Page 27 - DLIS408_INFORMATION_TECHNOLOGY-APPLICATIONSL SCIENCES

Information Technology and Application

Notes Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
1. Radio frequency identification is a type of .................... used in the modern libraries.
2. Data entry and editing is a type of .................... Software.
3. Depending on mobility, RFID readers are classified into .................... types.

2.4 Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)

Libraries

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that uses communication through the use
of radio waves to transfer data between a reader and an electronic tag attached to an object for the
purpose of identification and tracking.
RFID makes it possible to give each product in a grocery store its own unique identifying number,
to provide assets, people, work in process, medical devices, etc., all with individual unique identifiers
- like the license plate on a car but for every item in the world. This is a vast improvement over
paper and pencil tracking or bar code tracking that has been used since, the 1970s.

Notes With bar codes, RFID is only possible to identify the brand and type of package in a
grocery store, for instance.
Furthermore, passive RFID tags (those without a battery) can be read if passed within close
enough proximity to an RFID reader. It is not necessary to “show” the tag to the reader device, as
with a bar code. In other words it does not require line of sight to “see” an RFID tag, the tag can be
read inside a case, carton, box or other container, and unlike bar codes RFID tags can be read
hundreds at a time. Bar codes can only read one at a time.
Some RFID tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.
The application of bulk reading enables an almost-parallel reading of tags.
Radio-frequency identification involves the hardware known as interrogators (also known as
readers), and tags (also known as labels), as well as RFID software or RFID middleware.
Most RFID tags contain at least two parts: one is an integrated circuit for storing and processing
information, modulating and demodulating a radio-frequency (RF) signal, and other specialized
functions; the other is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal.
RFID can be passive (using no battery), active (with an on-board battery that always broadcasts or
beacons its signal) or battery assisted passive (BAP) which has a small battery on board that is
activated when in the presence of an RFID reader. Passive tags in 2011 start at $ .05 each and for
special tags meant to be mounted on metal, or withstand gamma sterilization go up to $5. Active
tags for tracking containers, medical assets, or monitoring environmental conditions in data
centers all start at $50 and can go up over $100 each. BAP tags are in the $3-10 range and also have
sensor capability like temperature and humidity.

The term RFID refers to the technology. The tags should properly be called “RFID tags” not
“RFIDs”.
Fixed RFID and Mobile RFID: Depending on mobility, RFID readers are classified into two
different types: fixed RFID and mobile RFID. If the reader reads tags in a stationary position, it is
called fixed RFID. These fixed readers are set-up specific interrogation zones and create a “bubble”

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