(RFID 2004 - - - *Sample* *Sample* *Sample*)

What is RFID?

The Basics

Radio Frequency Identification ( RFID ) is a method of determining the identification of an item using radio frequency communications to transfer an identity code for the item. 

Typically, a small, low cost device called a “TAG” is attached to an item which needs to be identified.  The tag stores a unique code.  The code can be used to identify the tag and by association, the item to which it is attached.

Somewhere near where a tag is to be read, there is another electronic device called an INTERROGATOR.  The interrogator sends out a signal.  All the tags within range respond by sending back their identity codes.  A computer data base is then used to determine the actual identity of the responding items by looking up looking up their identity codes.

RFID is a subset of the Automatic Identification Data Collection (AIDC) industry.

A lot of devices that use radio frequency communications can not be considered RFID.  Radio frequency electromagnetic radiation is used with a very wide range of ….

The RFID Code

A key element of RFID technology is the code used to identify RFID devices.  An RFID code is a unique number, or combination of numbers and characters, that …

Reliability

Even with coded tags, establishing an identity with high reliability is not easy.  A tag does not “know” the actual identity of the object to which it is attached.  To know the identity of an object reliably, many additional processes have to be performed correctly…..

Common Practice in Automatic Identification

Bar Codes

The primary technology in use today ( 2004 ) for automatic identification of items is ….

RFID

RFID is currently the primary alternative to bar coding.  The most common place ….

Comparison of RFID and Barcode methods

RFID offers the following major advantages:

• RFID does not …
• RFID tags do not …
• 5 more items….

RFID, however, is also subject to the following disadvantages:

• RFID tags are ….
• RFID tags are …. 
• 5 more items ….

RFID Technology

Figure 1 shows what is normally called an RFID tag. 

                                                             Figure 1  RFID Tag

 The tag shown in figure 1 might be used to identify a book in a library.  The tag, ….

While simple in appearance, the tag is actually a fairly complex electronic system.  A block diagram of such a device is shown in figure 2.

In figure 2, the attenuator, amplifier, modulator and demodulator … .

                                                                  Figure 3 RFID System

An RFID tag is only one element in a system.  A typical system is shown in Figure 3.

In this figure, …..

RFID Components

RFID Tags

An RFID Tag is an electronic memory and communications device that ….

Data transmission speed and range depend on the …

Tags are also classified by …

In passive systems, which are the most common, an RFID interrogator …

Some typical operating parameters include:

• Low Frequency RFID: xxx kHz, typical maximum read range up to xx inches.
• High Frequency RFID:  xxxx MHz, typical maximum read range of up to x feet.
• Ultra-High Frequency RFID: xxx MHz, xxx MHz, or xxx GHz, read range typically x to yy feet.

RFID Transmitter

An RFID Transmitter (also called a writer or encoder) is …

RFID Readers

An RFID Reader is an electronic signal receiving device that …

RFID Interrogator

An RFID Interrogator is usually a large plug-in powered device that …

RFID Transponders

An RFID Transponder is a device that combines ….

RFID Networks

An RFID Network is a set of technologies that ….