RFID
Tag
RFID Tag is a
microchip attached to an antenna that picks up signals from and
sends signals to a reader. The RFID Tag contains a unique serial
number, but may have other information, such as a customers' account
number. RFID Tag comes in many forms, such smart labels that are
stuck on boxes; smart cards and key-chain wands for paying for
things; and a box that you stick on your windshield to enable you to
pay tolls without stopping. RFID tags can be active tags, passive
tags and semi-passive tags.
An RFID Tag is
based on a chip or integrated circuit (IC). A tag insert or inlay is
the IC attached to an antenna, which is usually printed or etched on
a substrate material. The tag itself is the inlay plus its
encapsulated protective packaging. The packaging can be flexible or
stiff, as the application warrants. There are two types of RFID Tag:
active and passive.
Chipless RFID
Tag: An RFID Tag that doesn't depend on an integrate microchip.
Instead, the tag uses materials that reflect back a portion of the
radio waves beamed at them. A computer takes a snapshot of the waves
beamed back and uses it like a fingerprint to identify the object
with the tag. Companies are experimenting with embedding RF
reflecting fibers in paper to prevent unauthorized photocopying of
certain documents. But chipless RFID Tag is not useful in the supply
chain, because even though they are inexpensive, they can't
communicate a unique serial number that can be stored in a
database.
Active RFID
Tag: An RFID Tag that comes with a battery that is used to power the
microchip’s circuitry and transmit a signal to a reader. Active tags
can be read from 100 feet or more away, but they're expensive – more
than $20 each. They're used for tracking expensive items over long
ranges. For instance, the US military uses active
tags to track containers of supplies arriving in
ports.
Passive RFID
Tag: An RFID Tag without a battery. When radio waves from the reader
reach the chip’s antenna, it creates a magnetic field. The tag draws
power from the field and is able to send back information stored on
the chip. Today, simple passive tags cost around 50 cents to several
dollars.
An RFID Tag
consists of a small integrated circuit attached to small antennae,
capable of transmitting a unique serial number a distance of several
meters to a reading device in response to a query. Most RFID Tag is
passive: they are battery less and obtain the power necessary to
operate from the query signal itself. RFID Tag are already quite
common; examples include proximity cards used as re-placements for
metal door keys, theft-detection tags attached to consumer goods
such as clothing, and the small dashboard devices for automating
toll payments
A microchip
attached to an antenna that picks up signals from and sends signals
to a reader. The RFID Tag contains a unique serial number, but may
have other information, such as a customers' account number. RFID
Tag comes in many forms, such smart labels that are stuck on boxes;
smart cards and key-chain wands for paying for things; and a box
that you stick on your windshield to enable you to pay tolls without
stopping. RFID Tag can be active tags, passive tags and semi-passive
tags.
RFID tags are
useful in a variety of applications. There are different types of
tags for use with the various radio frequency identification
systems. Depending on their intended utilization, the tags and
corresponding systems vary in complexity and cost. RFID tags are
allowing government, hospitals, correctional facilities, patron
management operations, and many other organizations, track and
monitor information for a variety of purposes. RFID systems consist of an
antenna, a transceiver, and a transponder, which is the RF tag. The
tag can be programmed with different data depending on the
circumstance and desired information. Both the tag and the antenna
are designed in different shapes and various sizes to accomplish
their specialized goals. Also, the antenna and transceiver can be
one unit with a decoder, and it is considered a reader. This reader
can be handheld, or attached to an object, like a doorframe. The
reader can communicate with the passing tags for various
reasons.
RFID Tag is
available in any shape or size, to track any object. The RFID Tag is
part of an identification system that transmits data and information
using radio waves. The tags are placed on an item, or object, and
then antennas and receivers are used to read the tag. Systems are
designed with greater or less sophistication, depending on
intentions. The greatest determinant of which system, and the types
of components, is cost. The more complex the RFID system, the
greater its cost.
The individual
components can vary in design. Because this concept uses
non-line-of-sight transmission, the number of transceivers,
antennae, and the distances apart they can transmit, determines the
system's capacity. The radio frequency identification tag is
programmed with specific data; the amount varies depending on the
type of tag. When the tag comes into the proximity of an antenna,
the electromagnetic zone activates the tag. Its information
transmits in radio waves by an antenna to the transceiver. Along
with a decoder, the transceiver interprets the waves and sends the
final data to a central computer.
