Exam Essentials

Recognize international and regional standards and regulatory organizations. The main international standards organizations are the ISO and IEC, which develop standards that are the basis for regional as well as national standards and requirements. The ISO and IEC develop standards for air interface as well as data standards for RFID. In Europe, the main organizations standardizing and regulating RFID are ECC, ERO (under CEPT), and ETSI; in the United States, they are the FCC and ANSI.

Know the ISO air interface standards for RFID. The main standard specifying RFID air interface is ISO/IEC 18000. Part 1 specifies general requirements; Part 2 applies to frequencies less than 135 kHz; Part 3 applies to HF frequency at 13.56 MHz; Part 4 specifies the 2.45 GHz frequency; Part 5 specifies the 5.8 GHz frequency (which was withdrawn); Part 6 applies to UHF and has sections A, B, and C (Gen 2); and Part 7 applies to active tags at 433 MHz.

Recognize the ITU regions. There are three ITU regions. Region 1 consists of Europe, Africa, the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East including Iraq. Region 2 consists of North and South America. Region 3 consists of Asia (without the former Soviet Union), the Middle East from Iran to the east, Australia, and Oceania.

Know the maximum allowed transmitted power limits in the United States and Europe. The maximum allowed transmitted power in the United States is 1 W, up to 4 W with gained antenna, therefore 4 W EIRP. Readers must employ frequency hopping or digital modulation. Maximum antenna gain can be 6 dBi. In Europe, the maximum ERP is 2 W (which is approximately 3.26 W EIRP). Readers must employ frequency hopping and LBT. Previous regulations required also using duty cycles.

Identify the differences between air interface protocols and tag data formats. Tag data format/data protocol specifies the size and structure of the tag memory, tag data formatting and length, and the means of storing, accessing, and transferring information. Examples of tag data standards are EPC Class 1 Generation 1 or ISO 15962. The air interface protocol defines the rules of communication between tags and interrogators. The air interface protocol includes rules for encoding, modulation, anticollision, and reading and writing to a tag as well as other operations. An example of an air interface protocol is the ISO 18000 Part 6A. A standard that describes both tag data format and air interface protocol is the EPC Generation 2/ISO 18000 Part 6C.

Recognize the structure of basic EPC tag data format. The general identifier (GID) consists of a header, which specifies the type, length, and structure of the EPC number; a manager number, which identifies the company; an object class, which identifies the type or class of the item; and a serial number that identifies the single item.

Recognize the effects of human exposure to electromagnetic fields and RF radiation. Low frequencies (under 10 MHz) can affect the central nervous system. These effects cannot be time-averaged. High frequencies (above 100 kHz) can cause warming of the body. These effects can be time-averaged. These effects are usually related to exposure to high-power radiators that emit a lot more power than what is allowed by the standard limits mandated by regulatory authorities.