How Does RFID Work?
RFID (or Radio-Frequency Identification Device), is a device that is designed to broadcast a short radio-frequency transmission when triggered. This broadcasting device, typically referred to by most as an RFID tag, is usually incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking. RFID tags can be tracked anywhere from several meters away to beyond the line of sight of the reader.
Radio-frequency identification incorporates a set of devices known as readers or interrogators, and tags or labels.
Most RFID tags contain at least two parts. One is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, and demodulating a radio-frequency (RF) signal, and other specialized functions. The second is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal.
There are generally three types of RFID tags: Active RFID tags, which contain a battery and can transmit signals autonomously,Passive RFID tags, which have no battery and require an external source to provoke signal transmission, and battery assisted passive (BAP), which require an external source to wake up but have significant higher forward link capability providing great read range.
The EPCGlobal standard defines four classes of tags as class 1, class 2, class 3 and class 4. Each successive class has higher functionality than the previous one and is also backward compatible. Apart from these four classes, sometimes class 5 is also referred by users in the industry which are nothing but RFID readers.
RFID has many applications, for example, it is used in enterprise supply chain management to improve the efficiency of inventory tracking and management.