RFID or Radio Frequency Identification, is the new technology talked about for product identification and data storage that can be used where barcodes fail. It is based mostly on the same idea as barcode except that the method of encoding data is completely different since barcodes require a line of sight optical scan. As an automatic 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 zinedine01 label to be visible to read the data stored.

RFID tags fall into categories, active or passive. Active tags have an internal battery with a read and write option, allowing modification of data. The memory size of the tag is variable with some tags having memory area of as much as 1 MB. Passive RFID tags wouldn’t have an exterior power supply and instead use the ability generated from the reader. They are subsequently lighter, cheaper, and have an unlimited lifetime of operation, unlike active tags have a ten-year span. Passive RFID tags are programmed with a special set of data that cannot be changed and being read-only, they operate as a license plate in a database.

Passive RFID tags have a low-power integrated circuit connected to an antenna and a protective packaging is used to enclose it relying on the application it goes for use for. The IC has an on-board memory that stores data. The IC uses the antenna to obtain and transmit information to an exterior reader, typically referred to as an interrogator. Tags are also called inlays and transponders. In technical phrases an inlay is just a tag on a versatile substrate ready for conversion into a smart label. The smart label can extend the fundamental 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 are often read by means of fog and snow, heat and dirt, and different environmentally robust conditions where barcodes or some other optical identification systems would fail. Their high reading speeds are another advantage though RFID technology is more expensive.

At present almost each RFID implementation is completely different due to the performance necessities and cost factors besides the signal transmission restrictions. They’re used the place barcodes prove inadequate however that does not men that RFID technology will substitute barcodes. The market is big sufficient for each to proceed side by side.