'RFID'  is presently receiving a great deal of Interest.

Although the technology has been in existence for many years, it can still be difficult to distinguish 'today's technology' from 'Tommorrow's World'.  We have provided the information on this page to assist you in identifying what the technology is and the possible interest to your business.

What is RFID?

RFID - Stands for Radio Frequency IDentification, it is a type of automatic identification (autoID) system which uses tags (microchips with some form of integral antenna) to identify products or assets.

At the simplest level, RFID systems use 'tags' and reader/writers to read/write data to these tags.

This can be seen as similar to bar-coding where bar-codes take the role of the RFID Tag, and a bar-code scanner takes the role of the RFID reader.

Why is RFID better than bar-coding?

RFID isn't 'better' than bar-coding, it is different, however the technology does give many advantages:

No direct line of sight required, because

tags use radio, they can be embedded into objects, objects can even be living animals! Infact many pets in the UK now contain an RFID 'Microchip' so that they can be returned if lost.

Many tags can be scanned at once unlike a pallet of bar-coded goods which must each be scanned individually, a pallet of goods using RFID tags can be scanned in one go simply by passing through a suitable reader.

Tags can be written to a barcode is printed and cannot have further information added to it, however an RFID tag can be written to at multiple instances.  This means that products passing through many locations could have date/time information added at each stage.

Are all tags the same?

There are three main types of tag, Each is suited to different applications.

Passive Tags these do not contain a power source, the unit is powered by the reader when it comes into range.  They can therefore be very thin and small and can even be contained within printable labels.  The have a reading range of between 2mm and a few meters.  They are also the cheapest type of tag.

Semi-passive Tag these tags contain a small battery, and this means that the reader isn't relied upon to provide the power. 

This means that the tags are quicker to read, and have a greater range.

Active Tag Often called a 'beacon' an active tag also contains a battery, it also broadcasts a signal at intervals.  Active tags have a much larger memory than passive tags and also have

a much greater range.  At present the smallest active tags are around the size of a one pound coin.

Is there just one type of RFID?

There are many variations but in the UK (and EU) broadly three types of RFID based upon the frequencies which they use.

Low Frequency 'LF' (125/134KHz) – used in Animal tracking applications, and also frequently in access control (eg. Car Park Access, Security etc)

High Frequency 'HF' (13.56 MHz) – frequently used in 'bar-code supplement/replacement' applications. Can be used with liquids and metal containers.  Also offers read ranges of around 1.5 meters and good data rates.

Ultra High-Frequency 'UHF' (850 MHz to 950 MHz also 2.5 Ghz) – These offer the longest range and the greatest data rate. This is also an area of RFID which is developing quickly.

We hope that you have found this information useful, we will be looking to provide RFID solutions very soon, together with starter packages.  Contact us for further details

Useful Links,

If you require further information then both the RFID Centre and the National RFID Centre are DTI sponsored bodies aimed at promoting the uptake of RFID

The RFID Centre - Bracknall

The National RFID Centre - Halifax