Nahiyan Muslima Sarwar 2111659630 course: MIS107 section:8
RFID AND TRACKING-GOODS, SERVICES AND
PEOPLE
Introduction:
Over the last few years, radio frequency identification technology has risen to great importance
in conventional applications which has made the management of information very efficient. This
technology has proven itself to be more productive than bar codes since it supports a broader
set of unique IDs & includes additional information such as product type. It can also quantify
environmental factors & recognise different tags within a certain proximity without human
aid(Pampapati et al.,2014). This paper intends to discuss the evolution of radio frequency
identification technology.
Basic working principle:
According to AB&R(n.d.), RFID employs radio waves to spontaneously recognize items,
accumulate associated data and enter those data into computer systems without human aid. A
RFID system consists of an RFID tag, reader and an antenna. The tag contains an embedded
circuit and antenna which relay data to RFID reader that translates the radio waves into a usable
form of data . The newly generated information is carried through a communications interface
to a host computer, where it's stored in the database.
History:
The use of RFID dates back to World war II, when the soviets hid an antenna activated by
radiowaves, in a ceremonial seal given to the US ambassador. For the next 7 years, the seal
would relay private conversations taking place in the ambassador's office back to the soviets.
(Goldberg,2020)
In 1948, scientist Harry stockman was credited for the invention.( Advanced Mobile Group,
2015)
Eventually IBM invented Ultra high frequency RFID which received signals from a distance as far
as 20 feet & relayed information at a higher speed (Saeng, 2020). According to Saeng, this
system was adopted by Walmart & later sold to Intermec. However, it was not widely used due
to its high cost. In 1999, the technology became popular when many organisations joined forces
to found a research center called “Auto ID center” at MIT with the intention of creating the
standard of technology so it could be widely used (Saeng, 2020). Eventually the RFID systems
were connected to the internet which permitted the detection of shipment & stock status
changes instantaneously.(Saeng 2020)
USE OF RFID WORLDWIDE CURRENTLY:
According to a research paper by Masum et al.(2013) many countries have made use of the
RFID technology in various ways:
1. Health care: Mexico’s health insurance card has integrated RFID which provides
information about the user identity, doctors & prescribed drugs.Medical centres in Korea
use RFID too.
2. Airports: Denmark, Netherlands, USA & UK use biometric e passports which rely on RFID
technology.
3. Transport: In Singapore, RFID tags replaced paper parking tickets & have RFID based
Nation wide electronic road pricing.
4. Education: “RFID technology is used in Denmark, Germany, Singapore, Netherlands & the
US implementing lending systems in libraries.”
Technavio(2015) states that the top 3 companies that are expected to fuel the RFID market are:
Alien technology, Avery Dennison & Checkpoint Systems.
As far as Bangladesh is concerned;
“A little area of both the private & public sectors are driving the RFID market in Bangladesh.
Deltech Ltd., a global RFID solution provider has already helped several organizations implement
RFID. According to Mr. Delwar Hossain, founder of Deltech, hands-free access control &
employee-tracking systems, as well as asset management are the most popular applications
businesses are asking for. The Bangladesh Army also plans to employ this technology to
track soldiers & visitors entering its Dhaka Cantonment as well as track retail purchases... US
retailers like Target, Wal-Mart, etc. are major buyers of Bangladesh’s garment products. Since
Wal-Mart has already announced its plans to require the majority of their suppliers to implement
RFID based tracking systems, the Bangladeshi exporters have no choice rather to implement
RFID technology to survive in the world market.” (Masum et al.,2013)
However, there are challenges that Bangladesh has to overcome in order to implement RFID
systems for such applications. Masum et al.(2013) outlines them as follows:
Lack of management adherence, shortage of existing skilled resources, lessened privacy &
security & change in business processes which owners may not recognise to be fruitful.
Nevertheless, the authors also provided some insight on overcoming these challenges such as
educating the future generations, designing deactivatable tags so that security & privacy is not
compromised and not underestimating the need for change in business processes.
FUTURE OF RFID
The Lowry Solutions, (n.d) states that development of 3D printing will allow companies to print
RFID tags directly into the product and their websites, hence eliminating the need for chips.
More efficient antennas will be developed, hence lengthening the range of the system.
However speculations remain that RFID may eventually be replaced by BLE (Bluetooth low
energy)(MH&L,2017) since it does not require any hardware, cost effective and easier to
implement(Asset Infinity,n.d.) Regardless of the future, we can agree that the evolution of RFID
has revolutionised many industries worldwide.
References:
1. Pampapati,KP.,Dhanamjaya,D.(2014,April).RFID TECHNOLOGY IN HANDLING OF
INFORMATION AND LIBRARIES.Research
Gate.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270896791_CHALLENGES_DRAWBACK
S_AND_BEST_PRACTICES_OF_RFID_TECHNOLOGY_IN_HANDLING_OF_INFORMATION_
AND_LIBRARIES
2. AB&R.(n.d.).What is RFID and How does RFID
work?Abr.https://www.abr.com/what-is-rfid-how-does-rfid-work/
3. Goldberg,AG.(2020,November5).The History of RFID. LABTAG
BLOG.https://blog.labtag.com/the-history-of-rfid/
4. Saeng,SS.(2019,March28).The History of RFID Technology over the past 80 years.Micro
Tracking Macro
Insights.https://medium.com/micro-tracking-macro-insights/the-history-of-rfid-technolo
gy-over-the-past-80-years-1f7f69dc0ccb
5. Masum, AKMM.,Bhuiyan,FB., & Azam,KGA.(2013, January).RFID Applications: Prospects
and Challenges in Bangladesh.Research Gate.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276492852_RFID_Applications_Prospects_an
d_Challenges_in_Bangladesh
6. Technavio.(2015,October 22).Top Companies in Retail RFID
Market.https://blog.technavio.com/blog/top-companies-retail-rfid-market
7. What Is The Future Of RFID Technology.(n.d.). Lowry Solutions.
https://lowrysolutions.com/blog/what-is-the-future-of-rfid-technology/
8. Next-Gen Asset Tracking Technology could replace RFID in coming years. (2017,
December 28).MH&L
news.https://www.mhlnews.com/technology-automation/article/22054768/nextgen-ass
et-tracking-technology-could-replace-rfid-in-coming-years
9. RFID vs BLE: How are they different in terms of Asset Tracking.(n.d).Asset
Infinity.https://www.assetinfinity.com/blog/rfid-vs-ble-how-are-they-different-in-terms-ofasset-tracking