Radio Frequency IDentification

by Hafeez Kalim

Agenda
RFID basics
RFID vs Bar Code
RFID application areas
Classes, frequency bands, active and passive tags
Technical challenges

RFID Basics
How RFID Systems work
RFID tag gets into reading device's
electromagnetic field
Tag receives the signal which energizes
the passive tag
Tag transmits the data stored in the IC in
return
Reader passes the information to the
host system
Host system can be connected into the
Internet or company's ERP system
Reader can also pass information to the
tag which can be re-written or deactivated

Real Time Data / Objects visibility

RFID Vs Bar Code

No requirement for line-of-sight
Dynamic information carrier (read/write)
High memory capacity if needed
Many tags can be read at the same time i.e. faster tracking

Wave at a shelf and find lost books/media or rarely checked out books/media that can
be moved to remote storage or sold at book sales

Cheaper in long term

No human intervention
Easy to use
Prevents thefts

The University of Nevada libraries found more than 500 lost items after they tagged
600,000 items in its collection -- which saved the library $40,000 in replacement costs.

Primary frequency bands

Low Frequency (125/134KHz)
Most commonly used for access control and asset tracking.

Mid-Frequency (13.56 MHz)

Used where medium data rate and read ranges are required.

Ultra High-Frequency (850 MHz to 950 MHz and 2.4

GHz to 2.5 GHz)
offer the longest read ranges and high reading speeds.

Classes of RFID Tags

Classes of EPC RFID Tags

RFID Tag Attributes

Active RFID

Passive RFID

Tag Power Source

Internal to tag

Energy transferred using RF

from reader

Tag Battery

Yes

No

Required signal
strength

Very Low

Very High

Range

Up to 100m

Up to 3-5m, usually less

Multi-tag reading

1000s of tags recognized up

to 100mph

Few hundred within 3m of

reader

Applications

Vehicles, large containers of

goods

Small products, cases, items

Costs

$ 2 to $ 10

$ 1 or less

RFID Application Areas

Pharmaceuticals

Healthcare
Lost/Stolen equipment accounts for up
to $4000/bed/year in US Hospitals.
Patients in hospitals

Transportation
& Logistics
Significantly reduce Cargo theft,
loss, and damage in the logistics
industry

2% to 7% of drugs in the US and 80%

in some Third World countries are
counterfeit

Supply Chain,
Mfg. & Retail

RFID

Airline Industry
1.5 Billion Bags carried each year.
Each lost bag costs the airlines $100.

P&G believes that RFID can reduce their

inventory by 1/2. 8-12% of items in
stores are out of stock at any one time

Asset Tracking
RFID can help more accurate and realtime tracking of almost any asset
resulting in better asset utilization

RFID Applications in Libraries / Sports

Over 300 libraries now use RFIDs
Library RFID tags are not tracked by satellite
Tags are read by readers located in the librarys exit
(All of the major readers currently in libraries use 13.56

MHz technology. At this frequency, the read range is

fairly short, typically no more than a few feet)

Books/media cant be tracked after leaving the library

All Sports Balls.

Footballs, baseballs, tennis balls, soccer balls and every other
form of sports balls.
These can be used to record movement, assist referees, and
enhance television coverage.

Retail: Wal-Mart's Business Case

Function

Savings
Savings

Execution

Scanning

Eliminating bar code scanning on pallets and cases

in the supply chain and on items in-store can
reduce labor costs by 15%

$6.7 billion

Out-of-Stock

Smart shelves monitor on-shelf product availability

$600 million

Shrink

Real-time product monitoring reduces warehouse

shrink, administrative errors and vendor fraud

$575 million

Tracking

Improved tracking of the more than 1 billion pallets

and cases moving through DCs annually

$300 million

Product
Visibility

Improved visibility of where products are in the

supply chain in Wal-Marts DCs and suppliers
warehouses offers reduced inventory and costs
of carrying this inventory

$180 million

Total
Source: eWeek, September 15, 2003

Potential Annual Saving

$8.355 Billion

Wal Mart RFID Tagging

Assessment of out of stock reduction

Assessment of shrinkage reduction

Technical challenges around RFID

Radio signals are subject to the laws of physics
e.g. metal and fluids deflect radio signals
interference can distort a radio signal
this can make reading RFID tags difficult

You have read the tag - so what?

reading an RFID tag is not a goal in itself
the key is to relate it the tag data to existing data in the enterprise
a software infrastructure that goes beyond reader management
is therefore essential

System Management is critical due to the highly distributed

nature of an RFID infrastructure
its not enough to install RFID readers in a demo environment
RFID is about gathering quality data along the entire supply
chain

Government Regulations
Governments around the world regulate the use of the frequency
spectrum.
Different countries have already assigned certain parts of the
spectrum for other uses and as a result, there is virtually no / very
less part of the spectrum that is available everywhere in the world
for use by RFID.
This means that a RFID tag may not work in all countries.
As an example if you choose the Ultra High Frequency (UHF)
frequency that operates at 915MHz in the U.S. and you ship your
product to Europe, they may not be able to be read it since Europe
operates in the UHF spectrum at 869Mhz.
This is an important consideration when operating in a global
environment.