[Wireless Technology to Transform the World] Part 2, The long-distance runner of wireless technology: ‘RFID’

Welcome back to our corner on world-changing wireless communication technologies. This time we’ll take a look at RFID, which has helped to usher in the heyday of wireless technology. RFID has its roots in the ‘IFF’ (Identification Friend or Foe) devices developed in England in 1939. These devices were attached to warplanes during World War II to identify friendly aircraft from hostile ones. The core of RFID technology is the RFID tag. Early on, these tags were large and expensive, limiting the commercial use of the technology. But advances in semiconductor-based integrated circuit (IC) chip technology resulted in smaller and more high-performance RFID tags, and vastly expanded the technology’s applications. Now RFID is an integral part of our daily lives. Moving and distant objects? Not a problem! How RFID works

RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) works much like a bar code, using wireless frequencies to recognize objects or people. While a bar code uses light, RFID uses radio waves to read tags, even from far away. Use of radio waves means RFID is able to read data from a distance without direct contact and also identify objects moving at high speeds. In fact, the technology can even recognize objects through obstacles. An RFID system consists of an RFID tag carrying unique identifier data, an antenna for data receiving and transmission, a reader that reads tag data, and a host which manages the distributed reader system. An RFID incorporates an IC chip containing data and an antenna which transmits data to a reader. The RFID tag and reader exchange data through the antenna, and the data that is read is managed at the host. Let’s take a closer look at Hi-Pass, an RFID-based pay-as-you-go highway toll collection system we’re all familiar with in Korea. The Hi-Pass device attached to your car is the RFID tag, and the reader is positioned above the car on the tollgate. As the vehicle passes through the tollgate, the reader sends a radio signal to the Hi-Pass device (RFID tag) in your car. The Hi-Pass device reacts to this radio signal and sends the data containing information on the vehicle back to the antenna. The antenna converts the data into a digital signal and passes it onto the reader, and the reader decrypts the data and passes it onto the host computer. RFID and NFC: what’s the difference?

NFC (Near Field Communication) is an electromagnetic induction-based near field wireless communication technology that works in a way similar to RFID. But strictly speaking, the two technologies are very different in their applications. The most obvious difference is in ‘range’. NFC works at a fixed frequency of 13.56MHz, giving it a relatively short range of only up to 10cm. RFID, on the other hand, can work up to distances of 100m depending on the frequency and communication method used. RFID is categorizes into different types (LFID, HFID, UHFID) depending on the frequency band used. The higher the frequency, the faster the data transmission speeds. Also, while in an RFID system the reader and tag are separate, data read and write functions are integrated into an NFC system. This does away with the need for a separate reader. The advantage of RFID is long-range communication capability, while NFC supports encryption and provides a high level of security. Due to these differences, NFC is more commonly used on personal mobile devices, while RFID is used not only for personal applications but also in industry, such as logistics. Convenience and efficiency at once: RFID applications

RFID applications are commonly found in the world around us. As we mentioned before, Hi-Pass uses the technology to control the flow of traffic. RFID works with fast-moving objects and can pass through various materials, allowing for systems to accurately recognize your vehicle and collect highway tolls. The bus cards we use daily are also based on the RFID principle. The bus cards functions as the tag, and the sensor we tag with our cards functions as the reader, making it possible for us to pay our bus or subway fares conveniently. RFID is also present in real-time bus arrival information systems and store anti-theft systems, which are triggered if a tag is removed from the premises of a store. All these applications make our lives easy and convenient. RFID has found its way into various industrial applications as well, making for highly efficient systems. A notable area where RFID shines is logistics management. By attaching RFID tags to products stored in logistics centers, readers can be used to check sales, receipts, releases, and inventory in real-time. Products can be traced all the way from the center to store to customer. This makes for faster processing speeds and lower management costs, vastly improving system efficiency. Recently, RFID technology has found a new application in ‘pay-as-you-go food waste disposal’. Each household in an apartment complex only pays for processing of the food waste it throws away. A food waste collection bin equipped with an RFID reader is tagged with an RFID card issued to each household, which measures the weight of food waste discarded. This data is transmitted to a management system for individual billing based on the weight of food waste discarded by each household per month. Weight-based billing (KRW 37.5 per kg) has helped to reduce food waste, and RFID technology allows for effective system management. We’ve explored the story of RFID, which has brought wireless radio technologies into full bloom. RFID is both streamlining our everyday lives and boosting the efficiency of various systems. Stay tuned for more Wireless Technology to Transform the World! See Related Content [Wireless Technology to Transform the World] Part 1, Harald, the blue-toothed king