Radio Frequency Identification

DEFINITION Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) exists as a distinct subset of the larger family of automated identification technologies that includes things like bar codes, visual scanning devices and biometric readers. RFID is a means of automated identification that features electronic tags used both to store data and to act as transponders for sending the stored data as the payload in electromagnetic waves (radio waves) sent to detached listening devices (RFID readers) [8] [25]. The tags can be affixed to animate or inanimate objects by a variety of methods and the readers that receive emissions from the tags translate the wave-embedded data into meaningful information (Figure 1). They are a significant improvement over bar codes, for example, in that they do not require any human intervention. Currently deployed RFID systems provide real-time identity tracking and monitoring and make possible a wide variety of access control and inventory management solutions [23] [16] [14]. Beyond this primary value of real-time identification monitoring, the back-end of a typical RFID solution offers a distinct secondary value through storing the rich set of identity data captured by the system, enabling sophisticated data mining techniques to be applied to a number of interesting scenarios [1]. Additionally, while RFID systems primarily deal with automating identity management, they are frequently deployed in combination with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to yield even more powerful solutions that track both identity and spatial location [2] [13].