The Basic Concept behind RFID Technology - Assignment Example

RFID technology is short for Radio Frequency Identification technology. As per its name, we can deduce that radio waves are the main media of communication. RFID is similar to barcode technology since the uses are relatively similar. This technology involves a tag on a product (fed with data), a reader connected to an antenna, a communication protocol and software, a communication network, and a related database.
Its main application is to identify goods and track the movement of goods/people. A small chip is attached to the good to be identified i.e. like a barcode on a good in a store. The chip contains a silicon IC (integrated circuit) chip and an antenna. This chip is fed with a program containing the product particulars e.g. size, date of manufacture, and serial number. The data are fed in terms of (0’s) and (1’s). Average chips will carry about 9 bytes (Moscatiello, 2007). The chip does not have to be visible since it uses radio waves that are not affected by obstacles along the straight communication path. This chip is normally powered by an incoming wave and can receive and transmit radio signals. The RFID tag/chip has a unique address that makes it distinctive among others.
There is a reader that is connected to an antenna for sending and receiving messages to and from the chip. The reader has a program that can generate a digital signal like “who are you”. The chip replies “I am so and so”. This message is usually in the form of an electronic product code (EPC). This communication is regulated by a communication protocol and software that relates data in the database to the data received from the chip. The user interface hardware is usually a computer that upon receiving communication from the chip, it shows a message to the user. This can be the product description, status i.e. expiry dates, product price, location, or even “unknown product”.
The software has other programs that help it initialize multiple goods read at the same time. It usually applies an algorithm to queue the goods for communication with the reader. The software helps reduce the chances of multiple recordings or omissions of goods in the system. The reader applies the designated software to control multiple signals of the same product due to reflections and weak signals due to distance and power. Read More