RFID

An GS1-EPC

RFID tag used by Wal-Mart.]]

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology with components that are not a replacement for the barcoding, but a complement for distant reading of codes. The technology is used for automatically identifying a package or an item. To do this, it relies on RFID tags. These are small transponders (combined radio receiver and transmitter) that will transmit identity information over a short distance, when they are asked to. The other piece to make use of RFID tags is an RFID tag reader.

An RFID tag is an object that can be applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader. Most tags carry a plain text inscription and a barcode as complements for direct reading and for cases of any failure of radio frequency electronics.

Most RFID tags contain at least two parts. One is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and de-modulating a radio-frequency (RF) signal, and other specialized functions. The second is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal.

There are generally two types of RFID tags: active RFID tags, which contain a battery, and passive RFID tags, which have no battery.

Uses

RFID systems are used for the following: