.FLYINGHEAD THE COMPUTING UNPLUGGED INTERVIEW
.TITLE Getting to know how RFID works
.AUTHOR David Gewirtz
.SUMMARY What is RFID, really? What are the advantages and issues? In our quest to provide you with an in-depth understanding of the topic, we’ve been very fortunate to enlist the help of Martyn Mallick, one of the leading experts on RFID technology. This is the second of three articles where we have the pleasure of talking to Martyn and learning all about RFID. If you’re interested in emerging technologies, this is a series you won’t want to miss.
.OTHER
What is RFID, really? What are the advantages and issues? In our quest to provide you with an in-depth understanding of the topic, we’ve been very fortunate to enlist the help of Martyn Mallick, one of the leading experts on RFID technology.
This is the second of three articles where we have the pleasure of talking to Martyn and learning all about RFID. If you’re interested in emerging technologies, this is a series you won’t want to miss.
.TEASER Tap here to read the full interview.
.Q David
How much does an RFID tag cost?
.A Martyn
Simple RFID tags like those embedded into printed adhesive labels cost in the neighborhood of 10 to 20 cents. The capacity of the microchip, the size/type of antenna and the type of substrate all factor into the cost, though, so a glass RFID tag meant to be embedded into an animal, or a rugged plastic keychain are obviously more expensive.
When you look at active RFID tags, they start around $20 and can get into the $100 range, once again depending on the capabilities of the tag itself.
Finally, there are WiFi based tags commonly used for real-time location tracking that have a similar price point to active tags.
.Q David
What reads the tags? How expensive are the readers?
.A Martyn
RFID tags are read by RFID interrogators, which are often referred to as readers. In a passive RFID system, these devices have one or more antennas connected to them that emit the signal that powers the RFID tags and then keep track of the responses from the tags. They gather this data and send it on to software to be processed.
You can buy intelligent RFID readers with antennas from a number of different vendors for around $1,500 to $2,000. There are some less expensive in the $1,000 range, and some more expensive in the $3,000 range as well.
Just like RFID tags, there are different types of readers. There are "ruggedized" mobile readers that cost about $4,000-$5,000 and forklift readers for a similar price.
.Q David
If everything’s radiating a signal, are there any possible health implications?
.A Martyn
In the United States, the FCC governs the frequencies used by RFID and certifies all equipment for use. As with the frequencies used by cell phones, for example, the offices of the FCC, other international bodies, and companies in the various industries have performed and continue to carry out research and trials around the effects of radio frequency usage, ensuring the continued safe use of RFID
You can read more about this at http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety.
.Q David
What are the compelling applications for RFID?
.A Martyn
The list of applications where RFID adds value is extremely broad. There is a lot of momentum in retail supply chain, primarily focused around the mandates from large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Metro.
Another strong use-case is in asset location tracking, where you are looking to see the actual location of an asset within a defined region such as a warehouse or hospital floor.
Sybase iAnywhere is seeing good uptake in healthcare, particularly around asset tracking, and in cold-chain, which is the supply chain of perishable goods.
.Q David
Sybase manages all the data, right? Or is it that why you’re doing an API (Application Programming Interface)?
.A Martyn
We offer a product called RFID Anywhere, which is flexible software platform that provides a framework API for the development of applications that integrate business logic and processes with a variety of automatic data collection and sensor technologies, including RFID, barcodes, mobile devices, PLCs, location tracking systems, environmental sensors and feedback mechanisms.
By using RFID Anywhere, sensors are able to work together as an intelligent network by combining, organizing and coordinating these technologies through a common management structure, advanced feature set and event-driven development framework.
We also provide a series of messaging connectors to take the data from the intelligent network and deliver it via Web Services, or store it in a persistent data store such as a database, file system or ERP [Enterprise Resource Planning] system such as SAP.
.Q David
What does that API do?
.A Martyn
RFID Anywhere provides an integration layer into the hardware devices to get the RFID and sensor data, and then we make it easy for developers to build applications that use that data.
The API provides an abstraction layer over the various hardware interfaces allowing developers to focus on their applications and not worrying about hardware integration issues. We also provide ways to filter and sort the data for reporting purposes. Once the data is in the proper format, some companies write this data to a database, some might send messages to existing systems, or some might just write business logic to look for specific events and then send email alerts from RFID Anywhere.
In addition to giving a powerful environment to developers, RFID Anywhere also has a number of features to help streamline deployment of application, to make it easy to manage a system and to do location tracking.
In addition to just supporting RFID devices, it also supports barcodes, mobile devices, environmental sensors, PLCs and real time location systems, all with the same infrastructure making it easy to build systems that require more than just RFID.
.BEGIN_KEEP
.Q David
How would someone go about learning more about this, or even get their hands on the software?
.A Martyn
We actually get that question a lot, so we have established a developer program called RFID Anywhere Insider, where developers can go to get a free development copy of our software, product documentation, whitepapers, tutorials, etc.
The site is at http://developer.ianywhere.com/rfid and it also offers a monthly newsletter with tech tips and industry information.
We’ve got one more installment in our exploration of RFID. Martyn will be back next week, where we continue our in-depth Q&A. He’ll be talking more about the uses of RFID and where it can be deployed.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
To read "Understanding RFID", visit http://www.computingunplugged.com/issues/issue200701/00001922001.html.
For more information on Sybase iAnywhere, visit http://www.ianywhere.com.
For more information on radio frequency safety, visit http://www.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety.
For more information on RFID Anywhere Insider, visit http://developer.ianywhere.com/rfid.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO
.END_KEEP
