RFID is an acronym for "Radio-Frequency Identification". Its primary use is similar to barcodes. RFID can be used to track almost anything, from storing a companion animal’s medical history, to where a single item is in a huge warehouse, to a customer’s credit card information, to a product’s expiration date, to tracking quality control issues throughout the many manufacturing steps for a single product, to controlling access to restricted areas, to asset tracking. RFID has a couple of significant advantages over barcoding. The first one is that while barcodes must be physically aligned with an optical scanner, a RFID tag can be read outside the line-of-sight. The other main advantage is that a RFID tag can store, and thus transmit, much more data than can be placed on a barcode label. Also, a RFID tag is not susceptible to the damages that may be incurred by barcode labels, like ripping and smearing. But it is susceptible to problems such as loss of power or being crushed.

RFID belongs to a group of technologies referred to as Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC). AIDC methods automatically identify objects, collect data about them, and enter that data directly into computer systems with little or no human intervention. RFID methods utilize radio waves to accomplish this. RFID systems basically consist of three components: a RFID tag or smart label, an antenna, and a RFID reader. Digital data is encoded in a small computer chip that is in the RFID tag or smart label. This data is then transmitted by a small antenna from the chip via radio waves and captured by a reader. When the RFID chip is first made, its memory is usually left empty. Once this chip has been added to a product as the product is being manufactured, any needed information can then be added to this chip at any step in the process.

RFID Tags and Smart Labels'

Smart labels differ from RFID tags in that they incorporate both RFID and barcode technologies. They're made of an adhesive label embedded with an RFID tag inlay, and they may also feature a barcode and/or other printed information. Smart labels can be encoded and printed on-demand using desktop label printers, whereas programming RFID tags is more time consuming and requires more advanced equipment. Passive tags are the most widely used, as they are smaller and less expensive to implement. Passive tags must be "powered up" by the RFID reader before they can transmit data. Unlike passive tags, active RFID tags have an on-board power supply (e.g., a battery), thereby enabling them to transmit data at all times.

RFID – What Are Its Concerns? '

Two main concerns are its cost and its potential for an invasion of privacy. It is hoped that the cost of manufacturing a RFID chip will fall to around a nickel. It currently is more than twice that amount. But even if it were to fall to 5 cents, there’s still the question of how to pass that cost on to the ultimate consumer. The invasion of privacy brings up “big brother” issues. How would you feel if your Credit Card had a chip in it, and that chip’s information, say about your credit history or purchasing history, was available to a retail store as soon as you walked in the door?

The Future of RFID'

Whether or not RFID is required, applications that currently use barcode technology are good candidates for upgrading to a RFID system. The demand for RFID equipment is increasing rapidly, in part due to mandates issued by the U.S. Department of Defense and large retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart. In January 2005, the Department of Defense issued a mandate to its suppliers that each item sold to them must be marked with a passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. In 2003 Wal-Mart issued a directive saying that it would require that its top 100 suppliers implement RFID on the shipping crates and pallets by January 1st 2005. Then in 2004, Wal-Mart announced that it would require its next 200 largest suppliers to use RFID by January 1st, 2006. So given the push towards RFID by both the US government and some of the largest corporations in the world, it seems inevitable that at least some form of RFID will be in as much use in the future as barcodes are today.