Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
Radio frequency identification, or 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 is a better technology than bar codes in many ways. The two are different technologies and have different applications, which sometimes overlap. The big difference between the two is bar codes are line-of-sight technology. That is, a scanner has to "see" the bar code to read it, which means people usually have to orient the bar code towards a scanner for it to be read. Radio frequency identification, by contrast, doesn't require line of sight. RFID tags can be read as long as they are within range of a reader. Bar codes have other shortcomings as well. If a label is ripped, soiled or falls off, there is no way to scan the item. And standard bar codes identify only the manufacturer and product, not the unique item. The bar code on one milk carton is the same as ever...
According to David Shriner, a former military engineer and expert on RF technology, there are a number of different types of RF weapons, which are also referred to as High Powered Microwave (HPM) weapons. The first type is the conventional RF weapon, which sends out a concentrated band of radio waves toward a target. These radio waves act in a way similar to the waves inside a normal microwave oven; given a sufficient amount of power, they can be used to heat and damage electronic equipment operating at the same frequency. Because of this need to match frequency with the target, conventional RF weapons require prior research and intelligence before they can be deployed effectively by terrorists [3].
These RFID tags allow for McKesson to electronically track pharmaceuticals throughout warehouses, allowing for less lost product. Health care in the United States is at one of its more uncertain and unpredictable eras in the entire history of the country. News technology, services, ideas are being invented each day, and McKesson Corporation is at the forefront of this ongoing technology race. The McKesson Corporation is constantly working with other health care organizations to strengthen the health of their business, improve quality, develop new efficient means, and to help them control costs. The McKesson Corporation’s mission statement is as follows, “Together with our customers and partners, we are creating a sustainable future for health care. Together we are charting a course to better health.” (mckesson.com) Breaking this down, it would appear that the McKesson Corporation is primarily focusing on future technologies in health care and health services to promote better health in the general public, regardless of the continent. The core values of the corporation are integrity, customer first, accountability, respect, and excellence. These values are grouped into “ICARE”, their group of
The roots of Radio frequency identification can be traced back to World War II. The British asked Watson Watt to lead a secret project, developing RFID to locate which planes were flown by the enemy and which were a country’s own pilots returning from a mission. They put transmitters on each plane they owned, which received signals from radar stations on the ground and broadcasted a signal back that identified the aircraft as friendly. And RFID basically works the same way. A signal is sent which is...
How far is going too far? Imagine a world where an individual’s complete and accurate medical history can be accessed and updated by simply scanning a microchip or radio frequency identification device (RFID) that is implanted into the body. Envision a patient arriving at point-of-care; the chip that is embedding into the patient’s body would be scanned to upload the patients’ health information into the providers’ health information system (HIS). During this encounter, new information would be stored in the HIS. When the patient is discharged, the patient’s up-to-date health information would be uploaded from the HIS to the patients’ microchip. Implanting an electronic health record into every U.S. citizen has its pros and cons; the question contemplated is “We Can But Should We”?
Would RFID work to track Products? Well, Bar Codes require a line of sight, so a person(s) with a bar code reader has to get right up on the bar code and scan it. When you are thinking about a supply chain, somebody in the warehouse would have to look at every single case. With RFID, all of the cases on the pallet would be picked up by a single swipe of a reader, even the ones stacked up in the middle that can’t be seen. So it’s much faster and more efficient and accurate.
However, some people would think that it is a good idea. According to document three, “RFID readers will be able to scan every item as the customer exits the store and charge an RFID credit card, thereby simultaneously increasing efficiency and possibly reducing shoplifting. “ An RFID is a radio frequency device that identifies objects through tags. Consumers could see this as a pro because the time it takes to shop is much shorter. People don’t want to be waiting on line to check out. They can just get their items checked out immediately when they leave the store with a RFID tag. Another example found in document 1 is “ The information is predominantly used as a marketing tool so advertisers can target you with products or services that you are most likely to use or want. “ Some people want tracking because they believe that their shopping experience will be faster and more relevant. If the store knows more about them, then the items provided to the customer will be something that they're more interested
One of Cotton On’s key business values is to dominate their chosen market by being quick, adaptable and dynamic. With tough competition Cotton On has succeeded in standing out with their use of the latest technology, which attempts to win over Gen Y and drag more customers inside their stores. In 2012, Cotton On introduced a fitting room that uses Radio Frequency Identification Technology, which plays a music playlist when a garment is tried on. The system is labelled “Try On Your Sound,” which works by tagging garments with RFID codes. Marketing manager ‘Mark Coombes’ says that as they know that Gen Y define themselves through music and also use fashion as a form of self-expression, they thought, why not combine the two? It gives shoppers
VeriChip is among the latest versions of an existing technology: radio frequency identification chips (RFIDs) that are small enough to be implanted in human beings, but used mostly by businesses to track their inventories and shipping companies to log cargo. RFIDs are also popular among wildlife managers, farmers, and pet owners: one million chips have been implanted in pets and livestock.
The simplest of task have been made simpler, yet not only is this the future but it’s the now. Radio Frequency identification technology is technology that was created from Identification friend or foe or other wise known as (IFF). This later brought to life RFID, (Radio-Frequency Identification). The purpose of RFID varies has multiple purpose and multiple looks, but the results are all the same. There are multiple looks and shapes to these tags, some come in stickers, plastic, and even chips that would be implanted. Originally During World War 2 a British engineer Watson-Watt, developed the first active identify friend or foe (IFF). The purpose was to identify aircrafts that where returning to base. According to rfidjournal.com, IFF either reflects back a signal or broadcasts a signal. Thus creating RFID the modern tracker. The sizes of the transmitters varied from plane to plane, but ground troops had special readers that allowed them to identify the aircrafts. The implications of these modern methods of tracking later led to develop RFID tags. During the 50’s and 60’s the worlds scientist begun to research how advancements in radio frequency could be harnessed, it became emanate that this advancement would be used to track packages for consumers world wide. The first patents for RFID was America Mario W. Cardullo, he claims to have the first United States patent for an RFID tag with rewritable memory during 1973. That same year, a man named Charles Walton, received a patent for a RFID tag to unlock a door without a key. The RFID tag had an embedded transponder, which communicated a signal to a reader near the door. When the reader picked up a valid identity, the reader unlocked the door. Ultimately this advancement is soon t...
One of the first problems with Digital Angel and the Verichip is the sparseness of information relating to the technology. A quick tour of the Applied Digital Solutions’ Verichip website will give you a quick synopsis of what RFIDs are, and then list a few possible uses of the technology. The Frequently Asked Questions page on the website is equally shortchanged on information, with just a short tidbit on how the chips are installed, among other information. With a device that people will be living with for the rest of their lives (should they choose to bestow it upon them), I feel that many would rather have available detailed information on the technology. This is even more applicable when you consider the hostility that many people breed to technology that could lead to their mass surveillance (i.e. fear of conspiracy); many of these people’s concerns will likely be alleviated just by releasing more detailed info out on the web for the public to see.
Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a computerized ID innovation that uses radio recurrence waves to exchange information between an onlooker and things that have RFID gadgets, or tags, joined. The tags hold a microchip and receiving wire, and work at universally distinguished standard frequencies. Barcodes are much smaller, lighter and easier than RFID but RFID offers significant advantages. One major advantage of RFID is that the innovation doesn't oblige any observable pathway the tags could be perused as long as they are inside the range of the spectator, whereas in barcodes in order to read the barcode the barcode scanner should close around 10-15 fts. In RFID data, for example, part and serial numbers, assembling dates and support history is put away on the tags and catches which help in maintenance of equipments. RFID technology as high value for asset management and inventory systems
Nowadays technology has created a difficult environment for an individual’s privacy. The authors of “Privacy Under Attack” argue that an individual’s personal information is compromised by the different ways they can be tracked by corporations and the government. This can be very dangerous due to the amount of identity theft out in the world today. The government’s usage of surveillance cameras and wiretapping, along with product tracking through the usage of Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFIDs) by big corporations allows identity thieves easy access to one’s personal information. Although, all of these encroachments may be beneficial to society by preventing some crimes, in the end they facilitate identity theft and violate one’s privacy.
What is RFID?. (n.d.). Technovelgy.com Where Science Meets Fiction. Retrieved November 14, 2011, from http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Technology-Article.asp?ArtNum=1
RFID has taken strides from being a far off solution to becoming a mainstream application that helps speed the handling of manufactured goods and materials. RFID is an identification and tracking tool for a product using radio waves. It uses a microchip and a printed antenna that can be then packaged in several different forms such as a label or embedded between layers of a carton. These labels are then used to identify the manufacturer, product category and the RFID enables this identification from a distance and unlike earlier bar-code technology, it does so without requiring a line of sight. (Finkelzeller)
There has been much discussion over the issue of a national ID card. Can it guarantee national security? Can it even improve the current state of security in the US? Is implementation feasible? Is it an invasion of privacy? These are just a few of the questions that surround the issue of a national ID. The scene that the NID evokes in me is from the movies of the forties and fifties. The security officials from some eastern European country move from passenger to passenger in a train demanding “Papers please.” The US citizenry have never been subject to that kind of open scrutiny before and it is disturbing to contemplate the implementation of such a draconian system.