RFID: When you don’t even know it’s there

RFID (Radio Frequency ID) enables wireless data capture and transaction processing. Our last column discussed proximity applications, used primarily for access control. This time, we’ll take a look at what are broadly defined as vicinity, or long-range applications, used for product tracking, inventory control, product authentication, etc.

One of my favorite applications is in libraries. Instead of the traditional librarian checking out a book – older readers will remember the card slipped into a pocket inside the cover, on which you could read previous borrowers’ names hand-written along with the check-out and return dates – or the bar-code system that replaced the cards a generation ago, RFID technology allows libraries to lend and return books and other media automatically. The authorized borrower – anyone with a library card – can take a book, video, or CD and check it out without taking the librarian’s time (or your own, which in my youth was wasted standing on line every Saturday morning waiting to return last week’s book and check out this week’s choice). When you return it, it’s automatically checked back in.

FULL ARTICLE FREELY READABLE HERE.

RFID: Coming to an application near you

Now that we’re six years into the third millennium, it’s time that some 21^st-century technology is coming of age. It’s a slow process, but it’s inexorable, so if you’re not familiar with it, here’s a short overview of what it is and what to expect from it.

RFID is Radio Frequency Identification. It uses microprocessors to create electronic ID tags and short-wave radio signals to transmit the information to a reader and thence to a control system. Some applications have been in use for years, others have been targeted to industries quite recently, and still others are in development – or in the minds of engineers, designers, marketers, and corporate leaders.

Most pet owners are familiar with RFID in a vague way. Many veterinarians routinely implant RFID chips in dogs and cats when they vaccinate and neuter or spay them. Those chips are typically encoded with the animal’s name, sex, date of birth, and vaccination records and the owner’s name and contact information. The implants are useful for only two purposes – to check or confirm immunization records and to identify a pet that has been lost, found by a stranger, and taken to a vet or shelter and, it’s hoped, enable its return.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE.

Now that we’re six years into the third millennium, it’s time that some 21^st-century technology is coming of age. It’s a slow process, but it’s inexorable, so if you’re not familiar with it, here’s a short overview of what it is and what to expect from it.

RFID is Radio Frequency Identification. It uses microprocessors to create electronic ID tags and short-wave radio signals to transmit the information to a reader and thence to a control system. Some applications have been in use for years, others have been targeted to industries quite recently, and still others are in development – or in the minds of engineers, designers, marketers, and corporate leaders.

Most pet owners are familiar with RFID in a vague way. Many veterinarians routinely implant RFID chips in dogs and cats when they vaccinate and neuter or spay them. Those chips are typically encoded with the animal’s name, sex, date of birth, and vaccination records and the owner’s name and contact information. The implants are useful for only two purposes – to check or confirm immunization records and to identify a pet that has been lost, found by a stranger, and taken to a vet or shelter and, it’s hoped, enable its return.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE.