Demystifying Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) The Basics

Demystifying Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) The Basics

Susan Jordan

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Objectives

Provide basic concepts of RFID technology including technical considerations, benefits, and challenges.

Explain the relevance of RFID technology as a process improvement enabler that can reduce defects, cycle times, and maintenance and engineering costs.

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What is RFID?

A technology that uses radio-frequency

waves to transfer data between a tag and a

reader to identify, categorize, track and

trace an item.

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RFID is a type of AIT

Automated Identification Technologies (AIT)

are a suite of data collection tools for

facilitating dramatic improvements in our

business processes.

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1D Linear bar codes

2D Data Matrix codes

Contact memory buttons

RFID tags

Also: Optical Character Recognition, Speech Recognition, & Vision Systems

Commonly used AIT

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Desirable qualities of AIT

Improved data collection:AccuracyReliabilitySpeed

Previously hard/impossible data collection:Behind bulkheadsInside boxes and palletsDangerous locations

Manual data entry is prone to error, inconsistent, and slow.

Line of sight and/or physical contact is no longer a constraint with RFID.

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Manual data collection

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is it

150602VC? or

Manual data collection

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is it

ISOGOZUL? or what?

Manual data collection

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Consider the cost of errors!

Accuracy

Savings (time and money)

Slower inputCost of correcting errorsWaste from wrong ordersWaste from missed opportunitiesEtc. Etc.

Manual collection& typing errors

AutomatedIdentificationTechnologies

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AIT is a process improvement enabler!

Improved asset utilizationReduced wasteControlled access to facilitiesFaster turnaroundAssured complement of equipmentImproved fleet managementMany, many others – limited only to your imagination.

This is the reason Boeing and Airbus jointly promote this technology

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RFID started with aviationDecade Event

1940 - 1950 - Radar refined and used, major World War II development effort. RFID invented in 1948.

1950 - 1960 - Early explorations of RFID technology, laboratory experiments. 1960 - 1970 - Development of the theory of RFID.

Start of applications field trials. 1970 - 1980 - Explosion of RFID development.

Tests of RFID accelerate. Very early adopter implementations of RFID (i.e., animal tagging, custom proprietary solutions).

1980 - 1990 - Commercial applications of RFID enter mainstream (electronic toll collection).

1990 - 2000 - Emergence of standards. RFID more widely deployed; gets more press timeRFID becomes a part of everyday life.

2000 – now - AutoID Center, EPCglobal, completion of standardsWal-Mart, Tesco, DoD mandates, FAA approval, Spec 2000.

RFID follows a progression of inventions that began with WWII RADAR and made possible today by research, microelectronics and standards.

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Considerations for an RFID system

Strategic

How can RFID enable our overall strategic vision?Should we be a leader or a “fast follower”?Which trading partners should I pilot with and when?How will we operate in a world of dual processes? And for how long?

Financial

What is the expected return on our RFID investment?What specific RFID applications can drive value for us?What is a realistic adoption pattern/rate of RFID and how will that impact my business case?

Organizational

What are the change management implications?What are the risks involved in an RFID implementation?Impact on people in the process

Technical

What are our technology requirements for an RFID implementation?What is the architecture that best delivers on my strategic technology plan?How will an RFID implementation impact our current applications?

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How far? (away do you need to read the tags)

How fast? (do you need to read the tags)

How many? (tags do you need to read at once)

How much? (data do you need to read)

Where? (will the data be used)

To What? (will the tags be attached)

Walking your process

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Elements of an RFID systemOne or more RF tagsTwo or more antennasOne or more readersOne or more host computersAppropriate software

RFID Tags Reader Computer/Application

RFID Software Application(Middleware)

Business ApplicationSoftware

Interface

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How the RFID system communicates

RFID Tag

Reader

RF signalPassiveBackscatter

Is anyone there?

Yes! Here is my identification and all of the data on my memory chip.

Air interface protocol: antenna

receives query, retrieves data on the chip, and modulates

the signal.

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Substrate & Antenna

The material into which the RFID integrated circuit and antenna are embedded.

Integrated Circuit

AntennaSubstrate

Antenna design is critical in determining range and performance

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Inlay

Integrated Circuit and Antenna mounted on a Substrate.

Integrated Circuit

AntennaSubstrate

Inlay

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Tag (aka Transponder)

An inlay is placed into a package appropriate for its intended use

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Labels with RFID inlays embedded inside the label material. The label also contains human readable and bar coded information.

Integrated smart label

RFID Inlay

Human Readable

Bar Code

SER 263265930

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Surface insensitive mounting

A technique to package an inlay so that it will operate effectively whether mounted to a conductive or non-conductive surface.

Water absorbs (attenuates) RF

Metal absorbs and/or reflects RF

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Categories of tagsPassive Tags – used by EPCglobal and Spec 2000

Tag powered by radio signal from readerNo active components, therefore little maintenanceGood read range (4 inches - 30 feet)

Battery-Assisted Passive TagsTag triggered by radio signal from readerBattery allows environmental monitoringBattery may also assist transmissionGood read range (4 inches - 300 feet)

Active TagsContains an active transmitterBattery powered memory, radio & circuitryFaster data transfer rateHigh read range (300 feet +)

Layers of Logistic Units : RFID

Line Replaceable

Units

e.g. Life Vest

Satellite

ActiveRFID

PassiveRFID

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Tag memory types

Read-only: Programmed during manufacture and subsequently can only be read.Write once, read many (WORM): Information can be user-programmed onto the tag once, but read many times.Read-write: Information can be read from and written to an RFID tag with an appropriate reader.

Memory space can be written to over 100,000 times (read/write cycles)

Commercial aviation has an interest in all of these

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Commonly used tag sizes

Physical dimensions1”x 1”1”x 2”2”x 2”3”x 2”4”x 4”

Price range (approx)US$ 0.25 to US$ 100

≈1

4

4

≈1

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Tag environments

With proper design, tags can be attached to almost any item or material:

Pallets and casesVehicles – airplanes, trucks, carsCompany assetsPeople, livestock, or petsConsumer electronicsIn aviation - Line Replaceable Units (LRUs), time-controlled and life-limited parts

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RFID readers

Readers can be at a fixed point:PortalPoint of saleWarehouse

Readers can also be mobile:WirelessHandheldTethered

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RFID readers

Anti-collisionAbility to communicate with several tags simultaneouslyImportant in longer range readersMust be implemented in the integrated circuit of the RFID device

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The radio frequency (RF) spectrum is a scarce and shared resource, used nationally and internationally, and subject to a wide range of regulatory oversight. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission is a key regulatory body that allocates spectrum use and resolves spectrum conflicts. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which plays the same role internationally.

Spectrum regulation

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Electromagnetic spectrum

ElectricWaves

RadioWaves

Infra-red VisibleLight

Ultra-Violet

X-Rays GammaRays

CosmicRays

9kHz 30kHz 300kHz 3000kHz 30MHz 300MHz 3000MHz 30GHz 300GHz 3000GHz

VLF LF MF HF VHF UHF SHF EHF Notdesignated

LongWave

MediumWave

ShortWave

VLF Very Low Frequency VHF Very High FrequencyLF Low Frequency UHF Ultra High FrequencyMF Medium Frequency SHF Super High FrequencyHF High Frequency EHF Extremely High Frequency

Radio Spectrum

125-134 kHz 13.56 MHz 860-960 MHz 2.45 and 5.8 GHz

The RFID Frequencies

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Comparison of common RFID frequencies

Frequency Regulation Range Data Speed Comments

120 – 150 kHz 18000-2

(passive)

Basically unregulated < 1m Low Animal identification and factory data collection

13.56 MHz18000-3

(passive)

ISM band, differing power levels and duty cycle

< 1m Low to moderate Popular frequency for I.C. Cards (Smart Cards),

Libraries

433 MHz18000-7(active)

Non-specific Short Range Devices (SRD), Location

Systems

1 – 100 m Moderate Container Security and Tracking. Asset tracking for U.S. DoD (Pallets) –

Active

860 – 960 MHz18000-6

(passive)

ISM band, increasing use in other regions, differing

power levels and duty cycle

2 – 5 m Moderate to high MH 10.8.4 (RTI), AIAG B-11 (tires), EPC (18000-6C), DoD

Passive

2450 MHz18000-4 Mode 1

(passive)

ISM band, differing power levels and duty cycle

1 – 2 m High IEEE 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth, cordless telephones

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Advantages of UHF (860 – 960 MHz)

Best available frequency for distances of >1m

Effective around metals

Smaller antennas

Good non-line-of-sight communication

High data rate; large amounts of data

Controlled read zone through antenna direction

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Disadvantages of UHF (860 – 960 MHz)

Does not penetrate water

Regulatory issues in different parts of world (differences in frequency, channels, power, and duty cycle)

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A global view of UHF RFID frequenciesEurope:

862–870 MHz (869 MHz)

Middle East:Potential for

862–870 MHz

China:840-844 ,

920-924 MHz

Australia:915MHz Typically

permit FCC approved devices

New Zealand:862-928 MHz with FCC power levels

Japan:952-954 MHz

Pacific Rim:Singapore 866-869, 920-925

MHz, Taiwan 915MHz

Northern Africa: 862–870 MHz

(869 MHz)

US and Canada:902–928 MHz

South America:Undefined but 915

MHz is typically accepted

Mexico:Typically 915MHz, Case by case basis

Southern Africa: 915MHz Typically permit FCC approved devices

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Varying power regulations

869.4 – 869.65 MHz Europe 0.5W EIRP865.5 – 867.6 MHz Europe 2.0W EIRP902.0 – 928.0 MHz America 4.0W EIRP860.0 – 930.0 MHz Others Varies2.400 – 2.4835 GHz Europe 0.5W EIRP2.400 – 2.4835 GHz Europe 4.0W EIRP2.400 – 2.5835 GHz America 4.0W EIRP2.400 – 2.5835 GHz Others Varies

Frequency Range Region Power

Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP):The measure of the output of an RFID reader’s antenna expressed in watts.

UHF

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Reader geographic mobility challenge

860 MHz

960 MHz

RFID Tags can be designed to respond to all frequencies in this range.

Readers are constrained by national regulation to smaller segments of the spectrum.

China

Singapore

USA

Japan

915 MHz

862 MHz

925 MHz

923 MHz

869 MHz

866MHz

954 MHz

952 MHz

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AIT and data capture standards organizations

International ElectrotechnicalCommission (IEC)

IEEE INCITS

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

International TelecommunicationsUnion (ITU) (United Nations)

TC 104Freight Containers

TC 8Ships & Marine Tech

SC 31Automatic Data Capture

ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1(JTC 1)

ITU-T (fka CCITT)Telecommunications

ITU-R (fka CCIR & IFBR)Radio-frequency Issues

ITU-D (fka BDT)Telecommunications Development

ECMAComité Européen Normalisation(CEN)

Comité Européen NormalisationElectrotechnique (CENELEC)

Comité Européen Postal &Telegraph (CEPT)

TC 122Packaging

International

Regional

NationalAustralia (SAA) French (AFNOR) German (DIN) Japan (JISC)American (ANSI)British (BSI)

AIMMHI UCC EIA

Industry

Other

CompTIA ATA EIA AIA HIBCC AIAG UCC Other

WG 1 - SymbologyWG 2 - Data ContentWG 3 - ConformanceWG 4 - RFID

United Postal Union (UPU) (United Nations)

T6 B10

SC 17IC Cards

VDA

ODETTE

WG 5 - RTLS

SAE

EPCglobal

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Standards organization: EPCglobal

A non-profit organization chartered to develop global, interoperable standards for RFID use.

EPCglobal publishes standards about the format and the content of RFID tags.

Specific industry action groups (IAGs) work on solving problems unique to their industry; e.g., Aerospace & Defense IAG encompasses commercial aviation interests

Header EPC ManagerNumber

Object Class

EPC Serial

Number

Assigned by EPCglobal

Assigned by EPC Manager Owner

• Header• Identifies length, type, structure, version, generation of EPC

• EPC Manger Number• Entity responsible for maintaining the subsequent

• Object Class• identifies a class of objects

• EPC Serial Number• identifies the particular item

Format of an EPCglobal C1G2 UHF RFID tag

96 bits total= 12 characters

Header EPC ManagerNumber

Object Class

EPC Serial

Number

Assigned by EPCglobal

Assigned by EPC Manager Owner

The Class 2 UHF RFID tag specification is being defined by the EPCglobal UHF Class 2 Working Group. Additional features may include encryption, read locking, recycle features, sensor support, and structured user memory.

Format of an EPCglobal Class 2 UHF RFID tag

64 kilobytes total= 32 typed pages

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Standards organization: Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

A non-profit organization chartered to develop standards for technical and engineering sciences.

SAE published Aerospace Standard AS5678 “Passive RFID Tags Intended for Aircraft Use”

AS5678 establishes the environmental performance requirements for developing aviation-use passive RFID transponders.

Typical environmental performance requirements include temperature, altitude, humidity, shock, vibration, fluid susceptibility, magnetic effects, and flammability.

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Standards organization: Air Transport Association (ATA)

An airline trade association chartered to foster global air safety, service, and efficiency within commercial aviation.

The ATA creates international technical standards related to commercial aviation engineering and maintenance practices.

An ATA task force has defined the mandatory and conditional data elements to be contained on an RFID tag.

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Key messages

RFID technology will enable dramatic process improvements by enhancing the accuracy and availability of information.

An understanding of governing RFID frequency and power regulations is essential for global business entities such as airlines.

Boeing and Airbus are working together to establish common RFID standards and solutions to create value for our shared suppliers and mixed fleet customers.

Thank you for your attention!

Questions?