Growing RFID Deployment Enabled By Tag Advancements

If you read the article I wrote last month titled "How Is Today's RFID Being Used?", you read about the trend toward closed-loop RFID applications and some of the unique ways RFID is being used today. One of the components that has contributed to the success of these RFID applications is more advanced RFID tags. Over the past few years, RFID tags have morphed in many ways and continue to do so. Recently, I spoke with some industry experts to discuss the traits of today's RFID tags and what RFID tag advancements we can expect in the next few years.

RFID Tag Functionality Increases, Cost Decreases
"As the adoption of RFID has become more widespread, the price of RFID tags has continued to decline," says Peter Linke, executive VP of sales and marketing at Identec Solutions. "Over the past two years, the price to the customer has been reduced by 50%." Although prices have dropped, the functionality of the tags has continued to improve. For example, the sensitivity (or read range) of the tags has increased. According to Bill Brown, inlay and IC product manager at Alien, sensitivity of RFID tags has increased by five times since inception. "Increased sensitivity allows the tags to be read from farther away or in difficult environments [such as on metal or around liquids]," he says. Sensitive tags require fewer readers, which lowers a company's cost when investing in the infrastructure for its RFID solution.

The increase in sensitivity has also resulted in smaller tags. With increased sensitivity, RFID tags can be smaller but have the same effectiveness. According to Tom Pavela, president and CEO of Omni-ID, small tags provide many benefits for companies who want to track small products (such mobile computers), especially for IT asset tracking, which he says is a hot market for RFID. "Consider the limited amount of space on these items. After avoiding air vents, wire connectors, and drive openings, many devices have less than a postage stamp's area of free space to place an RFID tag," he says. Luckily, today's tags can do the job. In addition to tracking IT assets, small RFID tags are being used to track other small objects, such as injectable drug vials and jewelry. However, the experts offer the reminder that with small tags, you are trading size for range. Because smaller tags receive fewer RF waves, they don't have the range a larger tag does.

Traditionally, RFID has been associated with the supply chain, where single use tags were the norm. With some of the newer RFID applications, such as asset tracking, tags are being reused. For this to be possible, tags are often encapsulated so that they are more durable. Tag encapsulation can also allow tags to be placed on metal, which was once quite a challenge. Improved battery life enables these encapsulated tags to be used for up to five years.

RFID Tag Security
As uses for RFID have broadened, RFID tag security has become a growing concern. Although there are standard measures in place to prohibit just anyone from rewriting what is on the RFID tag, there aren't standard measures in place to prevent just anyone from reading what's on the tag. With the permeation of RFID into more closed-loop applications, these tags can often hold sensitive data. For instance, RFID can be used for government applications, such as reading passports. With identity theft rampant and the risk of revealing sensitive information in general unappealing, those deploying RFID are concerned with the visibility into what is on their RFID tags.

According to Brown, the need for security is a growing trend in RFID tag technology and one that vendors are trying to meet, although there aren't industry standards in place. "Since there's nothing in the Gen 2 specifications about read security, some vendors are adding custom commands to their tags to prevent unauthorized parties from reading the information on the tags," he says. The custom command requires a password to be able to view the information on the tag. Some vendors are also offering RFID tags with serial numbers that can be used to ensure the tag you're reading is an authentic tag, reducing the worry of RFID tag cloning. As RFID continues to be used for more varied applications, the need for security is going to continue to grow. "Because security isn't standardized today, it is important for end users to demand their security needs be met when evaluating an RFID solution," says Vivek Khandelwal, director of marketing at Verayo. Brown anticipates that in the next couple of years, EPC will put standardization guidelines in place for RFID tag security.

Integrated Sensors, Enhanced Memory Of RFID Tags
"One of the more recent developments with RFID tags is the ability to connect various types of sensors [such as temperature] to gather additional information," says Khandelwal. Sensors add to the functionality of RFID, again widening the appeal and driving adoption in more markets. For example, temperature sensors can be used along with RFID tags during the transportation of food to ensure it remains in a safe temperature zone the entire time.

"Sensors can be added to RFID tags or embedded into them to expand RFID to solve a business issue," says Linke. He provided an example of a football team that is using RFID and temperature sensors to monitor the safety of its team. The tag with an embedded sensor is placed in the players' helmets, and the team doctor monitors their body temperatures from a PDA on the sideline to avoid heat exhaustion. Along with temperature, humidity, acceleration, and shock sensors are also common in today's RFID deployments.

EPC requires that each RFID tag have 96 bits of memory to hold an identifier of what product the tag is attached to. According to Brown, the desire for additional memory is another growing trend in the RFID tag market. For example, airlines have requested additional memory so they can record each stop of luggage to make sure it arrives on time where it should. Additional memory is also essential to store data if you choose to use an integrated sensor. RFID tags today offer as much as 512 bits of memory, in addition to the 96 bits required by EPC.

As RFID usage continues to expand, RFID tags will continue to advance. In coming years, we're sure to witness tags that are smaller, more sensitive, and more secure. If your company is considering implementing an RFID solution, there's good news. You are investing in a technology that has progressed rapidly over the past few years, yet has experienced reduction in cost that makes it a viable option for virtually any company.