Category list

The Early Days of RFID

In the 1930s, both the Army and the Navy were faced with the challenge of adequately identifying targets on the ground, at sea and in the air. In 1937, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) developed the Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF) system that allowed friendly units such as Allied aircraft to be distinguished from enemy aircraft. This technology became the basis for the world's air traffic control systems beginning in the late 1950s. Early uses of radio identification through the 1950s were generally limited to the military, research labs, and large commercial enterprises because of the high cost and large size of components. Even so, these expensive and bulky equipment racks were the early forerunners of what is now called RFID. Figure 2.1 shows photos of IFF components next to typical modern day RFID components ^[1] .

^[1] The modern day RFID components shown in Figure 2.1 are not equivalent in capability and functionality to the IFF components and are used for different types of applications.

Figure 2.1. IFF Components (left), Modern Day (Active) RFID Components (right)

It was not until the emergence of more compact and cost-effective technologies such as the integrated circuit (IC), programmable memory chips, the microprocessor, and modern day software applications and programming languages that RFID as we know it today was born and moved into the mainstream of broad commercial deployment.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, companies such as Sensormatic and Checkpoint Systems introduced new uses of RFID for less complex and more widely used applications. These companies began developing electronic article surveillance (EAS) equipment to protect inventory items such as clothing in department stores and books in libraries. Early commercial RFID systems, also known as 1-bit tag systems, were inexpensive to build, deploy, and maintain. Tags required no battery power (passive) and were simply affixed to articles that were designed to trigger an alarm when they came near a reader, usually at an exit door, which would detect the presence of a tag.

Figure 2.2. Milestones During the Early Days of RFID

From Detection to Unique Identification

During the 1970s, industries such as manufacturing, livestock, and transportation commenced research and development projects to find ways to use IC-based RFID systems. Applications like industrial automation, animal identification, and vehicle tracking were all under consideration. During this period, IC-based tags continued to advance and featured writeable memory, faster read speeds, and longer ranges. Many of these RFID applications were based on proprietary designs and did not leverage the power of a standards-based approach.

In the early 1980s, more sophisticated RFID technologies were employed in applications ranging from identification of railroad cars in the United States to tracking farm animals in Europe. RFID systems were also used in wildlife studies to tag and track exotic or endangered species such as fish with minimal intrusion into their natural habitats.

In the 1990s, electronic toll collection systems gained popularity on both sides of the Atlantic, with commercial implementations in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Norway, and in the United States in Dallas, New York, and New Jersey. These systems offered a more sophisticated form of access control because they also included a payment mechanism.

Starting in 1990, several regional toll agencies in the northeastern United States joined forces under the name of E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG), and together they developed a regionally compatible electronic toll collection system. This step was a major milestone toward creating application-level standards for interoperability. Until this point, most standardization efforts were centered on technical attributes such as frequency of operation and hardware communication protocols.

E-ZPass enabled a single tag to correspond to a single billing account per vehicle. The tagged vehicle then had access to highways of multiple toll authorities without having to stop at a tollbooth. E-Z Pass helped traffic to flow more easily and dramatically reduced the labor involved in collecting tolls and handling cash.

Around the same time, RFID card keys became increasingly popular as a replacement for traditional access control mechanisms such as metallic keys and combination locks. These so-called contactless smart cards provided information about the user and thus offered a more personalized method of access control, while being inexpensive to produce and program. Table 2.1 compares the most common methods of access control with that of RFID access control.

Table 2.1. Comparison of Various Access Control Methods

Access Control Method

Pros

Cons

Metallic Key

Does not need electricity to function
Easy to use

Can be copied easily
Lock can be picked
Susceptible to theft

Combination Lock

Combination can be easily changed
No key to be lost or stolen

More expensive than a key-lock
Vulnerable to eavesdropping

Punch Card

Cannot be duplicated as easily as a metallic key

Older technology with little flexibility
Easy to duplicate

Magnetic Strip

Cannot be easily copied
Card readers widely available

Prolonged use can damage card
Installation requires costly IT infrastructure

Smart Card

Same card can also be used for applications other than access control (e.g. payment)
Provides more security than Magnetic Strip Cards

More expensive than a Magnetic Strip Card

RFID

All the Pros of Smart Cards
Requires no contact
Can be embedded in items other than cards and under the skin

Can be more expensive than Smart Cards

RFID access control has continued to gain new levels of acceptance. Automobile manufacturers have been using RFID tags for nearly a decade to control the ignition systems in their vehicles, resulting in dramatic reductions in car theft. Most recently, some automakers have equipped their vehicles with RFID systems that directly control entry into the passenger compartment and the trunk.