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1-4Computer and Automation Research Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Kende u. 13±17, 1111, Budapest
4Department of Production Informatics, Management and Control, BME
Hungary
{ilie, kemeny, egri, monostor}@sztaki.hu
#)*
The paper gives an overview of the current state of the art in the radio frequency identification
(RFID) technology. Aside from a brief introduction to the principles of the technology, a survey
is given on major classes of RFID tags and readers, commonly used frequencies and
identifier systems, current and envisaged fields of application, as well as advantages, concerns
and limitations of use.
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RFID principles, advantages, limitations, applications
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Although the foundation of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology was laid by
past
generations, only recent advances opened an expanding application range to its practical
implementation.
RFID is only one of numerous technologies grouped under the term Automatic Identification
(Auto
ID), such as bar code, magnetic inks, optical character recognition, voice recognition, touch
memory,
smart cards, biometrics etc. Auto ID technologies are a new way of controlling information and
material flow, especially suitable for large production networks.
The RFID technology is a means of gathering data about a certain item without the need of
touching
or seeing the data carrier, through the use of inductive coupling or electromagnetic waves. The
data carrier is a microchip attached to an antenna (together called transponder or tag), the latter
enabling the chip to transmit information to a reader (or transceiver) within a given range, which
can forward the information to a host computer. The middleware (software for reading and
writing
tags) and the tag can be enhanced by data encryption for security-critical application at an extra
cost, and anti-collision algorithms may be implemented for the tags if several of them are to be
read simultaneously.
One important feature enabling RFID for tracking objects is its capability to provide unique
identification.
One possible approach to item identification is the EPC (Electronic Product Code) [4], providing
a standardized number in the EPCglobal Network, with an Object Name Service (ONS)
providing
the adequate Internet addresses to access or update instance-specific data. However, currently,
ONS cannot be used in a global environment, and since it is a proprietary service, its use is
relatively expensive, especially for participants with limited resources such as SMEs. As an
alternative,
researchers from the Helsinki University [7] have proposed the notation ID@URI, where ID
stands for an identity code, and URI stands for a corresponding Internet address. This allows
several
partners to use the system and still guarantee unique identification. The project µIdentity-Based
Tracking and Web-Services for SMEs¶ (http://www.traser-project.eu) is currently working on
further
development of this concept.
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RFID tags and readers can be grouped under a number of categories. Their classification is
presented
in Table 1.
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2
- also called µpure passive¶, µreflective¶ or µbeam powered¶
- obtains operating power from the reader
- the reader sends electromagnetic waves that induce current in
the tag¶s antenna, the tag reflects the RF signal transmitted and
adds information by modulating the reflected signal
342
- uses a battery to maintain memory in the tag or power the electronics
that enable the tag to modulate the reflected signal
- communicates in the same method, as the other passive tags
)2
- powered by an internal battery, used to run the microchip¶s circuitry
and to broadcast a signal to the reader
- generally ensures a longer read range than passive tags
- more expensive than passive tags (especial because usually are
read/write)
- the batteries must be replaced periodically
5+1633#++4
-0+- the memory is factory programmed, can not be modified after its
manufacture
- its data is static
- a very limited quantity of data can be stored, usually 96 bits of information
- can be easily integrated with data collection systems
- typically are cheaper than read-write tags
-,#- can be as well read as written into
- its data can be dynamically altered
- can store a larger amount of data, typically ranging from 32
kBytes to 128 kbBytes
- being more expensive than read-only chips, is impractical for
tracking inexpensive items
5+3-/,#107-/#)3370)0,010-#-#
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- Close proximity electromagnetic, or inductive coupling²near field
- Generally use. LF and HF frequency bands
#410
- Propagating electromagnetic waves²far field
- Operate in the UHF and microwaves frequency bands
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-- only reads data from the tag
- usually a micro-controller-based unit with a wound output coil,
peak detector hardware, comparators, and firmware designed to
transmit energy to a tag and read information back from it by detecting
the backscatter modulation
- different types for different protocols, frequencies and standards
exist
-8,#- reads and writes data from/on the tag
5+/90/-2)
0#+The device is attached in a fixed way, for example at the entrance
gate, respectively at the exit gate of products
In this case the reader is a handy, movable device.
Table 1: Classification of RFID tags and readers
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Though RFID is not likely to entirely replace commonly used barcodes in the near future, the
following
advantages suggest to additionally apply RFID for added value of identification:
Tag detection not requiring human intervention reduces employment costs and eliminates
human
errors from data collection,
As no line-of-sight is required, tag placement is less constrained,
RFID tags have a longer read range than, e. g., barcodes,
Tags can have read/write memory capability, while barcodes do not,
An RFID tag can store large amounts of data additionally to a unique identifier,
Unique item identification is easier to implement with RFID than with barcodes,
Tags are less sensitive to adverse conditions (dust, chemicals, physical damage etc.),
Many tags can be read simultaneously,
RFID tags can be combined with sensors,
Automatic reading at several places reduces time lags and inaccuracies in an inventory,
Tags can locally store additional information; such distributed data storage may increase fault
tolerance of the entire system,
Reduces inventory control and provisioning costs,
Reduces warranty claim processing costs.
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Although many RFID implementation cases have been reported, the widespread diffusion of the
technology and the maximum exploitation of its potential still requires technical, process and
security
issues to be solved ahead of time. Today¶s limitations of the technology are foreseen to be
overcome and specialists are already working on several of these issues.
!%%&%
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Though the characteristics of the application and the environment of use determine the
appropriate
tag, the sparse standards still leave much freedom in the choice of communication protocols
and
the format and amount of information stored in the tag. Companies transcending a closed-loop
solution
and wishing to share their application with others may encounter conflicts as cooperating
partners need to agree in standards concerning communication protocols, signal modulation
types,
data transmission rates, data encoding and frames, and collision handling algorithms. Currently,
two major groups of standards are competing worldwide: one is EPC created by the Auto-ID
Center
and receiving the support of UCC (Uniform Code Council) and EAN (European Article
Numbering),
the other is the ISO-specified (International Standards Organization) set of standards.
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The cost of tags depends on their type. In the 2003 report µRFID Systems in the Manufacturing
Supply Chain¶ [16], ARC Advisory Group predicted the following decrease of tag prices:
Price in 2003 Estimated price in 2008
Passive UHF tag 57 cents 16 cents
Passive HF tag 91 cents 30 cents
This predicted decrease is still deemed insufficient, as economic use of tags²taking the
associated
5±35% decrease of labor costs and zero tag information generation costs into account as
well²would require a maximum of 25 cents per tag for high-end products, and 5 cents for
common
item-level tagging.
Prices of active or semi-passive tags (at least $1 per tag) are even more of a hindrance,
allowing
their economic application only for scanning high-value goods over long ranges.
!%%!%
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Attempting to read several tags at a time may result in signal collision and ultimately to data
loss.
To prevent this, anti-collision algorithms (most of them are patented or patent pending) can be
applied
at an extra cost. The development of these methods, aimed at reducing overall read time and
maximizing the number of tags simultaneously read, still goes on [3].
!%%)%
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The optimal choice of frequency depends on several factors, such as:
%,




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RFID tags basically use two kinds of data transmission, depending on

the
behavior of electromagnetic fields at the frequency used. In lower frequencies (such as 125±
134kHz in the LF band or 13.56MHz in the HF band), inductive coupling is used, while in
frequency
bands above (UHF with typical frequency ranges of 433MHz, 865±956MHz and 2.45GHz),
wave
backscattering is the main means of transmission. This also affects the safe reading range, as it
is
easier to build direction-selective devices with a longer read range in higher frequencies. This
may
restrict design freedom if either reading range or spatial selectivity are an important issue.
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Properties of some materials may be an
obstacle
to RFID application at a given frequency, as they may corrupt data transmission either by
absorption
or by ambient reflection of the signals. Typically, conductive materials such as goods containing
water, or metal surfaces may be the source of problems. However, absorption and reflection
being frequency-dependent, failure at one frequency does not rule out applicability at other
frequencies.
Electromagnetic disturbance can also have external sources, which is also a common²
though also frequency-dependent²problem in an industrial environment.
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Due to historic reasons, the world is divided
into
three large regions of frequency allocation for various purposes, region 1 containing Europe,
Africa,
the Middle East and former SU member states, region 2 with North and South America and
the part of the Pacific east of the date line, and region 3 with Asia, Australia and the Pacific west
of
the date line. The industry exerts pressure towards a uniformization of frequencies allowed for
RFID, yet there still are notable differences between the three regions, forcing companies
planning
to employ tags in several regions to restricting themselves to bands shared by all regions
concerned.
A compromise for tags only modulating the reader signal without actively producing a carrier
wave on their own may be their ability to work in a wider frequency range than nominally
specified,
allowing their usage even in regions where RFID bands are µclose enough¶.
!%%#%
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Manufacturing of tags is not yet 100% failure-free today; about 20±30% of tags used in early
RFID
pilots have been defective [22].
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Figure 1: Common RFID frequency ranges and allocation in Region 1
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 . A wide range of application challenges can be
answered
by the multitude of suitable tags, yet none of them is completely invulnerable and the causes of
damage may vary from type to type. The result is a read failure which is, in many cases difficult
to
detect, as is the fact of the damage itself for a hidden tag. This becomes a business issue when,
for example, the payment for goods is calculated by the number of detected tags and no
measures
are taken to compensate for read failures.
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As
mentioned
before, absorption, ambient reflection of the signal and external signal sources (such as security
systems, cordless phones, barcode scanners) may introduce read errors. Similarly, improper
orientation of tags may impair reading efficiency as most antennas used in tags are
directionsensitive
[22].
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This eventuality cannot be predicted or completely avoided, making
alternative
fallback measures (such as barcodes) necessary for the case of reader failure.
!%%$%
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One of the common concerns of companies implementing RFID today is the rapid obsolescence
of
the technology, especially in view of the investment cost. Technology is continuously evolving
and
new protocol standards, faster and more fault-tolerant readers quickly outdate their
predecessors.
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Depending on the field of application²and in some cases, prescribed by law²it may become
necessary
to prevent unauthorised persons from reading or writing data stored on or transmitted from
tags. To this end, encryption must be ensured at all interfaces where data could be intercepted
or
transmitted (on the medium itself, as well as tag±reader and reader±host communication) [22].
Privacy issues concerning the²possibly hidden²use of RFID tags has been identified as one
of
the problems by many experts and associations, among them the µCaspian¶ (Consumers
Against
Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering), since the beginnings of its application (see [19],
[14], [20], and [18]). The main concerns are related to unique item-level tagging of merchandise
without knowledge or consent of end users, having µthe potential to jeopardize consumer
privacy,
reduce or eliminate purchasing anonymity, and threaten civil liberties¶ [19], are: a) hidden
placement
of tags and unnoticed reading by third persons, b) unique identifiers for all items worldwide
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could make the link between user and item recordable and retrievable, c) massive data
aggregation
about items and customers becomes possible, d) tags (especially in the UHF range) can be
read from a distance without direct line of sight, e) item-level unique tagging may allow
individual
tracking and profiling, i.e., linking personal identity with merchandise items without the consent
of
individuals.
!%% %


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3


Although not widely reported so far, a study of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam [23] has shed
light
on potential vulnerability of current RFID software if used together with a backend database.
Similarly
to previously known attacks against SQL systems (such as the Slammer virus), intentionally
effected buffer overflow, false end-of-row characters and camouflaged comments can lead to
unverified
data being interpreted as SQL commands which can perform malicious operations on the
database contents or prompt the system to copy the infected data to further tags.
(. 
 à 
Current and proposed uses of RFID span a wide spectrum of application areas (e.g.: see Figure
2),
and a fully comprehensive overview would certainly surpass the limits of this paper. It is,
however,
easy to see that the nature of a given use of RFID can be put in either one of three groups:
1,


 




  

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If RFID tags are only used for the purpose of item type or instance identification, usually, a
database
is maintained in the background to provide or receive the additional information needed.
Augmented with this support, destination or way of handling can be determined for the given
item,
an already proven concept in a number of logistics solutions (several shipping and postal
services,
such as UPS, FedEx, USPS and Finland Post [8]). Also, examples in manufacturing
demonstrate
the benefits of RFID, such as with identifying individual car bodies in customized automotive
production
(BMW¶s car body identification in their Dingolfing factory [5]), tracking of manufacturing
(pre-delivery tracking and location of cars in Volkswagen¶s Wolfsberg facility [12]) or even
architectural
construction processes (Skanska Finland applies Enterprixe¶s 4D production model solution),
automatic retooling of work-cells for the given item, and fail-safe identification of samples for
quality
control (Schreiner¶s LogiData control system applied by Auto5000 GmbH, a supplier of
Volkswagen
[15]; RFID-based administration of quality control at Ford¶s Essex engine plant in Windsor,
Ontario [12]; RFID-based identification of material test samples at the MTR Corporation of Hong
Kong which builds and operates urban railways [12]). In the agriculture, farm animals can be
identified
using RFID tags, and a retrieval service for lost pets also relies on RFID implants as the
means of identification (µHome Again¶ pet retrieval service [13]). Also, RFID tags are widely
relied
on in security systems which grant access to facilities etc. depending on the given user¶s level of
authorization (even an example from a Chinese party congress is known [12]), while in other
cases, even passports are equipped with tags (Department of Homeland Security is already
testing
RFID-equipped passports at several locations worldwide [15]). Speaking of security, RFID is
also
commonly used in anti-theft protection and RFID-based house arrest supervision is also
contemplated
[9]. Another subclass of identity-related application examples contains the cases where the
database in the background is not only queried upon reading a tag but also updated, e.g., to
keep
track of inventory changes (commonly used in warehouses, but future application is envisaged
even for such cases as intelligent refrigerators which keep track of food supplies). In many
cases,
the short time lags and failure-free ID entries or even the resistance of RFID tags to adverse
conditions
(extreme temperatures, dirt, chemicals etc.) contribute substantially to the success of the
application
[5].
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Figure 2: Examples of application areas
(.!.
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If a given reader is assigned to a known location, it is possible to track the current place of a
given
uniquely identifiable item. Numerous logistics companies and some postal services have
already
integrated such RFID-based features into their tracking services (several shipping and postal
services,
such as UPS, FedEx, USPS and Finland Post [8]; automatic vehicle location systems in public
transport control in Vejle, Denmark [10]; location of rolling stock at the Swiss Federal Railways),
and similarly, the physical location of work pieces is being kept track of in several manufacturing
facilities, too (e.g.: in Dell¶s facility in Xiamen, China [12]). The RFID tags to be read for
localization
can be either attached to containers or items, or they can identify the transporting vehicle itself.
Aside from the benefit of providing exact information (as opposed to the risk of incomplete,
delayed
or corrupted data if entries are made manually), reading RFID tags does not require a long halt
in
the transportation process, making thus delivery more efficient. Also, farm animals can be
efficiently
localized using RFID tags while a similar tracking principle is applied in some prisons as
well. Other location-specific application examples are envisaged using direction-selective
readers.
These aim to find the exact location of a tag in a wide area, such as golf balls on a golf course
[9].
(.$.à#0/#//7##-
In the third application group, not only an identity is extracted from the tag but also auxiliary data
are read or written. Data read from the tag usually contains information which would be difficult
impractical
or impossible to obtain from a remote or pre-recorded database, or measurement results.
Some products may provide instructions for proper handling this way (envisaged are cases
where
tags in food packaging would instruct an oven about the optimal cooking time [2], or tags in
clothing
would select the right program for a washing machine [17]), while in a number of already
implemented
uses, tags provide medical measurement data e.g., about eye-ball pressure (sensor
and transmitter integrated into artificial lens implant [6]). Writing data to a tag usually adds
information
about the processing of the given item (or delivery progress in transportation), and in a few
cases, a new identity is assigned to the tag by rewriting (such as for reusable containers, pallets
etc., as in a pilot project at the Finnish Post [8]). An interesting application is envisaged for
washing
machines where read-write tags in clothes also record how many times the given piece has
been
washed and select the proper washing program to adapt to aging of the fabric [17].
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The paper gave an overview of the current state and trends of RFID technology. Even though
numerous
limitations and unresolved issues still hinder the widespread application of RFID, it can be
already seen that especially enterprises in complex supply chains will benefit from RFID, once
the
application difficulties are overcome.
);0,-130
The work was supported by the EU FP6 program (project no. 033512), NKFP Grant
No.2/010/2004
and the OTKA Grants No. T043547 and T049481.
<.




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[3] Burdet, L. A., 2004: Smart Environments, Seminar, Zürich.
[4] á


  


[5] Finkenzeller, Klaus, 2003: RFID Handbook: Fundamentals and Applications in Contactless Smart
Cards
and Identification, Second Edition. John Wiley & Sons, pg. 396.
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IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications, Pisa - Italy,
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