What is RFID?
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has sparsely existed for decades yet will soon be all around us.
The History of RFID
It’s generally said that the history of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology can be traced back to World War II. The Germans, Japanese, Americans and British were all using radar—which had been discovered in 1935 by Scottish physicist Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt—to warn of approaching planes while they were still miles away. The problem was there was no way to identify which planes belonged to the enemy and which were a country’s own pilots returning from a mission.
The Germans discovered that if pilots rolled their planes as they returned to base, it would change the radio signal reflected back. This crude method alerted the radar crew on the ground that these were German planes and not Allied aircraft (this is, essentially, the first passive RFID system).
Since that time, the capabilities of Radio Frequency Identification have expanded exponentially. RFID technology has now been developed to the point where it can provide many types of businesses with precise information regarding the status of their valuable components and products. Such information can be utilized in terms of supply chain management, asset management, inventory control, as well as increasing safety and security. In addition, RFID technology has matured to the point where such systems can be implemented in a scaleable and cost-effective manner, therefore ensuring significant return on our client’s investment.
RFID can be explained in many ways, but one of the best explanations was provided by RFID Journal in Thomas Friedman’s book The World is Flat:
RFID is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify people or objects. There are several methods of identification, but the most common is to store a serial number that identifies a person or object, and perhaps other information, on a microchip that is attached to an antenna—the chip and the antenna together are called an RFID transponder or an RFID tag. The antenna enables the chip to transmit the identification information to a reader. The reader converts the radio waves reflected back from the RFID tag into digital information that can then be passed on to computers that can make use of it.
RFID technology will make organizations more effective by enabling real-time visibility of information regarding items in and out of the supply chain. Having more accurate and immediate information about the location of items, the history of items, and the number of items in their process will enable organizations to be more responsive to their customers and consumer needs through more efficient, customer-driven operations.
RFID enables manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to identify the exact location of their goods at any point in time. And better product visibility will enable the entire supply chain to be more focused on the end customer, producing and shipping goods based on demand and replenishing store shelves with products customers want to buy. Moreover, RFID technology can be effectively used to significantly reduce theft, loss, and time wasted trying to locate and account for valuable equipment.