How does RFID work

Introduction

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) can be defined as a technology that is used for identifying objects with the help of tags that are attached to them without the need for any light of sight between tags and a tag reader. The only criterion that is required is the radio communication between a tag and a reader. RFID is a technology that resembles the barcode identification theory.

RFID is a cheap and practical method that is used for identifying and keeping track of almost anything, i.e., from wildlife to goods in a warehouse. The basic concept of RFID is the presence of electronic "tags" that have the ability to store data and interact with a radio frequency reader device. The signals, that come from a reader, trigger a tag in a quick time leading to the transmission of data. RIFD tags do not require power and are quite economical.

These tags consist of information stored electronically. Some of the tags are powered and can be read at short ranges by magnetic fields while the others are powered but by a local source such as a battery. There are possibilities of collecting energy even from interrogating EM fields where batteries are not available. In this scenario, such tags behave as passive transponders that emit microwaves and UHF radio waves.

RFID tags are used in different types of industries. They are used in pharmaceuticals where easy tracking at a warehouse at the time of delivery or after reaching the destination, is possible. Pets and livestock are injected with tags that help in their identification. These• tags are also used for saving lives on oil and gas platforms in offshore areas.

RFID Explanation

What is RFID used for?

An automatic technology that helps machines or computers to recognize objects, record metadata and manage the target that has been set by an individual with the help of radio waves is called a Radio frequency identification system(RFlD). The evolution of RFID technology took place in 1945, in the form of an espionage tool for the Soviet Union. The tool leads to the transmission of incident radio waves along with the audio informati0n• Also, a transponder, namely IFF (Identification Friend or Foe), was invented in the United Kingdom which was used by the allies in the era of World War Il for recognizing aircraft as friend or foe on a daily basis.

A basic RFID system consists of tags, i.e., transmitters or transponders, and readers, i.e., transmitters or receivers. This tag is basically a microchip that is connected to an antenna, and further this antenna is attached with an object in the form of an identifier of the object. With the help of radio waves, an RFID reader and an RFID tag communicate with each other. This technology has proven to be quite helpful in the field of automated identification and data capturing which guarantees the wholesale changes to overall business activities, thereby it enables the cost reduction of the systems that are already used, such as barcodes. However, RFID technology has been developed many years back, but it came into a run only from the last decade as the cost was the main drawback in all implementations.

RFID is one of the greatest opportunities in the field of IT, that has the ability to change the world on a broader and wider scale. RFID readers when connected to the internet terminals, get distributed all over the world, which in turn are capable of identifying, tracking, and monitoring objects that have tags attached to them automatically, globally, and in real-time scenarios. This process is known as the Internet of Things(loT).

The loTs are the things or objects which are identified uniquely. These objects have their virtual representation in the form of an Internet-like structure. The IOT has gained fame from the Auto-ID centre and related market analysts' publications. RFID is assumed to be a prerequisite for the lot Computers can easily be identified and inventoried objects that have equipped radio tags.

IOT and RFID Technology

A global network infrastructure that connects physical and virtual objects by exploiting data capture and communication capabilities is simply called the Internet of Things(loT). The basic development of independent cooperative services and applications are possible with the help of IOT offering specific object identification, sensor, and connection capability to them. Such characteristics are categorized on the basis of a high degree of autonomous data capture, network connectivity, interoperability and event transfer. There are three layers in which a basic structural form of IOT can be bifurcated.

Let's discuss each layer in detail.

Perception layer: This layer is a core layer of the IOT and is known as the origin of the information. The information, that is received from the physical world, is utilized in IOT and is embedded in this layer. Such information is perceived inside the perception layer with the help of certain technologies of sensors, wireless sensor networks (WSN), reader-writers and tags, RFID systems, global position systems (GPS), and electronic data interface (EDI).

Network layer: This layer, also known as a transport layer, the network layer along with the access network and core network, helps in transmitting the transparent data. The information that is present in the perception layer is sent to the upper layer with the help of the existing radio access network, wireless sensor network (WSN) and other communications equipment, such as global system for mobile communications (GSM), general packet radio service (GPRS), wireless fidelity (WiFi), Ethernet, etc. This layer enables an efficient, trusted and reliable network infrastructure platform to the layer that is present above it.

Service layer: This layer, also known as the application layer, consists of sub-layers of data management and application service. In the case of data management, sub-layers enable the processing of uncertain information or complex data, i.e., their restructuring, cleaning, and combining. This, in turn, provides market to market service (M2M), quality of service (QoS), facility management through cloud computing technologies. However, the application sub-layer performs the function of transforming information into content and then gives a good user interface to applications and end-users of upper-level management of an enterprise such as logistics and supply, disaster alert, environmental monitoring, agricultural management, etc.