Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology that has been around for a while and only recently started becoming a big thing. A technology becomes a big thing when it is so common it starts to disappear and become just part of the fabric. TV, radio, and the Internet are good examples.
RFID was invented in 1948 and it took another 30 years for RFID chips to be invented. The first RFID patent was filed in 1983 and the first toll road RFID payment system was invented in 1987. In 2003 Walmart announced its top 100 suppliers would be required to use RFID tags on the cases and pallets of incoming shipments. By 2010, Walmart was using RFID tags to track items on the sales floor. Other stores such as Macy’s and Bloomingdales started using RFID. The RFID market is projected to be a $22 billion market by 2022.
It’s taken more than 70 years for RFID to become a bonified big thing. Thousands of US patents have been filed featuring RFID technology.
RFID is a data collection method identifying objects through low-power radio waves. RFID tags have an antenna to receive and transmit a signal. The tag contains a unique number for one specific object. A reader emits a signal to the tag using an antenna. The tag responds with its stored information. The reader will then transmit the read results to an RFID computer program.
HerdWhistle is an example of an RFID data collection system. RFID ear tags are attached to a cow’s ear. The tag stores the animal’s unique ID number. The reader at the feed bunk emits a signal through an antenna. The cow enters an area around the feed bunk where the signal from the tag can be read by the reader. The message basically says, “This unique animal is visiting the feed bunk at this day and time.” The reader sends the information to the cloud where it reaches a software program for analysis. Using RFID HerdWhistle can monitor hundreds of thousands of cattle 24/7 at the same time.
Lots of variations on the basic formula of RFID exist. While a traditional RFID system sends a signal a few meters, more powerful systems can send signals close to 20 meters. Reading zones created by the reader can take a variety of sizes and shapes. Tags can take a variety of shapes and new technologies are expanding the scale and scope of RFID.
Take Amazon Go for example. Amazon create an advanced shopping system where enter a store, take the products you want and go. No lines and no checkout. There are no cashiers. Products are tracked through an RFID based technology and payment systems are digital and in place in advance of a customer visit. Customers leaving a store with a product are charged for the product digitally without every using a card or cash.
RFID has a bright future as it disappears.
