What is RFID?

Answer 1

Radio-frequency identification
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID

Good luck and Happy Computing!

Answer 2

Radio Frequency Identification.

Small tags with information that may soon be attached to all merchandise.

Initially for inventory tracking and control. Part of the modern JITD scenarios (Just In Time Delivery) It would work like a bar code, but with a radio reciever instead of a scanner. This way when a crate of parts left a plant and was put on a truck, It waould be easy to tell exactly what went where, and when it left there, and where it was at any given time.

Some shipping companies already use RFID Pallets and shipping containers.

The marketers dream is that a "smart store" could track all inventory from the time it hit the loading dock, to the time it left the store. Proper quantities would automatically be reordered, and theft more easily thwarted.

One scenario I have heard is that when a consumer picks up an item... say an MP3 player, a video billboard at the end of the aisle could advertise the right batteries for that person, or a particular accessory that goes well with the item before the consumer ever hits the checkout line.

Another use would be smart displays that explained the features of a specific product as you pick it off the shelf, or made suggestions based on other items you have looked at or have in the cart. A bit too Orewellian for me, but it is coming...

The EZ-Pass system of highway toll collection is a working example of RFID.

The attempt to put RFID chips in all passports is another huge assault on freedom and directly violates the principles upon which the United States of America was formed. Infortunately, we are allowing that to happen as our personal freedomds are flushed away one by one.

Answer 3

I'll give you the basics on here, but I'm attaching the gov't link (it's a gov't project) for more info. Basically, it is a scannable label. When product is moved from one facility to another and gets to the receving dock at the new place, the employees don't have to break down the pallet and manually check each item to receive the product. The label contains all the information on the pallet and when scanned into the system, the system will upload all the information about the product.

It helps companies by lowering costs (less manual time during receiving so the product is available to be sold sooner), increased inventory accuracy (less handling of the product means less damages and chances of the product being lost or misplaced), and better visibility of where the product is.

Answer 4

Radio Frequency Identification. Used to track items in a variety of forms. Wallmart uses RFID tags to track it's bulk shippments.
There is even one company that makes a human implantable RHID chip to track people.

Answer 5

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. An RFID tag is an object that can be attached to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification using radio waves. Chip-based RFID tags contain silicon chips and antennas. Passive tags require no internal power source, whereas active tags require a power source.
RFID cards are also known as "proximity", "proxy" or "contactless cards" and come in three general varieties: passive, semi-passive (also known as semi-active), or active.

[edit] Passive

Passive RFID tags have no internal power supply. The minute electrical current induced in the antenna by the incoming radio frequency signal provides just enough power for the CMOS integrated circuit in the tag to power up and transmit a response. Most passive tags signal by backscattering the carrier signal from the reader. This means that the antenna has to be designed to both collect power from the incoming signal and also to transmit the outbound backscatter signal. The response of a passive RFID tag is not necessarily just an ID number; the tag chip can contain non-volatile EEPROM for storing data.

The lack of an onboard power supply means that the device can be quite small: commercially available products exist that can be embedded in a sticker, or under the skin in the case of low frequency RFID tags.

As of 2006, Hitachi, Ltd. has developed the smallest such passive devices called µ-Chip measuring 0.15x0.15mm (not including the antenna), and thinner than a sheet of paper (7.5 micrometers). [4][5] Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) technology is used to achieve this level of integration. The Hitachi µ-Chip can wirelessly transmit a 128 bit (10^38) unique ID number which is hard coded into the chip as part of the manufacturing process. The unique ID in the chip cannot be altered, providing a high level of authenticity to the chip and ultimately to the items the chip may be permanently attached or embedded into. The Hitachi µ-Chip has a typical maximum read range of 30 cm (1 foot). In February 2007 Hitachi unveiled an even smaller RFID measuring 0.05x0.05mm, and thin enough to be embedded in a sheet of paper.[6] The new chips can store as much data as the older Mu-chips, and the data contained on them can be extracted from as far away as a few hundred metres. The ongoing problem with all RFIDs is that they need an external antenna which is 80 times bigger than the chip in the best version thus far developed.

The lowest cost EPC RFID tags, which are the standard chosen by Wal-Mart, DoD, Target, Tesco in the UK and Metro AG in Germany, are available today from SmartCode at a price of 5 cents each.[7] The addition of the antenna creates a tag that varies from the size of a postage stamp to the size of a post card. Passive tags have practical read distances ranging from about 10 cm (4 in.) (ISO 14443) up to a few meters (EPC and ISO 18000-6) depending on the chosen radio frequency and antenna design/size. Due to their simplicity in design they are also suitable for manufacture with a printing process for the antennas.

Non-silicon tags made from polymer semiconductors are currently being developed by several companies globally. Simple laboratory printed polymer tags operating at 13.56 MHz were demonstrated in 2005 by both PolyIC (Germany) and Philips (The Netherlands). If successfully commercialized, polymer tags will be roll-printable, like a magazine, and much less expensive than silicon-based tags. The end game for most item-level tagging over the next few decades may be that RFID tags will be wholly printed - the same way a barcode is today - and be virtually free, like a barcode. However, substantial technical and economic hurdles must be surmounted to accomplish such an end: hundreds of billions of dollars have been invested over the last three decades in silicon processing, resulting in a per-feature cost which is actually less than that of conventional printing.

Active

Unlike passive RFID tags, active RFID tags have their own internal power source which is used to power any integrated circuits[3] that generate the outgoing signal. Active tags are typically much more reliable (e.g. fewer errors) than passive tags due to the ability for active tags to conduct a "session" with a reader. Active tags, due to their onboard power supply, also transmit at higher power levels than passive tags, allowing them to be more effective in "RF challenged" environments like water (including humans/cattle, which are mostly water), metal (shipping containers, vehicles), or at longer distances. Many active tags have practical ranges of hundreds of meters, and a battery life of up to 10 years. Some active RFID tags include sensors such as temperature logging which have been used in concrete maturity monitoring or to monitor the temperature of perishable goods. Other sensors that have been married with active RFID include humidity, shock/vibration, light, radiation, temperature, and atmospherics like ethylene. Active tags typically have much longer range (approximately 300 feet) and larger memories than passive tags, as well as the ability to store additional information sent by the transceiver. The United States Department of Defense has successfully used active tags to reduce logistics costs and improve supply chain visibility for more than 15 years. At present, the smallest active tags are about the size of a coin and sell for a few dollars.

Answer 6

Yes, it surely is "radio frequency identification."