RFID or Radio Frequency Identification, is the new technology talked about for product identification and data storage that can be utilized where barcodes fail. It is primarily based on the identical concept as barcode besides that the strategy of encoding data is different since barcodes require a line of sight optical scan. As an computerized identification technology it reads encoded data with the aid of radio frequency waves. Its biggest advantage is that it does not essentially want a tag or label to be visible to read the data stored.

RFID tags fall into categories, active or passive. Active tags have an inner battery with a read and write option, allowing modification of data. The memory dimension of the tag is variable with some tags having memory space of as much as 1 MB. Passive RFID tags do not have an external energy source and instead use the power generated from the reader. They’re subsequently lighter, cheaper, and have an unlimited lifetime of operation, unlike active tags have a ten-yr span. Passive RFID tags are programmed with a particular set of data that can not be changed and being read-only, they operate as a license plate in a database.

Passive RFID tags have a low-energy integrated circuit attached to an antenna and a protective packaging is used to enclose it relying on the application it is going to be used for. The IC has an on-board memory that stores data. The IC uses the antenna to receive and transmit information to an external reader, typically referred to as an interrogator. Tags are additionally called inlays and zinedine01 transponders. In technical terms an inlay is solely a tag on a versatile substrate ready for conversion into a smart label. The smart label can extend the essential functioning of RFID by combining barcode technology and human readable information. Smart labels embody an adhesive label embedded with an RFID tag inlay. Thus they provide the benefits of read range and the unsupervised capability of tags, with the flexibility and convenience of on-demand label printing.

RFID systems have variable frequency ranges, and the frequency level decides their use for applications. Their biggest asset is their operation without a line-of-sight and without contact. Thus they can be read via fog and snow, heat and dust, and other environmentally powerful conditions the place barcodes or any other optical identification systems would fail. Their high reading speeds are another advantage even though RFID technology is more expensive.

At current virtually every RFID implementation is totally different as a result of performance requirements and price factors besides the signal transmission restrictions. They are used the place barcodes prove inadequate but that does not males that RFID technology will exchange barcodes. The market is big enough for both to proceed side by side.