The Past, Present and Future of RFID - Research Paper Example

As we move forward into the 21st century, we find that our world is constantly becoming more and more reliant on technology to get things done. We store everything online in a cloud of information, we swipe credit cards for every transaction instead of paying in cash. Everything about our lives happens at a faster pace than ever before and there are no signs of things slowing down. That is why we now need a more accurate yet faster way of doing transactions that would normally take hours to do. We need a piece of technology that will allow us to carry vital information with us wherever we go. It is that need for an obscure, yet handy source of data information storage that led to the development and rising use of the Radio Frequency Identifier chips. With the use of the RFID, all necessary information has become just a tag scanner away. No more losing files or misfiling information. RFID is the wave of the future although it is currently mired in doubt and controversy due to privacy issues and the high cost of creating the chip. But as the RFID becomes a truly integral part of our daily lives, the cost and distrust of the technology is bound to go down. Through this research paper, evidence shall be presented showing that there is a growing use for the RFID technology and that the public as slowly learning to get over their apprehensions of the technology's use. As more and more industries come to use the RFID technology in non obtrusive ways, we will find the people more accepting of it and perhaps some people, won't even be aware that have it on their person. In the end, this research paper will show that the RFID technology is the future of our society. It shall play an integral part in our military, social, medical, and financial field. RFID technology cannot be ignored. It is here to stay. The Past, Present, and Future of RFID The history of the RFID system can be traced back to the early RADAR detection systems of World War II. the RADAR technology was first discovered by Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Wyatt in 1935. His technology was created in order to identify incoming planes but it could identify if the plane was friend or foe. It was during this time of war that the passive RFID system was first developed by Germans who reflected the radar signals back as their rolled their planes upon return to base in order to identify themselves as German instead of allied aircraft. (Roberti, The History of RFID Technology). This particular technology led the British to develop the Identify Friend or Foe (IFF) system which was a transmitter located inside each British plane. The system would receive ground RADAR signals and then send back a signal identifying it as friend. That is the concept that the modern RFID is based upon with a slight difference. An RFID receives a transponder signal which is then interpreter by the chip and answers with either a signal (passive) system or it broadcasts a signal as an active system. (Roberti “History of RFID Technology”) The early scientists had already seen the possible real world applications of the radio frequency technology beyond wartime use. Which is why research in the RF communications system continued well into the 1960's with the United States, Europe, and Japan all collaborating on its possible remote uses in the field of object identification. Commercially, stores began tagging their items in an effort to curb shoplifting by using radio waves to determine the payment status of an item. This is done through the use of electronic surveillance tags that are either turned on or off. Upon payment of the item, the cashier turns the tag off and it can clear the detectors standing at the exit doors of the store. (Roberti “History of RFID Technology”) The first patent for the RFID tag with a rewritable memory was awarded to Mario W. Cardullo on January 23, 1973. Charles Walton also received a patent in the same year for his passive transponder invention that could be used to unlock a door without a key. (Roberti “History of RFID Technology”). This is the very technology that is used today by hotels across the world for their guest rooms. In an effort to mass produce his invention, Walton licensed the technology to Schlage and other lock making companies. By the 1970's, the US government needed a way by which they could track down nuclear materials. The solution was to place an RFID transponder in a truck that could be read by gates at the secure facilities. The idea was to have the truck transmit secured information such as the driver's ID, truck number, and clearance before the gates opened or remained shut as the case may be. This is similar to the express pass that is widely used on highway roads across the world today. (Roberti “History of RFID Technology”). By this time, other applications for the use of RFID technology were already being discovered such as the passive RFID used by the Agricultural Department in Los Alamos for tracking cows. Using UHF radio waves and a back scatter reading technique, the passive signal held the medical information of each cow which insured that each cow for the correct medication for the illness being treated. That was the basis for the RFID system being used in some medical patients today. (Roberti “History of RFID Technology”)When the low frequency (125 kHz) system was later introduced, the smaller transponders used not only for keeping cattle medical records, but for entry cards into secure buildings as well. (Roberti “History of RFID Technology”) In the more progressive countries such as Europe, the RFID was used for more commercial applications that required a degree of security. For example, the higher 13.56 MHz frequency was used by European companies to track down reusable containers, access control and payment systems, and contact-less smart cards. (Roberti “History of RFID Technology”) The ultra-high frequency RFID system was introduced by IBM developers in the 1990's through pilot programs that were coordinated with Wal-Mart. Due to the financial problems the company faced, they were never able to marked the technology and instead had to sell it to Intermec, a bar code systems provider. This is the technology that now powers the company's RFID systems stemming from warehouse tracking to farming. During this point in the development of the RFID technology, the system was considered too pricey to be commercially successful which is why it was still limited in application and users. (Roberti “History of RFID Technology”) It was in 1999 when the Uniform Code Council, EAN international, Procter and Gamble, all came together in order to finance and establish the Auto-ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was at this institution where forward thinking professors David Brock and Sanjay Sarma experimented with the idea of putting low cost RFID tags on products in order to track them through a supply chain. This was a brilliant experiment that caught on and forever changed the way that the world did business. By allowing manufacturers and suppliers to be able to track their shipments, retailers could now schedule their inventories and inform clients of accurate shipment arrivals. (Roberti “History of RFID Technology”) Due to the tremendous support for the Auto ID Center, more research labs were opened in the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, Japan and China between 1999 and 2003. (Roberti “History of RFID Technology”) The RFID system now has 2 interface protocols known as Class 1 and Class 0 and now includes the Electronic Product Code (EPC) numbering scheme and methods by which to research RFID tags via internet. EPC was then commercialized by EAN International after EPC Global turned over the technology to them. At present, the Auto-ID labs have taken over the work of the Auto-ID Center which shut down in 2003. (Roberti “History of RFID Technology”) The RFID technology has come a long way from its early roots as an instrument of war under the guise of the RADAR system. It has proven to be most beneficial to our commercial sector as it helped modernize packing and tracking systems which helped bring down the cost of the goods we buy. At present, the RFID technology is being considered for human medical records keeping functions and it has met with quite a resistance among the population. It is really difficult to understand where the resistance to the medical RFID tag comes from considering that everything from our credit card transactions all the way to our library cards are being tracked with an RFID system of some sort. It is already an integral part of our lives and it has always remained unobtrusive and our information has always been kept safe within the ID system. In fact, if people were implanted with the RFID technology just under the skin, it would help eliminate quite a number of problems that beset our society such as the limiting of the Amber Alerts for missing children since a child's whereabouts can now easily be tracked, misdiagnosis at the emergency room. malpractice suits for wrong prescriptions or wrong operations can also be limited, and most of all, we will no longer have to lug our medical history with us if we decide to change physicians. All diagnosis will be done on well informed and complete studies of our physical work up due to the implant that lets the doctors see our complete medical record with a mere scan of our forearm. (Banks “Past, Present, and Future of RFID”). The concerns surrounding privacy issues during the use of an RFID has no clear basis. The argument is that using the correct scanner, an unscrupulous third party will be able to gain access to our vital personal information and use it to commit crimes. Our personal information is actually a lot safer in an RFID than on the internet where we shop for things using our credit cards. Remember hacking of our personal information is a reality on the internet. But nobody can hack an RFID system. It would require too much expensive technology to do so. We already allow RFID technology in our cars, our highway express pass, our credit cards, our cellular phones, even our passports.(Banks “Past, Present, and Future of RFID”). It has been seamlessly integrated into our daily lives and we neither noticed nor complained about it then, so what makes the detractors of the medical RFID tags think that it will be a huge, unsolvable problem to allow our medical records to be accurately compiled for easy records access now? Truth be told, aside from the fear of most people regarding the privacy issues surrounding the use of the medical RFID tag, business both small and large have reported huge returns on their investments thanks to the use of RFID tags. There can be no real downside to something that was developed with the welfare of the public in mind, and that is exactly what the RFID tag is. A way by which our government and other concerned sectors of society can secure and protect our various interests. The RFID tag is not our enemy. It is the way of the future for us. It is the means by which our future world will be able to keep pace with the ever changing requirements of a fast changing world. It will insure the continuous existence of a smooth business world and even more reliable medical care for the public. It is therefore, our friend and hope for the future. It is not the Devil's mark as some of its opponents insist that it be viewed as. Works Cited Banks Jeremy. “Past, Present, and Future of RFID”. Monterrey Tech. Monterrey Tech. 4 Apr. 2008. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. Roberti, Mark. “The History of RFID”. RFID Get Started. RFID Journal. n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. Read More