag information is used to debit the toll amount from a prepaid account. The system helps to speed traffic through toll plazas as it records the date, time, and billing data for the RFID vehicle tag. The plaza- and queue-free 407 Express Toll Route, in the Greater Toronto Area, allows the use of a transponder (an active tag) for all billing. This eliminates the need to identify a vehicle by license plate.[citation needed]
[edit] Public transit (bus, rail, subway)
It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article. (Discuss)

Throughout Europe, and in particular in Paris (system started in 1995 by the RATP), Lyon, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Nancy and Marseilles in France, in the whole of the Portuguese highway system and in many Portuguese public car parks, Milan, Turin, Naples and Florence in Italy, and Brussels in Belgium, RFID passes conforming to the Calypso international standard are used for public transport systems. They are also used now in Canada (Montreal), Mexico, Israel, Bogotá and Pereira in Colombia, Stavanger in Norway, Luxembourg, Gävle in Sweden, etc.
In South Korea, T-money cards can be used to pay for public transit. It can also be used in most convenience stores and vending machines in subways as cash. 90% of cabs in Seoul accept card payment, including most major credit cards and the T-money card. T-money replaced Upass, first introduced for transport payments in 1996 using MIFARE technology.
In Hong Kong, mass transit is paid for almost exclusively through the use of an RFID technology, called the Octopus Card. Originally it was launched in September 1997 exclusively for transit fare collection, but has grown to be similar to a cash card, and can still be used in vending machines, fast-food restaurants and supermarkets. The card can be recharged with cash at add-value machines or in shops, and can be read several centimetres from the reader. The same applies for Delhi Metro, the rapid transit system in New Delhi, capital city of India.
In Shanghai the Shanghai Public Transportation Card allows the user to credit money in advance and to be debited according to the distance travelled, as determined by the check-in and check-out stations. The card can also be used to pay taxi drivers, and some shops offer card readers as well.
The Moscow Metro, the world's second busiest, was the first system in Europe to introduce RFID smartcards in 1998.[19]
The Washington Metro rail became the first U.S. urban mass-transit system to use RFID technology when it introduced the SmarTrip card in 1999.
JR East in Japan introduced SUICa (Super Urban Intelligent Card) for transport payment service in its railway transportation service in November 2001, using Sony's FeliCa (Felicity Card) technology. The same Sony technology was used in Hong Kong's Octopus card, and Singapore's EZ-Link card.
Since 2002, in Taipei, Taiwan the transportation system uses RFID operated cards as fare collection. The Easy Card is charged at local convenience stores and metro stations, and can be used in Metro, buses and parking lots. The uses are planned to extend all throughout Taiwan in the future.
In the United States, the Chicago Transit Authority has offered the Chicago Card and the Chicago Card Plus for rail payments across the entire system since 2002 and for bus payments since 2005. The MBTA introduced the RFID enabled CharlieCard across Boston's subway, streetcar, and bus system in 2006, replacing the decades-old token based fare collection system.
The New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority conducted an RFID trial that utilized PayPass by MasterCard. The trial primarily took place on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line with several busier stations on other lines also included. The trial ended on May 31, 2009, however the option of using PayPass may be reintroduced on a wider scale at a later date. The MTA is also studying the possibility of accepting SmartLink (introduced by PATH) for fare payment on the New York City Subway and Buses, and as an eventual replacement for the MetroCard.
In the UK, operating systems for prepaying for unlimited public transport have been devised, making use of RFID technology. The design is embedded in a creditcard-like pass, that when scanned reveals details of whether the pass is valid, and for how long the pass will remain valid. The first company to implement this is the NCT company of Nottingham, where the general public affectionately refer to them as "beep cards". It has since been successfully implemented in London, where "Oyster cards" allow for pay-as-you-go travel as well as passes valid for various lengths of time and in various areas.
In Canada, Metrobus in St. John's adopted RFID on December 1, 2006.[20] In the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas, under Metrolinx, full implementation of the RFID farecard Presto began in November 2009, and will be rolled out in stages across the network.[21] OC Transpo in Ottawa is also in the process of implementing Presto, with completion expected in late 2011.[22]
In Oslo, Norway, the upcoming public transport payment is to be entirely RFID-based. The system was slated for introduction around spring 2007.
The Transperth public transport network in Perth, Western Australia uses RFID technology its SmartRider ticketing system, allowing passengers to "tag on" and "tag off" and be charged automatically, according to how many zones they have travelled.
In Atlanta, MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) has transitioned its bus and rail lines from coin tokens to the new Breeze Card system which uses RFID tags embedded in disposable paper tickets. More permanent plastic cards are available for frequent users.
In Rio de Janeiro, "RioCard" passes can be used in buses, ferries, trains and subway. There are two types, one you cannot recharge, the other one can be recharged if it's been bought by the company you work for, if they provided it (only in Brazil).
In Santiago (Chile) the subway system Metro and the recently implemented public transportation system Transantiago use an RFID card called "Bip" or "Multivia".
In Medellín (Colombia) the recently-implemented card system for the Metro system uses an RFID card called Cívica.
In Dubai, (United Arab Emirates) drivers through Sheikh Zayed Road and Garhoud Bridge pay tolls using RFID tags called Salik (road toll). Dubai has also initiated a public transportation card named Nol[23] (which means fare in Arabic) for use in the metro, bus, and waterbus. It was introduced to service on 9 September 2009, the day of the official launch of the Dubai Metro.
In San Diego, California, Metropolitan Transit Systems (MTS), North County Transit District (NCTD), and The San Diego Association Of Governments (SANDAG) use a re-writable RFID smart card referred to locally as the Compass Card, to store daily, weekly, or monthly passes or cash value, making the boarding of buses and trains quicker and simpler.
In Finland, the RFID travel card system used in the Greater Helsinki region is the largest of systems in Europe that cover all modes of traffic (busses, trams, commuter train units, metros and ferry terminals) operation since 2001. RFID travel card system in Tampere has been in operation since 1995.[24]
In Cali (Colombia) the recently-implemented card system for the Masivo Integrado de Occidente(MIO) system uses an RFID card.
In Dublin (Ireland) the LUAS light rail system has been using an RFID enabled 'smart card' system since March 2005.
In Seattle the Orca Card was introduced in 2009 for fares on buses, ferries, light rail, a street car, and commuter trains. In Tacoma, Washington, a sticker tag is used for paying the toll of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
In Osijek (Croatia) RFID cards have been used to pay for public transportation (buses and trams) since 2008.
In Buenos Aires (Argentina), Monedero is an RFID card used in all metro lines and, since May 2009, on some bus lines as an experimental program. The card can also be used to pay, as a debit card in some small shops and in toll roads. The Monedero card could be prepaid or linked to a credit card.[25]
Since 2010, bus transit in Ljubljana (Slovenia) is payable only by RFID with pre-paid city card named Urbana which can be re-filled with monthly passes or cash value on Urbanomats scattered all over the city.
In Gothenburg (Sweden), public transportation has used RFID cards since 2006.
[edit] Asset management and retail sales
RFID combined with mobile computing and Web technologies provide a way for organizations to identify and manage their assets. It was initially introduced to major retail by Craig Patterson, Knoxville, TN[citation needed]. Mobile computers, with integrated RFID readers, can now deliver a complete set of tools that eliminate paperwork, give proof of identification and attendance. This approach eliminates manual data entry.

Web based management tools allow organizations to monitor their assets and make management decisions from anywhere in the world. Web based applications now mean that third parties, such as manufacturers and contractors can be granted access to update asset data, including for example, inspection history and transfer documentation online ensuring that the end user always has accurate, real-time data. Organizations are already using RFID tags combined with a mobile asset management solution to record and monitor the location of their assets, their current status, and whether they have been maintained.

RFID is being adopted for item-level retail uses. Aside from efficiency and product availability gains, the system offers a superior form of electronic article surveillance (EAS), and a superior self checkout process for consumers. The first commercial, public item-level RFID retail system installation is believed to be in May 2005 by Freedom Shopping, Inc. in North Carolina, USA.

2009 witnessed the beginning of wide-scale asset tracking with passive RFID. Wells Fargo and Bank of America made announcements that they would track every item in their data centers using passive RFID. Most of the leading banks have since followed suit. The Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC) hired RFID specialty company ODIN technologies to set a technical standard for tagging IT assets[26] and other industries have used that standard as a guideline. For instance the US State Department is now tagging IT assets with passive RFID using the ISO/IEC 18000-6 standard.[27]

[edit] Product tracking
RFID use in product tracking applications begins with plant-based production processes, and then extends into post-sales configuration management policies for large buyers.

[edit] Casino chip tracking
In 2005, the Wynn Casino, Las Vegas, began placing individual RFID tags on high value chips. These tags allowed casinos the ability to detect counterfeit chips, track betting habits of individual players, speed up chip tallies, and determine counting mistakes of dealers. In 2010, the Bellagio casino was robbed of $1.5 million in chips. The RFID tags of these chips were immediately invalidated, thus making the cash value of these chips $0.[28]

[edit] IT asset tracking
In 2008 more than a dozen new passive UHF RFID tags emerged to be specifically mounted on metal. ODIN technologies of Ashburn, Virginia, produced a benchmark which showed varying performance of metal mount tags, with the greatest read distance being just over 25 feet in real-world conditions. In 2010 there are more than 60 metal mount specific RFID tags.[clarification needed] Members of the financial service industry, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Fidelity and others, are purported to have tagged more than one million assets.

At the same time new integrated circuits (ICs) were introduced by Alien, Impinj and NXP (formerly Philips) which proved much better performance and use of the IT asset tracking application increased. The largest adopter to date appear to be Bank of America and Wells Fargo – each with more than 100,000 assets across more than a dozen data centers.[29]

High-frequency RFID or HFID/HighFID tags are used in library book or bookstore tracking, jewelry tracking, pallet tracking, building access control, airline baggage tracking, and apparel and pharmaceutical items tracking. High-frequency tags are widely used in identification badges, replacing earlier magnetic stripe cards. These badges need only be held within a certain distance of the reader to authenticate the holder. The American Express Blue credit card now includes a HighFID tag. In Feb 2008, Emirates Airline started a trial of RFID baggage tracing at London and Dubai airports.[30]
BGN has launched two fully automated Smartstores that combine item-level RFID tagging and SOA to deliver an integrated supply chain, from warehouse to consumer.
UHF, Ultra-HighFID or UHFID tags are commonly used commercially in case, pallet, and shipping container tracking, and truck and trailer tracking in shipping yards.
In May 2007, Bear River Supply began utilizing Intelleflex Corporation's ultrahigh-frequency identification (UHFID) tags to help monitor their agricultural equipment.[31]
In Colombia, "Federación Nacional de Cafeteros" uses an RFID solution to trace the coffee.
Purdue Pharma currently uses RFID to track shipments of the painkiller OxyContin.[32]
In Berlin, Germany, the Berliner Wasserbetriebe (water treatment facility) Uses RFID systems from Psion Teklogix and Elektroniksystem-und-Logistik-GmbH (ESG) to identify and track its 60,000 assets.[33]
[edit] Transportation and logistics
Logistics and transportation are major areas of implementation for RFID technology. For example, yard management, shipping and freight and distribution centers are some areas where RFID tracking technology is used. Transportation companies around the world value RFID technology due to its impact on the business value and efficiency.
The North American railroad industry operates an automatic equipment identification system based on RFID. Locomotives and rolling stock are equipped with two passive RFID tags (one mounted on each side of the equipment); the data encoded on each tag identifies the equipment owner, car number, type of equipment, number of axles, etc. The equipment owner and car number can be used to derive further data about the physical characteristics of the equipment from the Association of American Railroads' car inventory database and the railroad's own database indicating the lading, origin, destination, etc. of the commodities being carried.[34]
Aerospace applications that incorporate RFID technology are being incorporated into Network Centric Product Support architecture. This technology serves to help facilitate more efficient logistics support for systems maintenance on-board commercial aircraft.
Baggages passing through the Hong Kong International Airport are individually tagged with "HKIA" RFID tags as they navigate the airport's baggage handling system, which improves efficiency and reduces misplaced items.
In the Netherlands, the Dutch Government sponsors an RFID project in which Cargobox Europe B.V. tests an intelligent air cargo container. The container has a semi-active, or battery-assisted, tag and can be followed by a series of fixed and handheld readers that will be used in the warehouses of partners throughout the supply chain. This track-and-trace capability is achieved by a web-based IT Platform which allows authorized users to view relevant Cargoboxes. The intelligence is in the RFID tags but also in the GPS, GSM, GPRS and airplane detection module that switches off the tag and sensors when the container is airborne.[35]