Technological inventions and innovations can happen anywhere and anytime. RFID technology, a short range wireless technology that can accurately identify and track an RFID tagged article, is also very much in vogue nowadays with projected market share of 36.6B USD by 2030. And believe it or not, this growth is attributed to innovation and various innovative applications of RFID technology that we see around us. The technology itself is old, going back to Second World War but most innovations are relatively new. The most recent being chipless RFID, which has the potential to end the use of UPC barcodes, once and for all. It has everything that barcode has, can do everything that barcode does, costs nearly same (say a bit costly but prices will come down soon) but offers the benefits of RFID, the accuracy, data security, and the wireless- no line of sight reading. Significantly beats the purpose of using UPC barcodes.
But that’s not all. There are various innovative applications of RFID that are around us and before taking a look at some of these innovative RFID applications, let’s see what the RFID technology is all about.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
As mentioned earlier, RFID is a wireless track and trace technology, a prominent AIDC (Automatic Identification and Data Capture) tool to be precise.
The technology is made of three significant parts namely RFID tag, reader, and a host system that can display and keep records of all the data captured. It has the capability to distinctively identify objects as well as people with the device called RFID tags.
It is available in three configurations when it comes to power source which are passive RFID (RFID tags sans battery), active RFID (RFID tags with battery), and BAP (Battery assisted passive) RFID. Apart from that, RFID also differs in operating frequency of various tags and readers, prominent categories being the LF (Low Frequency,128KHz) RFID, HF (High Frequency, 13.56 MHz) RFID, and UHF (Ultra High Frequency, 860-960MHz) RFID.
When it comes to most innovative applications of RFID technology, there have been many. Let’s see some of these innovations in RFID:
- 1. RFID smartcards
- 2. RFID pet tracking
- 3. Chipless RFID
- 4. RFID smart objects
- 5. RFID tap-to-pay/ RFID wristbands
- 6. RFID golf balls
RFID smartcards
RFID smartcards are a reality now. These cards operate on high frequency, just as NFC (13.56MHz) and can be used as smart key cards in hospitality sector allowing customers to access their rooms and permitted areas as per the staying package at some hotel and more. Smartcards also acts as tokens and tickets, allowing people to visit places, tourists sites etc. The high frequency operating range (Low read range) requires you to tap the card on an RFID reader for better experience.
The RFID smartcards are also used with access control system allowing only authorized people to enter society building, offices, etc.
RFID pet tracking
RFID pet tracking is another innovative use of this efficient technology. RFID implants are available that can be implanted in pet to not only track but to provide necessary data regarding owner, medical history of the pet etc.
Livestock management is based on this innovative application of RFID where farm owners can track their livestock and ensure that all of them return safely. Real-time tracking of livestock provides 100% visibility to farm managers.
Chipless RFID
Chipless RFID market is growing rapidly and in the long term, it is bound to replace UPC barcodes completely. The chipless RFID technology provides all the benefits of a UPC barcode and combines it with RFID benefits including real-time tracking, accurate data collection, and efficiency. Business sectors such as logistics, retail and FMCG will certainly benefit from chipless RFID and the lost cost of these RFID tags will boost the demand further.
RFID smart objects
Recently Apple developed ‘AirTAG’ which uses the radio frequency technology to locate objects it is attached to. These tags when attached to an object help you locate it instantly. You can attach such RFID tags to objects that are easily misplaced such as eyeglasses, wallets, luggage etc. and track it using your smartphone itself.
RFID tap-to-pay/ RFID wristbands
RFID wristbands are another smart application of RFID technology. This particular innovation is greatly use in event management allowing visitors to easily enter and attend any event including sports events such as FIFA, Wimbledon, USA Open, IPL, NFL etc.
Concerts goers also use such RFID wristband that not only act as a ticket to the event but also allows them to pay for merchandise they purchase. They can tap the wrist band at POS and the money is deducted from their wallet linked to their wristband.
RFID golf balls
Another popular innovative use of RFID that I saw recently was the RFID golf balls. Given the facts that nearly 300m (approx 600m USD worth) golf balls are lost every year in USA alone, and the amount of plastic in the environment, it is a pretty good idea to track golf balls with RFID technology. Companies like Top golf and RF-Golf make such golf balls by embedding an RFID chip in the core.
To conclude, RFID technology is seeing a great degree of innovative application in various sectors including retail, even management , livestock tracking, access control and security as well as personalization and fashion and sports. With the rise of chipless RFID, it is also expected that UPC barcode will soon become a things of the past. It is also worth noting that the underlying principle of the RFID technology is same in all these applications.
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