RFID - A Gift From The Past

RFID technology that is being used by companies world over has been around us since 1920s. Many companies are using RFID tags which are embedded in many products to store and retrieve data and information. These tags have tiny antennae that allow them to send a signal to an RFID reader or receiver.

There are primarily two types of RFID tags ? Active Tag and Passive Tag.

Active RFID Tag An active RFID tag has its own power supply and as a result can be used to receive information from a greater distance. Active RFID tags can also store information Batteries of some active RFID tags can last for as long as 10 years.

Passive RFID Tag In contrast, passive RFID tag does not have its own power supply. This type of RFID tag receives its power supply from an electrical current in the antenna that is produced as a result of the incoming radio frequency scan. A passive RFID tag can be used for sending and receiving information and data over a short distance only.

Nowadays RFID tags and readers are omnipresent. You will find RFID technology in bookstores and CD shops. It is used as an anti theft device. If a book or a CD has not been scanned, then it is the RFID technology that starts the alarm. RFID technology is being used in car alarms and car locking systems. Even animal are being tagged with RFID tags to keep a check on their whereabouts. This is specially true for wildlife where scientists keep a record of animals. A future use of RFID technology will be with prisoners. It is envisioned that prisoners could wear RFID tags to keep a watch on their movements and whereabouts.

There is immense use for RFID technology in today?s world and soon more and more companies and industries will start using this technology once the importance is realized.

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RFID : Is Radio Frequency ID the Wave of the Future?

Here?s something you don?t often hear ? how are you dealing with ?rifid?? OR RFID. If you DO often hear it, then this article isn?t for you, it?s far too simplistic. However, if you have never heard of RFID before, read on. It might just change your life, or at least the way you organize it. Radio Frequency Identification or RFID is the use of radio waves to identify objects; in English, the ability to track items without coming into contact with them. This is accomplished by a microchip attached to an antenna called transponders or ?tags?. The chip transmits ID information to the receiver which converts it to a digital format which is then read by a computer.

RFID isn?t new, its been with us in its current guise since the early 80s, and around since the 1920s ? you know the tag that they stick on jackets in the clothes store to stop you stealing them? However, its just grown up; businesses can track products throughout the manufacturing process from start to finish. These items can be tracked while in trucks, on shelves, wherever.

The Benefits of RFID include:
1. The ability to eliminate time consuming bar-coding or other tracking processes. Instead, all data can be collected along the production line. This also helps to lower production costs.
2. Prevention of the distribution of counterfeit products.
3. Elimination or reduction of theft and loss.
4. Reduction of supply chain cost.
5. Elimination of data entry and other tedious manual business process transactions.
6. Increase in order fulfillment time
7. Less time spent in check out lines, as consumers will only have to push their shopping carts in front of the readers.

The predominant downside is the high cost of the RFID hardware. Where tags alone can cost twenty five cents each or more, many retailers won?t get much of a return, if any, on their investment.

It?s hoped that Wal-Mart, the Defense Department and others will start using RFID, which could cause the prices of the tags to drop to five cents each, making it a more affordable solution for many.

Jamie Hall is a middleware developer of RFID systems and Programmer for Big Blog Media. And writes for RFID Factfile

RFID: Electronic Pharmaceutical Pedigree

A growing number of U.S. states are formalizing electronic pedigree requirements in order to comply with the FDA's anti-counterfeiting initiatives.

A new two-phase RFID authentication platform introduced by Texas Instruments (TI) and VeriSign should make it easier for pharmaceutical manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and pharmacies to meet the FDA drug pedigree requirements. It may also make it easier for consumers to accept RFID technology in their prescription packaging.

Mikael Ahlund, director of RFID healthcare for TI, says that the platform is unique in providing two layers of protection against counterfeiting. The model enhances system security by digitally certifying the authenticity of 13.56 MHz RFID tags via a cryptographic Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) available through VeriSign. "The beauty of this approach is that because the elements for the private key are preprogrammed into the tag and the reader is preprogrammed for the public key, the authentication is actually done off-network," says Ahlund.

"We're using multiple layers of protection," says Graham Gillen, senior product manager for VeriSign. "Ultimately, it's about making the tag, and hence the product, hard to fake or reproduce."

The platform is non-proprietary and can be implemented by any RFID system and PKI provider. That can save drug manufacturers and suppliers the considerable infrastructure costs associated with deploying most RFID systems. The additional security may relieve some consumers' fears that their personal and private information may be intercepted by electronic hackers.

The idea of using RFID in the prescription drug pipeline has had consumers and pharmaceutical manufacturers/suppliers hotly at odds. The TI/Verisign model suggests that when used with care, RFID may indeed be protective without being invasive.

Sally Bacchetta is an award-winning freelance writer and sales trainer. She has published articles on a variety of topics, including RFID, selling skills, motivation, and pharmaceutical sales.

Visit her RFID blog for an exploration of the ethical and social considerations of RFID.