Table of Contents [I] INTRODUCTION [2] THE BEGINNING [3] RFID FOR DUMMIES [4] RFID vs BAR CODE [5] WARFIGHTERS & RFID [6] EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF RFID [7] SYSTEM TOPOLOGY [8] FIVE PHASES OF RFID EVOLUTION [9] STANDARDS [10] SUCCESS STORIES [11] FUTURE TRENDS

INTRODUCTION - Revised 2010

Originally written in 2004, sections of this RFID Handbook have been updated over the years to maintain current content. Looking back with the benbefit of hindsight, I can see real substantial interest began in October 2004 with abcNews presentation on Pfizer's RFID tagging of Viagra.

Other media presence continued to build interest in RFID with stories on:

• Mad Cow disease: RFID to the rescue
• RFID tags implanted in the Human Body
• Homeland Security's need for rapid and cost effective container inspection at US ports
• Interoperability standards by ISO

Mandates by Walmart and DOD are fueling product development and innovation. At this year's 2010 RFID trade show many vendor's announced valuable enhancements to the core technology. Since 2004, I have dreamed and written about the killer application. Be certain to read my chapter on Future Trends to learn about the ultimate killer application for RFID.


I have many contributors to thank for this work. In my RFID Certification text book, I take several pages to offer specific credits which I will not repeat here; execept to say as a result of their help the accuracy of this work should be exceedingly good. If there are mistakes or statements taken out of context I am the person responsible. Tell me and I will fix it. For that you will have my eternal gratitude and receive satisfaction in knowing you made something better.

Although this work is free, it would be appreciated if you offer feedback on which chapter was the most and least interesting. What topic was explained the best and the worst. With these comments, I'll revise the book to make it a better resource for the RFID community.

I hope you enjoy learning about this exciting technology!



Harold Clampitt
May, 2010

harold@americanRFIDsolutions.com

If you liked this information send me an email and I'll add you to my mailing list for future articles.

THE BEGINNING

RFID is built on the scientific discoveries of intellectual giants, such as:

• Michael Faraday: in 1846 identified that both light and radio waves are part of electromagnetic energy.
• James Maxwell: in 1864 propounded his theory that electric and magnetic energy travel in transverse waves at the speed of light.
• Heinrich Hertz: in 1887 proved Maxwell's theory and showed that radio waves may be reflected, refracted, and polarized like light.
• Guglielmo Marconi: in 1899 demonstrated long distance transmission of radio waves between France and England, across the English Channel.

It may be stated by the historians in the crowd that RFID was derived from the work of the Radar Engineers in the early 1920s. Here's why: Radar sends out radio waves for detecting and locating an object by cleverly decoding the reflection of the "bounced back" radio waves. A technique that RFID exploits by sending radio signals to the Tag and receiving the reflected radio wave at the Reader. Cheers to radar for providing the practical foundation on how to use radio waves traveling at the speed of light for identifying objects.

Birth of an Idea
Perhaps the first recognized formal paper related to RFID was by Harry Stockman and titled "Communication by Means of Reflected Power", proceedings of the IRE, pp1196-1204, October 1948. Many historians consider the use of radio waves in WWII to identify friend or foe aircraft as the first application of RFID.

It is significant to recognize the parallels in development time between RFID and another successful radio technology - Cellular Telephones. The gestation period for cellular telephone was 45-55 years until large scale success was achieved. Consequently, the timing for RFID's recent success seems appropriate assuming history repeats itself.

Like Cellular, collaborating technology was needed before RFID could hit the Big Time! We had to wait for the technology chain to deliver key links such as: the transistor, integrated circuit, microprocessor and high yield IC fabrication plants. These ingredients made the cost/benefits attractive for applications.

RFID Becomes Reality
Electronic article surveillance to counter theft in retail stores is a prime example of early commercial use of RFID technology. Sensormatic and Checkpoint were founded in the late 1960s to offer this solution. Since then an entire industry has been created for this purpose.

Future vertical applications, such as EZ Pass for toll collecting, trace back to the RCA patent of an Electronic License Plate for motor vehicles in 1977. Almost a decade passed until RFID toll collecting was realized in the Dallas North Turnpike in 1989.

From these early starts RFID has expanded into new markets for tracking, logistics, counterfeit protection, supply chain management, airport luggage handling, silent commerce, etc. Now it is gaining momentum and large amounts of capital are being invested in this sector. Every day I learn about more useful applications.

RFID FOR DUMMIES

Radio Frequency identification - RFid, the technology of tomorrow, is here today. In fact, billions of tags (circa 5/2010) are in use worldwide, yielding benefits from livestock tracking to vehicle immobilization. This is such a huge number that it makes one question calling RFID an emerging technology.

At its most basic level, it identifies unique objects, processes, transactions or events. RFID does this by using a burst of radio waves to move information. It is possible to explain RFID using only two basic building blocks - Tag and Reader. Of course, they may be configured in sophisticated ways to create large networks capable of staggering data flows.

A unique serial number is stored on a microchip that is the size of the period at the end of this sentence. A tiny antenna is also attached to the microchip. Together, the chip and antenna are called a tag. Typical tags range in size from a stamp to a credit card. The built-in antenna allows the tag to receive information from a device called a reader. Reader(s) and tags transmit information over the air using radio waves. The reader then converts the radio waves from the tag into digital information that's forwarded to a down stream computer.

Let's get started by learning more about TAGS...

...RFID systems include electronic devices called tags (aka transponders) which minimally consist of a microchip, memory and an antenna. Microchips are the brains for the Tags. Information which is sent or received from the radio waves is then stored or recalled from the tag's memory. The antenna has only one task to do; however, that task has a specific direction. It handles communication from either the Tag to the Reader or from the Reader to the Tag. Think of the antenna as a language translator converting digital data into analog (aka radio wave energy) or vice-versa.

Q. Do you know why radio wave energy is so advantageous for transmitting information?

A. Several big advantages of radio waves are their ability to penetrate surfaces at amazing speed. A radio wave travels around the earth 7 times in one second making it a very cost effective and capable of moving information.

In every installation the radio waves travel in an infinite number of differetn path and each will vary in strength. The antenna's ability to deal with this variance is dependent on the engineering parameters of its design plus environmental factors of sending signals through walls vs. open space. Also any nearby interfering radio signal(s) may jam or degrade the desired signal. If the signal strength is either too weak or unreadable due to interference, the receiver can no longer decode infromation from the radio waves. Because of these factors the radio link is the critical design factor for a reliable system.

A Tag physically attaches to something thereby allowing its location, condition or status to be tracked via information sent using radio waves. Decoding of a Tag occurs when it enters the READER's antenna read zone. By definition, we define a read zone as the sweet spot of the antenna where radio waves may be sent and received in such a way that reliable communications take place between the Tag and the Reader. To further harden the communications on the radio link clever algorithms are able to resend or even repair damaged information.

RFID tags come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes and forms but have common attributes, such as: low-energy transmit and receive antennas, data storage and operating circuitry. Tags come with and without batteries, they can be read only or read/write. Typically, tags without batteries (passive) are smaller and lighter than those that are active (with batteries), and less expensive.

When multiple tags are present in the antenna's sweet spot the Reader uses special algorithms to handle collission and arbitration. Once data is sent by Tags and captured by the Reader, it is transferred through standard interfaces to a host computer, printer, database or programmable logic controller for storage or action.

Reader electronics maybe stationary, mobile or handheld. They are linked to other software systems that control the flow of data. In some cases the readers must power, engage, download and retransmit data to the tag they encounter. There are many suppliers of these systems, ranging from large semiconductor companies like TI, Motorola, and Philips, down to niche entrepreneurial businesses.

Today, we are migrating from multiple proprietary systems to standards from industry organizations like ISO or EPCglobal. Prices of tags range from 5 cents to $250.00 depending upon features, functionality and volume. We expect the price of passive tags to fall as RFID adoption increases.

It is important to realize that RFID is not just about the hardware, tags and receivers that comprise the physical infrastructure. It is also about the design and velocity of data that an RFID solution creates and streams. Clever integration of this data with your existing business processes can offer a huge payoff. After all, even the best technology is only as good as the process foundation it works from.

RFID vs BAR CODE

To understand RFID's benefits this blog compares its capabilities to an existing industry standard, the Bar Code. Pundits for the technology claim that RFID will eventually replace the bar code. By understanding how RFID compares to bar codes you will gain an appreciation for its potential while learning more about how it works.

Note: Prerequisite - I've assumed you've read my blog titled "RFID for DUMMIES!" So let's jump into the comparison ...

Physical Size
Tags range in size from a postage stamp to a book. The aspect ratio of a Tag's length vs width is very flexible and not a significant factor for the Reader. Bar codes are larger than the smallest tag and very sensitive to the aspect ratio for presentation to a scanner. The ratio of a bar code's length vs width is critical to its operation.

Lifespan
Tags have no moving parts and are embedded in protective material for an indestructible case and multi-year lifespan. Bar Codes have unlimited shelf life but are subject to degradation with handling.

Harsh Environments
Tags may be placed in extreme environments and perform to specification. They are very robust to handling, sensitive to environment, and generally degrade once used, stored or handled in a non-office environment.

Product Codes
Digital data is stored on the Tag and provides for a significant capability to encode:
1) Tag originator
2) User data as needed by the segment or application
3) Serial number as needed by the segment/application
Major vertical markets like Retail have standards which are excellent at coding product type and manufacturer. Additional information beyond these basic parameters is not feasible because the size of the Bar Code becomes too large.

Counterfeiting
Tags are produced with a unique identity code (UIC) or serial number from the manufacturer. This is embedded digitally on the microchip and may not be changed, therefore, making them extremely resistant to counterfeiting. Bar Codes may easily be duplicated and attached to products and are, therefore, easily counterfeited.

Dynamic Updates
Tags may be written to and offer on board memory to retain information. This feature may be used to store a product calibration history, preventive maintenance, etc. Updates may be made within the blink of an eye and automatically without human intervention. Once a Bar Code is printed it remains frozen. The Code and the process of attaching the BC is not supportive of real time updates. It is a labor intensive process to update any information on a BC once printed.

Traceable
The combination of UIC (unique identification code), user data, serial number and on-board memory makes it possible to track, recall, or document the life span of a single item. For example, with livestock this means that the birthplace of the animal, its vaccine history, feed lots, slaughter house, processor, etc may all be tracked. This kind of information supports a complete pedigree for an item attached to the Tag. BC is limited to an entire class of products and unable to drill down to a unique item. It is not feasible to recall, track or document a single item.

Scanning
RFID - Offers a range from inches to hundreds of feet and does not require line of sight. This means that individual Tags placed within a carton, packed in a box and stored on a pallet may be read. You do not have to open each box and present the individual item.
BC - Offers a range over inches and requires line of sight to read the code. The Bar Code must be presented to the scanner in an orientation and distance that is very limited. Individual reading requires that each box on a pallet be opened and the item pulled for presentation to the scanner.

Simultaneous Scanning
RFID - Standards have algorithms to support simultaneous reading of Tags at one time.
BC - Limited to one bar code at a time. Unable to support simultaneous reads.

Cost
High volume Tags are currently 25 cents each with the potential to continue to drop per the experience curve. High volume bar codes are less then a penny. This is a clear advantage for BC unless you expand cost to be fully loaded. In this scenario the labor savings from items like physical counts, etc. give RFID greater feasibility.

Reusable
RFID - Yes
BC - No

What jumps out from this comparison is RFID's capability to greatly amplify the benefits received from traditional bar coding. By eliminating the manual task of reading a bar code, RFID automates data entry. This permits new ways of processing items, events or transactions.

WARFIGHTERS & RFID

Importance of Logistics

Military logistics are the art of placing the right material at the right time in the right condition for the right warfighter. Obviously, the performance of this task affects the preservation or destruction of life. History provides many examples where logistics acted as the Achilles heel. Perhaps we may be so bold as to claim logistics as the only common factor across all theaters of operations for the execution of any and all military goals. If we accept that truth, or even some watered down version, it quickly becomes clear that improving logistics amplifies military success and saves warfighter lives.

With so much to gain, our search for improvement turns to technology for leverage in speed, handling, storage, shrinkage and asset tracking, etc. If we are to be a leader in warfighter logistics then we must manage our resources and our time so as to ensure performance in these areas plus real time visibility. In that regard, radio frequency identification has been chosen by the Department of Defense as the technology of choice to enhance logistics.

Warfighter Policy on RFID

Mr. Michael Wynne, Acting Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics), announced a new policy on July 30, 2004 for the use of radio frequency identification within the Department of Defense (DoD). It is the stated goal of the DoD to use “RFID to enable hands-off processing of materiel transactions, allowing the DoD to re-apportion critical manpower resources to warfighting functions and to streamline business process.”

To signal the priority of this effort the DoD has stated that they will be an early adopter of passive RFID tags. Since then they have worked with Savi Technologies to leverage active tags.  Thankfully this has been turned into a standard allowing other non-Savi companies to go after this busienss.

DoD Courts Supplier Community

DoD is executing a systematic campaign to facilitate the adoption of RFID by offering the following resources to its supplier community:

Hosting industry meetings to discuss RFID issues. The Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Supply Chain Integration) regularly schedules public meetings to clarify and answer questions on DoD RFID Policy.

Publish military specifications. MIL-STD-129P with change 3 provides the minimum requirements for uniform military marking for shipment and storage. RFID tags are covered by this specification since “marking” is defined as “the application of numbers, letters, labels, tags, symbols, or colors to provide identification and to expedite handling during shipment and storage”.

Policy statements which help vendors interpret DoD’s view of the RFID landscape. In July 2004, DoD issued a policy requiring passive RFID tagging at the case, pallet and the item packaging (unit pack) level for all new solicitations issued on or after October 1st, 2004 for delivery of material on or after January 1st, 2005. There is a list of exempt items which excludes RFID tags on bulk items such as sand, liquids, concrete, coal and wood. Munitions and explosives are a special case where tags will not be deployed until electromagnetic testing proves there is no risk for unplanned firing of trigger mechanisms. Obviously a great idea!

Implementation plan which may be downloaded from http://www.DoDrfid.org/supplierimplementationplan.htm.

DoD Supplier Passive RFID Information Guide (August 31, 2004).

Web site encompassing all relevant information at http://www.dodrfid.org/

What does all this mean to RFID procurement by the DOD?
With over 40,000 vendors and global operations, the DoD faces geographical, language and time zone barriers. In addition to these daunting factors, we have the technology risks that an early adopter faces for stability, availability and performance. To balance the risks vs. rewards the use of RFID will be phased in. And in all cases traditional labeling requirements like that of bar code will not be eliminated due to this initiative.

DoD’s Initial UHF RFID Roll-out
Strategy and tactics of this roll-out will be cleverly specified. In the beginning, RFID tags will only be required on a subset of DoD purchases starting with classes of supply covering:

Class I Subclass – Packaged Operational Rations
Class II – Clothing, Individual Equipment, and Tools.
Class VI – Personal Demand Items
Class IX – Weapon Systems Repair Parts & Components

Requirements for tags on these items will be on all individual cases, all cases packaged within palletized unit loads, and all palletized unit loads: And only when these commodities are shipped to the following locations:
Defense Distribution Depot, Susquehanna, PA (DDSP)
Defense Distribution Depot, San Joaquin, CA (DDJC)

Summary Over the next few years the DoD will expand the classes of supply and the locations for shipments. Ultimately RFID will become a monolithic layer in the logistics system. Passive tags will have a ubiquitous presence and this will optimize their stability, availability and performance. All of the original factors that lead to a phased approach in the first place.

EINSTEIN'S THEORY OF RFID



RFID is based on a chain of scientific laws, discoveries and principles from intellectual pioneers such as: Faraday, Maxwell, Hertz and Marconi. To truly understand this technology one needs to fathom such fields as radio, physics, software and the internet. All told, a very complicated collaboration of technologies is involved in making this modern wonder come to life. Sadly, a complete understanding of RFID is only attainable for the "Einstein's" in our midst. For the remaining mere mortals we have to suffice with a general understanding or a specialized knowledge of a few facets of this powerful technology. This chapter provides a generalist view with an emphasis on core knowledge in the realm of radio.

Electromagnetic Waves
Radio Frequency Identification is a way of storing and retrieving data through electromagnetic transmission to an RF compatible electronic circuit. A sample abstract from one of the early patents (US PN 3,745,569 circa 1971) hints at the complexity hiding under the surface of RFID:
"A transponder having a circuit for the extraction of power from an incident interrogating beam of electromagnetic energy, the extracted power being utilized to operate a digital coding circuit. The transponder further comprises an oscillator circuit for developing a train of pulses of electromagnetic energy with successive pulses occurring in a coded format in accordance with a digital code imparted by the digital coding circuit. The transponder is of sufficiently small size to be affixed in the form of a tag to automobiles, personnel, containers, and other objects to be identified. The electronic tag communicates with an interrogation system."

To really understand RFID from first principles we must discuss the science of Radio.
All radio transmissions use electromagnetic waves that are created when alternating currents flow through an antenna. The word electromagnetic is the concatenation of electric and magnetic and implies two types of linked phenomenon make up the radio wave. We cannot directly see, taste, touch or hear electromagnetic waves, so it is not surprising that their operation is mystifying.

Let's try and understand this better.

First, electric fields are created by differences in voltage. A simple relationship governs this: the higher the voltage, the stronger the field. Second, magnetic fields are created when current flows. Again a simple relationship governs this: the greater the current, the stronger the magnetic field. To quickly recap: Electric fields exist even when current is not flowing whereas Magnetic fields only exist when current is flowing. When the two exist together they are commonly referred to as Electromagnetic Fields (EMF).
EMF is present everywhere in our lives but they are invisible to the eye. Natural sources like the earth's magnetic field cause a compass needle to orient in a North-South direction. Besides these natural sources the electromagnetic spectrum also includes fields generated by man-made sources such as: X-rays and garage door openers. Various other kinds of higher frequency electromagnetic waves are used for radio transmissions in TV, AM or FM radio, cellular and RFID, to name a few.

Frequency Spectrum
In all these applications the power and variance of the electromagnetic fields are vital to their intended operation. An important concept associated with EMF is frequency. Let us imagine an ocean with a series of very regular waves. The frequency simply describes the number of waves per second that crest at the same point in the ocean. Geeks describe this as the oscillations or cycles per second at a static point of measurement. The term wavelength describes the distance between the crest of one wave and the next. Hence wavelength and frequency are correlated: the higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength. To translate this to radio waves imagine the ocean waves traveling at an enormous speed, the speed of light which is 186,000 miles per second.

Another simple analogy should help reinforce the concept. Tie a long rope to a door handle and keep hold of the free end. Moving it up and then down slowly will generate a single big wave; more rapid motion will generate a series of smaller waves. Rope length is constant; therefore, as you create more waves you are increasing the frequency while making them shorter in distance (wavelength).
Frequency is commonly known as Hertz in honor of radio pioneer, Heinrich Hertz. One cycle per second is 1 Hertz. The frequency of oscillations ranges from 1 Hertz to infinity and this entire range is known as the Frequency Spectrum. Common units are kiloHertz (which is one thousand Hertz, 1 kHz), megaHertz (one million Hertz, 1 MHz), gigaHertz (one billion Hertz, 1 GHz) or teraHertz (one trillion Hertz, 1 THz). Finally, a new unit which is way more then you know what to do with will be known as GatesHertz in honor of Bill Gates.

Frequency Spectrum is viewed as an important resource. Legal and political governing bodies generate complicated rules and regulations to coordinate its use. Specific frequencies are reserved for RFID use.

Currently they are:
LF (low frequency): 125kHz, 134 kHz
HF (high frequency): 13.56 MHz
UHF (ultra high frequency): 868 MHz-Europe, 902 to 928 MHz - USA
Microwave: 2.45 GHz

Electromagnetic fields are generated and received by the antenna. The antenna is designed to radiate energy out into free space and collect radio energy from space. It is important to recognize that in doing this job the antenna is the most important part of the radio system – without it the system is dead. Since the antenna system is common to both the transmitter and the receiver; any change in the antenna affects both transmission and reception.

Antenna & Wave Propagation
We have learned that the antenna changes radio energy from the transmission line into radiated energy and vice versa. What is remarkable is the efficiency with which an antenna does its job. A light bulb is about 20% efficient in changing electrical energy into light whereas the antenna is nearly 100%. We may break down the antenna's operation into two fundamental modes of wireless communications:

• Near Field Communications aka close proximity electromagnetic aka inductive coupling
• Far Field Communications aka propagating electromagnetic waves

In either mode antennas have optimal sizes that relate to the frequency of the signal. Basically, the higher frequencies require smaller antennas due to their shorter wavelengths.

Because the sizes of wavelengths vary, radio signals propagate differently through free space. Some are well suited to short ranges while others are good for transmissions involving very long distances. Typically, the higher the frequency, the shorter the distances the signal will travel. The strength of the radio signal diminishes rapidly as it moves away from the transmitter antenna.

Far field radiation is distinguished by the fact that the intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. In reality, due to obstructions, absorption, and interference the loss is more severe, approaching the inverse of the 5 or 6th power of the distance. Whereas Near field radiation intensity is inversely proportional to the cube of the distance in the region that is less then 1/6 wavelength from a simple loop antenna. (For additional reference see: Principles of Antenna Theory by Kai Fong Lee page 231 and the ARRL Antenna Book pg 2-8 and TI Literature Number 11-08-26-003). In general, this means that near field signals drop off faster then far field as you move away from the antenna.

Obviously the radio link is extremely complicated and requires considerable engineering to achieve 100% read rates. Realize that the energy level to write a tag is greater than reading, therefore, the write range is shorter than the read range.

Modulation & Handshaking
Once we have the radio engineering link operational we may consider how it transports information from one location to another. In a sense, the waves are like an endless line of UPS trucks capable of moving things; however, they are only valuable when they are filled with stuff. The frequency of the radio wave providing the transport is known as the carrier frequency. The information to be carried is mixed with this frequency by a process known as modulation.

Modulation is necessary because the intelligence of the signal, voice or data, is usually a much lower frequency then the carrier and therefore not effectively radiated into space.

Using what we have learned in this chapter we may now describe a typical transmitting sequence for a generic tag-antenna-reader system. Let us start with the greeting. When you meet someone you usually shake their hand. An analogous situation occurs in electronics with a system handshake. The typical handshake for a passive tag is as follows:

• Reader looks for modulation of its radio frequency sine wave to indicate the presence of a tag.
• When a tag's antenna captures the EMF generated by the reader's antenna it initiates a process to respond with a data stream encoded in the carrier.

With a successful handshake the system begins the transmission of information as follows:

• The tag typically starts clocking its data messages against an output transistor, which is connected across coil inputs. In this case the radio link behaves like a transformer where the tag is the primary coil and the reader is the secondary coil.
• As the tag's output transistor shunts the coil, it effectively modulates the carrier to experience a momentarily voltage drop. This pattern of voltage drops corresponds to the information to be sent from the tag to the reader.
• The reader must detect these small voltage drops which represent the modulation. This requires a reader sensitivity that is able to discern 1/1000 of a change from the original carrier wave's amplitude.

By constantly monitoring these voltage drops the reader detects and decodes a bit stream according to the governing modulation method. To further complicate things, the modulation scheme also uses algorithms to fix errors, reduce bandwidth, perform synchronization and other system needs.

Besides these basic tasks the system needs to handle collision avoidance during the simultaneous reading of several tags in the same radio frequency field. In this case the tag and reader must be intelligent enough to detect that more then one tag is present. Failure to recognize this condition leads to all the tags modulating the carrier frequency at the same time and these multiple waveforms arrive at the reader to create a garbled signal. This is referred to as a collision. No data would be transferred to the reader when this happens.

This is like the problem of having an uncoordinated telephone conversation with three people. If everyone talks at once it is impossible to understand the conversation. Some order to the communications will allow everyone to speak and be understood. Similarly, the RFID radio interface requires arbitration so that only one tag transmits data at a time.

While it is possible to transmit all the data from the tag to the reader via amplitude modulation, the practical modulation of data is enhanced by the following methods:

• FSK - frequency shift keying: two different frequencies are used for data transfer. A zero is transmitted as an amplitude modulated clock signal with a different frequency while a one is sent on another amplitude modulated frequency.
• PSK - phase shift keying: similar to FSK except only one frequency is used and the shift between 1's and 0 is accomplished by shifting the peak and trough of the wave forms.

These factors make the air interface the most complicated component of system design. In other words, the radio channel is the weakest link in the system and typically requires an engineered to fit solution.

SYSTEM TOPOLOGY

RFID is a scalable system. In its minimalist configuration the micro-topology requires just four sub-systems, as follows:

1. Tag
2. Reader
3. Air Interface
4. Computer Communication and Control

The most demanding macro-topology involves pervasive tagging where sophisticated Readers are simultaneously interrogating multiple tags in a dynamic environment. In this scenario, anti collision algorithms are required in addition to data handling processes for large velocity data streams.

FIVE PHASES OF RFID EVOLUTION

The way I see it, there are five phases for the evolution of the RFID revolution. They have a sequence which is governed by the invisible hand. The same invisible hand described by Adam Smith who stated that every individual "by pursuing his own interest frequently promotes that of the society more effectively than when he really intends to promote it." In this regard we have the self governing interests of researchers and business collaborating to offer a vertical solution that changes the power of the internet while simulatneously advancing communications progress form the last mile to the last inch.

Entry Phase
Driven by early adaptors who are motivated to gain an advantage in executing their business model. Projects in this stage are closed loop dealing with intra-company business practices and require significant NRE (non-recurring engineering) budgets. Integration complexity is minimized in the scope of work. Although reducing technology risk is a good thing, it comes at the expense of lowering the scope and strategic power to the organization. Think of this phase as putting your toe in the water to test the temperature to see if you want to jump in; however, you have to build the pool first! Placing this bet is non-trivial and only certain high pay-off applications will be able to justify the ante for this wager.

Second Phase
Scope of work and strategic power to the organization is increased. Successful projects endorse and apply standards to increase reliability while incurring a reasonable expense for NRE. Downstream benefits of this stage are scalability and repeatability. The RFID landscape is not fully integrated into the enterprise and represents an intra-company island of automation. Data exporting and importing capabilities improve decision making. Customers experience the impact of the volume and velocity of RFID information and realize they need to seriously address the data warehousing issues lurking below the surface. Tags and Readers are the tip of the iceberg while data is the huge mass below.

Industry standards begin to allow for limited plug and play combinations amongst major RFID infrastructure vendors. Clear and proven standards are not available thereby still requiring large NRE budgets for a project to succeed. Individual standards progress with new and improved releases.

Third Phase
Benefits increase in a few key areas of RFID. First, plug and play capability amongst dominant vendors is available. This drives down NRE making it feasible for wide scale adoption of RFID technology into the enterprise. Second, integration with ERP and other systems is rapidly growing due to off the shelf modules which allow systems to talk to each other and harness the RFID information. Third, real time data flow within the enterprise yields improvements in business practices. Consequently the scope and strategic power of RFID within the organization blossoms.

The Fourth
This phase Differentiates itself by taking RFID outside of the enterprise for large scale integration with secure external entities. Again, this is easily done because infrastructure standards are sufficiently homogeneous with adequate touch-points for integration amongst different corporate applications. Paying heed to the sage advice that time is money ~ RFID connectivity is now streamlined, reliable and offers reasonable risk in terms of project timeframes and budget over-runs. Non-recurring engineering is limited to the air interface for issues like EMI (electromagnetic interference) and achieving 100% read rates. All members within this business space are said to be part of a closed user group (CUG), thereby implying that the CUG's RFID information is not for general public knowledge.

Implementation of the CUG is typically performed in two distinct ways.

The first approach is to increase the number of RFID nodes in the network by sharing raw RFID data within the CUG. In this case RFID information is expanded from internal enterprise stake-holders to CUG members. When RFID information is shared beyond the traditional corporate border it grows in value because of its real time access via the WAN (Wide Area Network).

The second approach focuses on niche applications for RFID which form a vertical integration along a distribution channel, value add chain or specific product line. Corporate borders are ignored while real time sharing of information amongst members is done via a WAN.

The Fifth Phase
Expands on the closed user group with the addition of pervasive tagging and ad-hoc applets anywhere the tags are present. Intra-company and Inter-company applications flourish. Industry trade-groups exist to maintain global databases for access to the public. This requires infrastructure to create and maintain a universal database and a public WAN (very similar to the 411 directory service offering nation wide telephone numbers for users).

RFID science has grown feature rich with cost reduction. The power of networked RFID nodes is realized and provides attractive ROI. Billionaire rebel Sir Richard Branson invests in a new company aptly titled Virgin RFID thereby proving RFID has safe tagging.

We have achieved the benefits of Hal's Law, stated as follows:

Hal's Law
"The COST of a TAG is inversely related to the square root of the number of networked READERS while the VALUE of a TAG increases every time a READER is networked."

STANDARDS

You may judge the success of a technology by the number of standards created to harness its capability. RFID remains true to this trend! Considerable activity is inderway to create and enhance open standards for RFID such as:

RFID Standards are being adopted and agreed upon, as follows:
ISO 15693 – Smart Labels
ISO 14443 – Contactless payments
ISO 11784 – Livestock
ISO 18000 - Air interface protocol
UCC and EPCglobal
EPC – Class 0, Class 1, Class 1 - version 2, Class 2
Additional detail on ISO RFID STANDARDS:
Air Interface Standard for Item Management

• ISO/IEC 18000-2 LF nominally 132kHz
• ISO/IEC 18000-3 HF 13.56 MHz
• ISO/IEC 18000-4 2.45GHz
• ISO/IEC 18000-6 860 – 960 MHz *
• ISO/IEC 18000-7 433 MHz *

Other ISO conformance standards: 18047-2, 18047-3 and 18047-4. Note 18000-5 and consequently 18047-5 do not exist. There is no 18047-1, as the corresponding part 18000-1 does not specify an air interface. There is another RFID standard for elementary tags 24710. EPCglobal has submitted UHFC1G2 to ISO for consideration as 18000 Part 6 Type C, and this will be discussed by ISO (circa Jan 2005). 18000-6 currently has two types, Type A and Type B **.
Data Syntax Standard (overarching) for RFID

• ISO/IEC 15961
• ISO/IEC 15962
• ISO/IEC 15963
• ISO/IEC 15434 (for data syntax)

RFID performance standard

• ISO/IEC 18046

RFID conformance standards

• ISO/IEC 18047-6
• ISO/IEC 18047-7

Evolving application standards

• ISO 17363 - Supply chain applications of RFID - Freight containers
• ISO 17364 - Supply chain applications of RFID - Returnable transport items
• ISO 17365 - Supply chain applications of RFID - Transport units
• ISO 17366 - Supply chain applications of RFID - Product packaging
• ISO 17367 - Supply chain applications of RFID - Product tagging

EPCglobal and WorldEPCglobal**
Working on many standards, not just air interface ones. EPCglobal have established a number of action groups. The Hardware Action Group, has one sub-working group to define the air interface for C1G2 (Class 1 Generation 2, [as noted above submitted to ISO]). It is also defining a conformance document. The Software Action Group has 8 sub-working groups, defining reader interfaces, filters, security, etc. The Business Action Group has many sub-working groups.
Footnotes:
* ISO/IEC 18000, Part 6 (860 - 960 MHz) and ISO/IEC 18000, Part 7 (433 MHz) were approved as ISO standards on 28 June 2004; per Chris Turner via blog feedback.
** per Alfio Grasso: Research Associate Auto ID Laboratory, ADELAIDEC/- School of Electrical and Electronic EngineeringUniversity of AdelaideNorth Terrace ADELAIDE, SA 5005 AUSTRALIA

SUCCESS STORIES
Note: Examples from Texas Instruments Customers.
Warehouse Picking and Sorting System Sanacorp is a German pharmaceutical wholesaler with 15 regional distribution centers serving 6,000 retail drugstores. Each warehouse stocks an average of 80,000 products.
The company has a service standard to pick and prepare for delivery every customer order within one hour from receiving a phone call/fax from an individual drugstore. Since pharmaceutical product prices are set by government regulation in Germany , this company has chosen service as a competitive differentiator.

Each warehouse contains a conveyor system from start of picking to dispatch upon which 6,000 totes are traveling in the process of putting together orders. A central database coordinates all processes. Each plastic tote represents a unique order.
The company tried barcode but experienced a 1% error rate which meant that totes were ID'd incorrectly. This led to delays and even incorrect delivery of orders.
An RFID tag is welded to the bottom of each tote. It is a read only tag with 64 bits of data that represent unique ID numbers. Antennas are located under the conveyor belt at pick locations. When an order is initiated, the unique ID of the tote is associated with that specific order in the database, and sent on its fulfillment route.
The ID code indicates stop or go, tracks orders, and detects bottlenecks.
The benefits that Sanacorp received included:
• Routine maintenance decreased dramatically
• Errors dropped to .01%
• Increase in marketshare during the last 3 years

Beer Barrel Tracking at Uerige Brewery In addition to the big international breweries, in Germany there are many smaller successful breweries who remain competitive through ingenuity. Uerige Brewery is one of these that has put auto ID to work for asset management and supply chain automation.
Barrels are expensive assets of a brewery's business. In this application the barrels each contain an embedded Read/Write tag that uniquely identifies them. The tag's memory is partitioned and can be encoded by individual page with new data along the cycle of travel from factory to customer and back to factory. Data programmed in at the factory would include: lot number, date/time of fill, use/sell by dates, Barrels are handled by several entities such as factory, distributors, pubs.
At various points of dispatch and receipt, date/time are programmed into the tag. Tags can he read by stationary or hand-held readers. Ultimately, each barrel has an audit trail stored in its tag.
The benefits are:
* Barrel loss managed effectively
* Damage to barrels isolated
* Complete automatic records of customer service with automatic generation of invoices

Pierrel-Ospedali is an Italian pharmaceutical company whose medical solution products are highly regulated by the government. One step in the manufacturing process requires that these products be sterilized for a period of time at over 120 degrees C. This process must be carefully controlled and documented. If there is any doubt that the sterilization process was not reliable, then full batches of bottles have to be trashed. Bottles enter the oven (autoclave) mounted on very large steel racks. Each rack is tagged with a transponder so that a rack ID number and time/date stamp can he automatically collected at the beginning and end of the process as the rack travels through the autoclave on a conveyor. Prior to installing this system, this information was collected manually allowing for human error. RFID tags can withstand the harsh environment and high temperature of the autoclave, whereas a bar code label never could. The automation system ensures the delivery of accurate and complete records for government agencies, plus it has freed up 2 to 3 employees in the operation.
RFID Improves Chip Manufacturers Yields
A number of semiconductor companies, like Motorola, SGS Thomson, and Wacker, use RFID in their clean rooms to gain control, improve quality and operator efficiency, and increase equipment use. The need to keep everything antiseptically clean makes the use of RFID ideal, since no hands are needed for accurate data capture.
Losses and production downtime are very costly in the semiconductor industry. For instance, the production per week can be as high as 200 million chips, so any interruption or miss-processing means significant lost revenue.

Production Line Tracking in a Pharmaceutical Plant

In a fab clean room there can be as many as 800 locations where a wafer carrier is moved from one step to the next. On occasion, wafers do get lost by getting attached to the wrong lot. By IDing wafer carriers with an RFID tag, accuracy in processing is greatly improved.
In this application, both wafer carriers (cassettes) and employees have RFID tags (that they wear on their wrists). At every step, both the employee ID number and the carrier's ID number are read and verified by the host system to ensure that the correct process is followed. The production process for each lot is managed by the host system that keeps track of wafer lot, equipment, recipe, and operator. If there is not a match, then a warning signal emits and the equipment cannot be started until the correct lot is in place.
Prior to automation, this tracking had to be done by operators who scanned bar codes or keyed-in ID numbers and access codes. The system also monitors the use of equipment to detect bottlenecks or inefficiencies.

Security Access and Convenience for Express Parcel Couriers
Federal Express, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, is the world's largest express parcel delivery company. FedEx delivers approximately 32 million parcels daily and operates a fleet of more than 42,500 vehicles worldwide.
FedEx couriers have one less thing to keep track of these days, their vehicle keys. The company's couriers use an automatic keyless entry and ignition system that has RFID transponders embedded within a velcro wristband. The system is being tested in 200 FedEx delivery vehicles.
FedEx is constantly looking at ways to streamline their delivery processes. The company's couriers drive millions of miles daily in the U.S. alone, Each time a courier makes a delivery, he/she must spend time searching for keys or use them to lock/unlock multiple doors to their vehicle. If a courier misplaces his keys, he must wait for someone from a FedEx station to bring out a spare, and the vehicle must be re-keyed at a cost of more than $200 per incident.
With RFID, FedEx delivery personnel are freed from the hassles of juggling their keys while carrying armloads of packages and are more productive along their routes. If a wristband is misplaced, its code can be purged from the system and a new code can be reprogrammed in a matter of seconds.
The FedEx system uses RFID readers mounted at each of the four doors to the delivery vehicle and a reader mounted on the right side of the steering column near the ignition switch. When the courier places his transponder wristband within 6 inches of the readers, the transponder's code is compared to ones in the system's memory. If it is a match, the door unlocks for five seconds. The courier simply pulls on the door handle to enter the vehicle while the three remaining doors stay securely locked to prevent unauthorized entry. To start the vehicle, the courier pushes a button on the right side of the steering column. The courier pushes another button near the start button to turn off the vehicle.
All exterior door locks can be released from the inside with conveniently located buttons. A fail safe keyed lock is maintained for the rear roll-up door in case of an electrical failure. Anti-theft features include motion detectors in both the courier and cargo compartments, and a self- contained horn. The system is programmed to ensure that the vehicle will not start until all doors are shut, and all doors automatically lock within five seconds of opening. Each FedEx vehicle is programmed using a master transponder, and can accept up to ten unique transponders. A single transponder can also be programmed to operate multiple trucks.

RFID- to Container Positioning System at Port of Singapore
The Port of Singapore (PSA) tracks many thousands of multi-ton cargo containers daily, and also manages arrivals and departures of up to 50 ships. The smallest error might send a container to the wrong destination in the shipyard, resulting in delayed departures or incomplete shipments.
To avoid these problems, PSA spent close to $910 million in 1993 on development projects. Included in this upgrade effort, was the installation of thousands of RFID transponders into the asphalt to create a multi-dimensional grid. System manages the placement and location of containers as they are offloaded into tile port shipyard, based on X, Y, Z coordinates that are derived from the unique ID codes in the tags.

Tracking Material Movement In and Out of a Warehouse
Chevrolet Creative Services uses a red light, green light system based on RFID to control and track the 3,500 crates coming and going from their Wixom, Michigan storage warehouse. The crates contain materials needed for specific tradeshows. RFID tags are now mounted on each crate carrying a unique ID. The bay doors are equipped with RFID readers and readout antennas are located on the floor. When a crate passes over tile antenna on its way to being loaded onto a truck, the tag ID is compared to a manifest held in a host database. If the ID matches the database info a green light signals to ship the crate. A no match activates a red light. The database also records the time and date.
Chevrolet has realized the benefits of:
• Eliminating the human error factor inherent in their old manual system with paper manifests.
• Eliminating emergency shipping charges.
• Greater speed and efficiency and better record keeping.
Generally, when relying on traditional systems--every time items are moved from one point to another, the pallets on which they are loaded have to be stopped to enable labels to be human read or have their barcodes scanned. With RFID tags, the information is read without the need to stop the pallets, saving time. Also, traditional systems require staff to key in information, introducing room for error. With tags, manpower can be reduced and errors eliminated. Tags also allow companies to quickly trace back to where errors might have occurred, containing the damage, and in the event of a product recall, reducing risk to the consumer.

Protecting Valuable Products During Distribution
A bonded warehouse in the UK stores expensive single malt whiskies which are subject to theft even by the warehouse employees. Pallets carrying these stocks are also subject to being misplaced in error, thus delaying on-time deliveries. To prevent these problems, it was necessary to ensure that forklift trucks moving pallets would pass correctly along pre-set routes. Deviations might mean that employees were either intentionally taking product off to a hiding location to steal later, or were just misplacing stock in error. To create this security system, the company built a grid of transponders suspended from the ceiling. The forklift trucks are equipped with RFID readers. Routing details are downloaded to the forklift truck from a central computer via a radio frequency communication link. This includes correct loading location, exact sequence of transponders along the route, and the delivery bay location. If the on-board reader detects deviations, the truck is immobilized and a supervisor is needed to reset the vehicle. Automatic weighing is also used in combination with the system.

Smart Labels for Material Tracking in Libraries The 3M Digital Identification System, based on RFID smart labels, streamlines the flow of library materials in many ways. Books and other materials are identified with smart labels that carry a unique, tamperproof ID code. Librarians at the circulation desk and patrons using the 3M SelfCheck System read the tags with RFID readers to check items in and out. The process is faster and more accurate than with traditional optical barcode labels.
Some economic facts that help justify installing this system are:
• A lost book typically costs the library around $45 .00.
• An average library can have as many as 22 million items circulating each year.
• With RFID smart labels on items, check in and check out saves 1 1/2 minutes per transaction.
Besides the unique identification number, these labels can be programmed with additional information such as type of media and storage location. In addition, the tag is re-writeable so libraries don't have to replace a book's digital identification tag when updating a book's status or flagging a book for reservation. Libraries are finding new ways to take advantage of tagged items, such as gathering statistics on which items are most often used.
The main goal of libraries is to improve service to their patrons, particularly by having circulating items available when they are needed. RFID tracking greatly improves inventory management and optimizes resources.

RFID Tags for Document Tracking RFID can be used for this application as a way to improve the management of important document files in industries like insurance and legal where the loss of such files can cause severe problems. RFID improves the tracking of documents so that files can be more quickly located and legal document workflow more easily tracked.
Each file is tagged with a smart label that contains a unique ID and human readable information. The file description is entered into a database along with its tracking number. The file can be assigned certain parameters like expiration date, permitted movement, persons authorized to see it, etc. Over time the database can build up an audit trail of the handling and workflow history of each document file.
Each office or desk can have a local RFID reader. These readers record when an RFID-tagged file passes by, and can include time/date stamping. The first read can indicate that a file has entered an office or desk. The second read can assume that a file has left the office or desk. This will allow any PC on the office network to click onto an entered file ID and have the system indicate the last known office or desk where the file was located, along with the specific date and time the file was last read at that location. By also tagging employees with an RFID card, the system can record exactly who last handled a document file.
Chapter Source: Texas Instrumeents - The Cutting Edge of RFID Technology and Application for Manufacturing and Distribution by Susy d' Hont.

FUTURE TRENDS

Wal-Mart Effect
In the business world, competitive power shifts derived from RFID are underway. Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense are using RFID to reinvent themselves.

They are taking advantage of new standards and advances in antenna theory, semiconductors, and manufacturing processes to enhance their implementation of RFID. This is akin to a boot strapping process where the prior standards are replaced by better ones. The cycle perpetuates itself and this evolves the science of RFID, creating even better "best of class" implementations. This expands the benefits and increases the payoff for the technology.

Invisible Wave
Futurists like Alvin Toffler foretold the trends of moving from a manufacturing economy to an information-driven economy.

We are now evolving from the information-driven economy to the next step which I call the Invisible Wave. This creates huge opportunities for RFID!

Today the pace of RFID adoption is consistent with an increase in more invisible technologies like wireless, software and other intellectual processes. Early adopters are moving forward with enterprise wide adoption of RFID. A great example of this trend is the following press release from January 2003:

“The Gillette Company (NYSE:G) ordering 500 million low-cost radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags from Alien Technologies. This is the first major commercial order for products incorporating the revolutionary electronic product code (EPC). Developed by researchers and member companies at the Auto-ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The multi-million dollar order will support large-scale testing of EPC tag technology through Gillette's supply chain and in retail stores over the next several years.”

As more applications become feasible you get increased commercial activity. Alien Technologies CEO, Stavro Prodromou claims that sales in Oct - November 2004 have already exceeded their history to date (per quote in Boston Globe, 11/22/04). IBM recently announced that they were investing $250 Million to build a new division which will incorporate RFID. These and many other press releases confirm the acceleration of RFID growth.

The Invisible Wave (IV) encapsulates intellectual property, pervasive real time networks, silent commerce, autonomous information sharing and computerized decision making. RFID is a data supplier to this ecosystem. IV will drive the demand for more RFID applets. We see evidence of this trend for more source data in today's web sites which use XHML and allow for automatic exchange of information. RFID becomes a building block for the Invisible Wave and feeds it a stream of data to increase the spatial and temporal resolution at which we measure and analyze the world.

Factors for Success
Since the building blocks of this technology are silicon and intellectual property rights, two important positive phenomenon apply.

1. Moore’s Law: the doubling of transistors every couple of years.
2. Increasing Returns: the more people use your product the more advantage you have

Other important collaborating technologies for RFID and the Invisible Wave are:

Semantic Internet Version 2: Migration to broad band capacity with XML and other advanced languages allows Web sites to automatically exchange information for the benefit of their patriarchs.

GPS: reports latitude and longitude of things which enriches spatial data passed through the network or tracked by RFID tags.

Wireless: Bluetooth, WiFi, Zig-Bee, Next Generation Cell Phones providing ubiquitous access to dial tone and/or data transmission pipes. Lowers the effort to get real time information published to the ultimate network, the Internet.

The synergy of the Semantic Internet, GPS and Wireless as collaborating technologies will make RFID stronger and more valuable.

Other characteristics of the RFID business amplify these phenomenon. First there is the upfront cost of development for vendors and users. RFID requires enormous capital investment up front, but once the products are ready to roll the variable cost is small. Since that financial leverage happens in both camps, vendors and users, you also get positive economic feedback.


The fact that additional tags cost almost nothing is like jet fuel for the RFID rocket. Here’s why: the more tags you put into commercial use, the more it sells, because the more people use RFID, the more software and hardware gets developed for it. The more software and hardware that is available, the more people buy RFID. Radio Frequency Identification: a self fulfilling prophecy at best or a disruptive technology at worst.

HAL's LAW
I predict that RFID will create the biggest database in both networked and stand alone versions before the end of this decade. The support for this forecast is based on my observation of the following:

Hals LAW: The Cost of a TAG is inversely related to the square root of the number of networked READERS while the Value of a TAG increases every time a READER is networked.

When we overlay the graph of tag cost vs. the value of a tag we have increasing returns when this is plotted as a function of the number of networked readers. In other words, as we add more networked readers the benefits derived far outwiegh the incremental cost for another node on the network.


Future Killer Application
Any discussion of the future must address the killer application. So what does the future killer application look like?

Wait! Before we answer that question let us develop a list of benefits which appeal to the broadest range of users. If, in so doing, we also eliminate problems which affect everyone, our list will be perfect. Given these prerequisites our wish list includes the following:

• Independent of any operating system; no cold or warm reboots
• Virus proof: immunized against west nile or sobig
• Reduces fraud: no more Enrons or hanging Chads
• Never fails: due to old age or batteries wearing out
• Useful: with or without a computer
• Multilingual: works for every language in the world
• Environmentally friendly: reusable or recyclable
• Billions and billions served: makes McDonald’s and Trump look small-time

The only killer application to satisfy this incredible list of constraints is RFID PAPER!
Summary
Hal’s law means that real time networking of RFID information will raise the benefits of the system while simultaneously reducing costs.

Traditional notions of marginal rate of productivity for RFID technology will go the way of the dinosaur and increasing returns will evolve and create value for RFID.

Increasing returns will benefit RFID in the same way that expansion of the Microsoft standard created a huge jump in capabilities for the desktop. All this will provide increasing returns to both Vendors and Users. Such a doubling of payoff ensures remarkable success for RFID’s future.

RFID will create the world's largest information network in the next decade while simultaneously redefining the retail experience, supply chain management and a new paradigm known as the Real Time Enterprise. It is here now and promises to establish its place as a fundamental component of business tactics.