Earlier, the collection of tolls on highways and expressways required a human toll collector where the vehicle owners would stop at the toll booths and pay the toll in cash or through card payments. This has changed with the introduction of FASTag in India. FASTag is an RFID-based windshield tag system that automates toll collection through RFID reading of the vehicle details as they pass through a toll booth and automatic deduction of toll charges from the linked digital wallet.
Automation in toll collection, the ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) is not new as FasTrak toll tags were used in the state of California, USA back in the 1990s. Now coming to India, FASTag has revolutionized how we pay tolls on Indian roads, leading to added convenience, less traffic, fewer accidents, and increased toll collection for the exchequer.
As mentioned earlier, the Indian Electronic Toll Collection system, FASTag, uses RFID-based wireless communication between the FASTag on vehicle windshields and RFID antennas and readers installed at toll booths.
In this blog, we’ll talk about RFID readers and antennas and how these are leveraged to collect tolls with the FASTag toll collection system in India.
RFID Readers for Tolling Systems
The RFID tolling systems employ specific kinds of high-efficiency RFID Fixed readers in toll lanes for collecting tolls electronically. The Indian ETC system has no particular RFID reader mandate but it uses UHF RFID Readers complaint with ISO 18000-63, EPCglobal Gen2V2 standards. The reason behind using the UHF RFID system in FASTag toll collection is primarily the long read range it offers where RFID antennas can detect fast-moving cars, even from a distance of 10-15m.
Now coming to which RFID reader should you choose for RFID-based electronic toll collection, consider the following:
1.The Zebra FX9600 RFID Reader
The UHF RFID Reader by Zebra Technology, the FX9600 fixed reader is a powerful, ruggedly designed RFID Fixed reader. It comes in 4 antenna ports and 8 antenna ports models and can efficiently track RFID tags on vehicle windshields from afar.
The reader comes with a Texas Instruments AM3505 (600 MHz) processor and transmit power of 33dBm, which means it can handle large value tag scanning without any issues. The aluminum die-cast uniform body and IP53 sealing ensure that the FX9600 fixed reader works well in the harshest circumstances.
Apart from RFID-based toll collection, the FX9600 reader is also used in supply chain and warehousing, logistics, manufacturing, and retail settings. You can purchase the FX9600 RFID reader by Zebra from EnCstore.com with added accessories and RFID antennas.
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2.The Impinj R700 RFID Reader
Another great RFID reader for the toll collection system is the Impinj R700 RFID Reader. The R700 Fixed reader is a powerful IoT-enabled reader that works on UHF 860-960MHz frequency and offers a receive sensitivity of -93dBm (Max) and 33 dBm (Max) transmit power. The reader is ruggedly designed for outdoor and indoor applications and scans RFID tags with a massive RFID Read rate of 1100 tags per second, with a read range of up to 30 feet.
The R700 RFID reader is perfect for tolling systems for it offers high efficiency in scanning RFID tags on vehicle windshields event at high speed.
RFID Antennas for Toll Booths
Another important thing for tolling systems is the use of RFID antennas. When choosing an RFID antenna for an electronic toll collection system, focus on long read range and fast tag detection. Since RFID-tagged vehicles are on the move at tolling booths, the RFID antenna should be powerful enough to capture the RF signal from the windshield tags. High RFID gain antennas offering a long read range are perfect for tolling booths.
Some RFID antennas to consider for toll collection are the Zebra AN480 RFID antenna with 6 dBi gain, 9dBi circular polarized RFID antenna, 12 dBi circular polarized antenna, etc.
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FASTag Toll Collection
In the Indian ETC system, FASTag, an RFID windshield tag, is used. Consequently, the toll collection system is also named FASTag toll collection. These tags work on UHF 865-867 MHz operating frequency and comply with ISO 18000-63, EPCgloabl Gen2V2 communication protocols, and are easily read by RFID readers installed at toll booths on Indian roads.
FASTag system is securely guarded by Indian banks that offer the FASTag and link the use banking system and vehicle details with the RFID tag. These tags are secure to use and come with adequate security against fraud.
EnCstore.com is a leading provider of RFID readers and antennas for tolling systems across India and you can procure various readers and antennas through our RFID store at industry-best prices.
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