The Challenges and Issues Facing the Deployment of RFID Technology

Radio Frequency Identification refers to wireless technology that uses radio waves to automatically identify items within certain proximity. This process involves tagging items with a transmitter which will emit bursts of information including, but not limited to, the identification of the tag. There are three main varieties of tags: Active, Semi-active and Passive. Active tags rely solely on a battery for its power source resulting in the maximum integrity rate and reading range but, also, a limited lifespan and higher cost. Semi-Active tags use batteries to extend the range of the tag only resulting in a higher reading rate than passive tags, a longer lifespan than the active tags, but also higher cost. The passive tag uses the electromagnetic pulse from readers as a power source to transmit its identifier. Due to its lack of a battery, passive tags are the most cost effective and theoretically have an unlimited lifespan. However, due to their lack of the power source, passive tags also have a limited range and produce the largest amount of data anomalies. The RFID Reader is used to interrogate the zone to discover tags within proximity of the reader range. If a tag is discovered, its identification along with the reader’s ID and the timestamp of the observation are recorded. This information is then passed through the Middleware where initial filtration is done to avoid data anomalies being recorded. Finally, the information will then be stored within a database ready to be queried for future analysis. Due to the benefits of the technology, RFID is currently employed in various commercial sectors to provide automated assistance for mundane tasks. There are hospitals which have employed tagged bracelets to ensure maximum care is given to surgical patients. At various airports around the world, RFID is being utilised to track passengers’ bags to ensure that the location of the luggage will be known at all times. In various cities around the world, pets have had RFID chips implanted to ensure that, when lost, the authorities can find their owners’ information by simple scanning the tag. Various countries have also introduced the RFID-enabled toll system designed for cars at RFID-enabled toll booths which allow drivers to continue on their journey and avoid the necessity of stopping to pay. Despite the advantages gained from RFID technology integration, various drawbacks prevent the wide-scale adoption into the majority of the commercial sector. There are three main issues concerning the integration of the architecture. The first issue is security when using the technology as tags are prone to various physical and virtual attacks upon the system. The second concern stems from the need of privacy surrounding the data collected as the observations recorded can be used for breaches in privacy. The third issue is that the 1