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RFID
RFID has long been touted as the future of logistics for all companies that have inventories to manage. RFID allows retailers and suppliers to track goods throughout the supply chain. (The Defense Department and major companies such as Wal-Mart are starting to require RFID technologies to be used by their suppliers.) Some estimates are that RFID tags will be sold at an annual rate of 40 billion before 2010... just for pallets, cases and delivery vehicles.
There are almost endless possible uses for RFID tagging, and nearly every day a new use is being found. In humans, for example, an injectable ID chip, such as the VeriChip, could be used for secure authentication or to quickly access a person's medical records. Injectable ID chips have been used to track wildlife and livestock for over a decade.
Article:
Microsoft - RFID: 5 things small businesses should know about it
RFID: The Future Is in the Chips
Wired News, August 16, 2006
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,68500,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2
RFID's Second Wave
As prices fall and systems improve rapidly, manufacturers are finally starting to embrace the electronic tagging technology
BusinessWeek, August 9, 2005
(click to read)
What is RFID?
RFID (radio frequency identification) is a technology that is increasingly being use in industry as an alternative to the bar code. The advantage of RFID is that it does not require direct contact or line-of-sight scanning. An RFID tag (sometimes called an RFID transponder) consists of a chip, some memory, and an antenna. RFID tags that contain their own power source are known as active tags; those without a power source are known as passive tags. A passive tag is briefly activated by the radio frequency (RF) scan of the reader. The electrical current is small, generally just enough for transmission of an ID number. Active tags have more memory and can be read at greater ranges.
What is RFID Tagging?
RFID tagging is an automatic ID system using small radio frequency identification devices to identify and track people, pets, commercial products, and corporate assets, among other things. An RFID tagging system includes the tag itself, a read/write device, and a host system application for data collection, processing, and transmission. Increasingly, RFID tagging is used on consumer goods as an alternative to bar codes. Although more expensive to use than the bar code system, RFID tags don't require an unobstructed line-of-sight between the tag and the reader. Furthermore, RFID codes are long enough for each tag to have a unique ID, so that each individual item can be tracked separately.
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