RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags are small electronic devices that use radio frequencies to transmit data and are used to identify and track items and people. They consist of an integrated circuit (IC), an antenna, and a substrate. There are two main types of RFID tags: active and passive. Active RFID tags have their own power source, often a battery, while passive RFID tags receive their power from the reading antenna.
RFID tags are used in many industries, including supply chain and inventory management, asset and personnel tracking, logistics, industrial and manufacturing, brand protection, and identification badges. They can also be used to track vehicles, pets, and even patients with Alzheimers disease. RFID tags can store a range of information from serial numbers to a short description and even pages of data.
RFID tags are widely used in shops to expedite checkout and prevent theft by customers and employees. They can also be placed on vehicles, which can be read at a distance, to allow entrance to controlled areas without having to stop the vehicle and present a card or enter a code.
One of the advantages of RFID tags is that they can be read at a distance, which makes them ideal for asset tracking systems in certain applications. However, RFID does have some inherent shortcomings in functionality, such as the read range for RFID tags varying based on factors including the type of tag, type of reader, RFID frequency, and more. A common RFID security or privacy concern is that RFID tag data can be read by anyone with a compatible reader, and tags can often be read without a users knowledge using unauthorized readers.
