What is RFID?

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an advanced automatic identification technology. It is used to identify, track, sort and detect an infinite variety of objects, including people, vehicles, garments, containers, totes and pallets. It can be used in applications such as proximity access control, time-and-attendance management, vehicle identification, laundry/textile identification, asset tracking, inventory control and factory automation.

RFID relies on radio frequency or "waves" between a card or tag and a reader in order to make an identification. Because RFID is a "contactless" technology, it requires neither contact with a reader or a direct line of sight to a reader (as does bar code technology). RFID, therefore, reduces the problems associated with those "contact" or "line-of-sight" technologies. For instance, a "good" read can occur through sunlight, wet, cold (-30°C ), frost, dirt, grease, and many corrosive chemicals.

The EPC Standard

The EPCglobal Network employs Electronic Product Code™ (EPC) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies. Leveraging these technologies, the EPCglobal Network offers the potential for increased efficiency and accuracy through automation, tracking and security through improved visibility and collaboration by providing a globally standard framework for product information exchange.

Like the Universal Product Code (U.P.C.) or bar code, the EPC identifies the manufacturer, product, version and serial number, and uses an extra set of digits to identify unique items.

Learn more about the EPC Network

Benefits of RFID

RFID benefits the user similarly to other automatic identification technologies in that it reduces the need to collect data by cumbersome means like paper and pencil. Often the amount of data to be collected is so overwhelming and the time needed to process the information is so long that the only practical method of collecting the data is automatically with computer technology. Automatic data acquisition improves the value of the information in a system by making the information available sooner. In a manufacturing facility the value of finding out that work in process has been misrouted is valuable if discovered quickly.

• RFID is ideal for dirty, oily, wet or harsh environments.

• RFID tags and readers have no moving parts so the system rarely needs maintenance and can operate for extended periods of time.

• RFID is an inexpensive form of automatic identification when measured over time.

• Unlike bar codes, RFID is very difficult to copy and is ideal for confidential identification of products, people or assets.

• RFID is fast: The tag and reader communicate in virtually milliseconds. Actual throughput depends on communication with the host computer, but the total speed of a good read is 30 to 100 milliseconds on a read-only tag.

More About RFID

• How RFID Works

• More about RFID

• The EPC Network