What is the function of RFID technology?

Radio Frequency Identification (or commonly known as RFID) is a type of electronic card that includes an antenna and a small chip. Each chip has the capacity to hold up to 2000 bytes of data. The basic function of the RFID card is very similar to that of a magnetic stripe on a bank card or a barcode. This type of technology allows you to create a unique identifier that can be read using a scanning tool.

What makes RFID more effective than barcodes?

A great positive aspect of the RFID card is the greater flexibility to read the stored information. You do not need to place the card in a precise place for the scanner to read it. Products with barcodes must be kept close to the scanner and often must pass several times before the information is actually detected.

However, RFID cards provide greater flexibility and allow scanners to read RFID cards from 2 to 20 feet from the scanning machine. Also, it is much more efficient to operate. For example, it would be possible to put food in a shopping bag and put that bag in the scanning machine. The machine would then read each of the shopping tokens and immediately calculate the cost of the purchase.

RFID technology is not new and has been around for over 50 years, but it has only become widespread in recent years due to reduced production costs.

What is RFID used for?

RFID Card are used in a wide range of industries and reader cards are available in different materials, sizes and shapes.

Some of the more common uses include dog or cat tracking tags that are about the size of a grain of rice and insert under the skin, anti-theft tags for store merchandise, shaped cards to open closed doors, and large tags or transponders that can be used to park railroad cars, trucks, heavy machinery, or shipping containers.

Common problems with RFID

RFID technology has a couple of recurring problems, like tag collision. Label collision occurs when multiple labels are found within a compact area and the reader cannot always read the information correctly due to the fast action of technology. To avoid these types of problems, it is essential that the chips are coded correctly to match their specific function.