Introduction of RFID

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Description:

Short for radio frequency identification, a technology similar in theory to bar code identification [1], is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders [2]. RFID tags are objects that can be attached to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification using radio waves.

RFID chips can be easily concealed in hidden places, this can be handy for supermarket checkouts, but it also means that once outside the store, strangers can continue reading exactly what is in a person's grocery bag. RFID chips can also hold personal information.

Enablers:

• Replacement of traditional bar codes with a more versatile technology

Inhibitors:

• Privacy concerns after need of being active
• Religious opinion

Paradigms:

The use of RFID technology has engendered considerable controversy and even product boycotts because of:

• The purchaser of an item will not necessarily be aware of the presence of the tag or be able to remove it
• The tag can be read at a distance without the knowledge of the individual
• If a tagged item is paid for by credit card or in conjunction with use of a loyalty card, then it would be possible to tie the unique ID of that item to the identity of the purchaser
• The EPCglobal system of tags create globally unique serial numbers for all products.

Experts:

Harry Stockman, 1948

wrote an early 1948 landmark paper exploring RFID, 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."

Timing:

1946

Léon Theremin invented an espionage tool for the Soviet government which retransmitted incident radio waves with audio information. Soundwaves vibrated a diaphragm which slightly altered the shape of the resonator, which modulated the reflected radio frequency. Even though this device was a passive covert listening device, not an identification tag, it has been attributed as the first known device and a predecessor to RFID technology.

1973

The first true ancestor of modern RFID; a passive radio transponder with memory. The initial reflective power passive device 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 medium.

1983

The first patent to be associated with the acronym RFID was granted to Charles Walton

2006

Hitachi, Ltd. developed a passive device called the µ-Chip measuring 0.15x0.15mm (not including the antenna), and thinner than a sheet of paper (7.5 micrometers). The unique ID in the chip cannot be altered, providing a high level of authenticity to the chip and ultimately to the items the chip may be permanently attached or embedded into. The Hitachi µ-Chip has a typical maximum read range of 30 cm (1 foot).

Web Resources:

[1] RFID definition on Webopedia

[2] Wikipedia RFID page

[3] RFID Journal expert views