What is it?

Radio Frequency Identification, most commonly referred to as RFID, is a type of automatic identification that enables the recognition of people and objects, one or many at a time, through the use of radio waves (2006). RFID can be traced back to World War II where different counties, including the United States and Germany, were using radar systems to track oncoming planes, the difficulty being that these systems were unable to distinguish one country’s plane from another (2002, 2006). Since then, RFID systems have become much more effective. An RFID system contains an RFID tag and an RFID reader. The RFIF reader sends radio waves to the RFID tag, also known as a transponder, which in turn sends information back to the RFID reader, which can then be sent to a computer system containing software that can process the information from the RFID tag (2006). The RFID tag, which can be either Read-Only or Read-Write, can be very small and is essentially a microchip, used for storing information, and an antenna used to receive signals (2006). Read-Only tags contain information that cannot be changed while Read-Write tags allow for information to be added or modified but cost more (2006). There are two types of RFID tags including passive RFID tags, which do not need batteries to operate, and active RFID tags, which require the use of a battery that can last up to 10 years as opposed to the passive RFID tags that can last indefinitely (How RFID Works).









(2008, June 6)

(2006, February 23). Fact Sheet: RFID Technology. Retrieved November 14, 2008, from Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada Web site: http://www.privcom.gc.ca/fs-fi/02_05_d_28_e.asp

How RFID Works. Retrieved November 15, 2008, from Technovelgy.com: where science meets fiction Web site: http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Technology-Article.asp?ArtNum=2

(2002). The History of RFID Technology. Retrieved November 15, 2008, from RFID Journal: The World's RFID Authority Web site: http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/1338/1/129

(2008, June 6). Radio Frequency Identification System. Retrieved November 15, 2008, from Traze Web site: http://www.traze.in/about_rfid.asp