Radio Frequency Identification

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Radio Frequency Identification Systems (RFID), although prevalent since the 1970s, has recently been gaining in popularity and notoriety. The technology familiar to consumers as the bulky anti-theft tags attached to high value items that produce an annoying alarm upon exiting a store if not removed or disarmed, has grown up.

Now with capabilities beyond producing annoying alarms, RFID is on the forefront of a revolution in wireless digital technology.

 

Applications

Applications for RFID have generally fallen under the genre of inventory management and tracking for the retail industry. As the cost point and sophistication of RFID technologies continues to improve, developers and retailers are finding opportunities to increase efficiencies and profits via RFID technology. In addition, business and government entities are also finding a niche of security applications for safe commerce that RFID has the capability of fulfilling.

The retail and security industries apply RFID technologies in a variety of applications to track and monitor the movement of objects. Some of these applications can be summarized into the following categories:

    • Electronic Article Surveillance systems: Used in retail stores to sense the presence or absence of an item. These systems are the most recognizable to the general public and are widely used most by large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Walgreens.
    • Portable Data Capture systems: Characterized by the use of portable RFID readers, which enables this system to be used in variable settings. Port authorities use such systems for tracking and identifying container shipments
    • Networked systems: Characterized by fixed position readers which are connected directly to a centralized information management system, while transponders are positioned on moveable items. These systems are most prevalent in the manufacturing and a food processing industries.
    • Positioning systems: Used for automated location identification of tagged items or vehicles.

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