An EPC RFID tag used for Wal-Mart

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. An RFID tag is a small object that can be attached to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person. RFID tags contain silicon chips and antennas to enable them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver. Passive tags require no internal power source, whereas active tags require a power source. EPC RFID File links The following pages link to this file: RFID ... Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ... Automated Identification and Data Capture (Auto-ID Data Capture; AIDC) refers to the methods of identifying objects, collecting data about them, and entering that data directly into computer systems (i. ... In telecommunication, the term transponder (sometimes abbreviated to XPDR or TPDR) has the following meanings: An automatic device that receives, amplifies, and retransmits a signal on a different frequency (see also broadcast translator). ... Integrated circuit showing memory blocks, logic and input/output pads around the periphery A monolithic integrated circuit (also known as IC, microchip, silicon chip, computer chip or chip) is a miniaturized electronic circuit (consisting mainly of semiconductor devices, as well as passive components) which has been manufactured in the surface... A yagi antenna Most simply, an antenna is an electronic component designed to send or receive radio waves. ... A transceiver is a device that has a transmitter and a receiver which are combined. ...

History of RFID tags

An RFID tag used for electronic toll collection

In 1945 Léon Theremin invented an espionage tool for the Soviet government which retransmitted incident radio waves with audio information. Even though this device was a passive covert listening device, not an identification tag, it has been attributed as the first known device and a predecessor to RFID technology. The technology used in RFID has been around since the early 1920s according to one source (although the same source states that RFID systems have been around just since the late 1960s). [1] [2] FasTrak transponder velcro-mounted to car windshield. ... Many ETC systems use transponders like this one to electronically debit the accounts of registered cars without their stopping Transponder used in some Chilean freeways Electronic toll collection (ETC), an adaptation of military identification friend or foe technology, aims to eliminate the delay on toll roads. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... A young Léon Theremin playing a theremin Léon Theremin (born Lev Sergeyevich Termen, Лев Сергеевич Термен in Russian) (August 15, 1896–November 3, 1993) was a Russian inventor, most famous for his invention of the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments. ... State motto (Russian): Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Soviet republics Area  - Total  - % water 1st before collapse 22,402,200 km² Approx. ... A bug is the common name for a covert listening device, usually a combination of a miniature radio transmitter with a microphone. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Social issues of the 1920s. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1961 to 1970, inclusive. ...

A more similar technology, the IFF transponder, was invented by the British in 1939 [3], and was routinely used by the allies in World War II to identify airplanes as friend or foe. In telecommunications, identification, friend or foe (IFF) is an identification system designed for use during hostile conditions, that enables military aircraft, or both civilian and military air-traffic controllers to distinguish friendly aircraft, vehicles, or forces from the enemy, and also to track them. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...

Another early work exploring RFID is the landmark 1948 paper by Harry Stockman, titled "Communication by Means of Reflected Power" (Proceedings of the IRE, pp 1196–1204, October 1948). Stockman predicted that "...considerable research and development work has to be done before the remaining basic problems in reflected-power communication are solved, and before the field of useful applications is explored." 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ...

Mario Cardullo claims that his U.S. Patent 3,713,148 in 1973 was the first true ancestor of modern RFID; a passive radio transponder with memory. [4] The first demonstration of today's reflected power (backscatter) RFID tags was done at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in 1973. [5]

Types of RFID tags

RFID tags can be either passive, semi-passive (also known as semi-active), or active.

Passive

Passive RFID tags have no internal power supply. The minute electrical current induced in the antenna by the incoming radio frequency signal provides just enough power for the CMOS integrated circuit (IC) in the tag to power up and transmit a response. Most passive tags signal by backscattering the carrier signal from the reader. This means that the aerial (antenna) has to be designed to both collect power from the incoming signal and also to transmit the outbound backscatter signal. The response of a passive RFID tag is not just an ID number (GUID); the tag chip can contain nonvolatile EEPROM for storing data. Lack of an onboard power supply means that the device can be quite small: commercially available products exist that can be embedded under the skin. As of 2006, the smallest such devices measured 0.15 mm × 0.15 mm, and are thinner than a sheet of paper (7.5 micrometers).[6] The addition of the antenna creates a tag that varies from the size of postage stamp to the size of a post card. Passive tags have practical read distances ranging from about 2 mm (ISO 14443) up to a few meters (EPC and ISO 18000-6) depending on the chosen radio frequency and antenna design/size. Due to their simplicity in design they are also suitable for manufacture with a printing process for the antennas. Passive RFID tags do not require batteries, and can be much smaller and have an unlimited life span. Non-silicon tags made from polymer semiconductors are currently being developed by several companies globally. Simple laboratory printed polymer tags operating at 13.56 MHz were demonstrated in 2005 by both PolyIC (Germany) and Philips (The Netherlands). If successfully commercialized, polymer tags will be roll printable, like a magazine, and much less expensive than silicon-based tags. In telecommunication, the term backscattering has the following meanings: 1. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A micrometre (American spelling: micrometer), symbol µm, is an SI unit of length. ... ISO 14443 defines a proximity card used for identification that usually uses the standard credit card form factor defined by ISO 7810 ID-1. ... EPC can refer to Edgewater Presbyterian Church Electronic Product Code European Patent Convention (the Convention instituting the European Patent Organisation) European Political Community European Political Cooperation Event-driven Process Chains (EPCs in computer sciences) Engineering, Procurement and Construction EPC - Irish Consultancy Firm This page concerning a three-letter acronym or...

Because passive tags are cheaper to manufacture and have no battery, the majority of RFID tags in existence are of the passive variety. As of 2005, the lowest cost EPC Gen 2 tags available on the market are as low as 7.2 cents each in volumes of 10 million units or more. Current demand for RFID integrated circuit chips is expected to grow rapidly based on these prices. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On May 1st 2006 the RFID Journal reported that SmartCode has introduced the first ever $0.05 tag. The nickel tag has been the holy grail that was originally calculated by the Auto ID Center (now EPCglobal) as the tag price that will bring RFID to the masses. This price is only for the inlay (chip and antenna only) and does not include the label (adhesive etc.) which already exists on most products today. In large scale deployments companies are also starting to embed these inlays directly into the products themselves or the packaging without the need for a paper label. This price is good for orders of 100 million or more, which is an extremely large number for most of us, but not for the CPG and Pharmaceutical companies which ship Billions of products each year. Link titleلبالباللاللMedia:Example. ... EPCglobal is a joint venture between GS1 (formerly known as EAN International) and GS1 US™ (formerly the Uniform Code Council, Inc. ... Pharmacology (in Greek: pharmacon is drug, and logos is science) is the study of how chemical substances interfere with living systems. ... The word billion, and its equivalents in other languages, refer to one of two different numbers. ...

Semi-passive

Semi-passive RFID tags are very similar to passive tags except for the addition of a small battery. This battery allows the tag IC to be constantly powered, which removes the need for the aerial to be designed to collect power from the incoming signal. Aerials can therefore be optimized for the backscattering signal. Semi-passive RFID tags are thus faster in response, though less reliable and powerful than active tags.

Active

Unlike passive RFID tags, active RFID tags have their own internal power source which is used to power any ICs that generate the outgoing signal. Active tags are typically much more reliable (e.g. fewer errors) than passive tags due to the ability for active tags to conduct a "session" with a reader. Active tags, due to their onboard power supply, also transmit at higher power levels than passive tags, allowing them to be more effective in "RF challenged" environments like water (including humans/cattle, which are mostly water), heavy metal (shipping containers, vehicles), or at longer distances. Many active tags have practical ranges of hundreds of meters, and a battery life of up to 10 years. Some active RFID tags include sensors such as temperature logging which have been used in concrete maturity monitoring or to monitor the temperature of perishable goods. Other sensors that have been married with active RFID include humidity, shock/vibration, light, radiation, temperture and atmospherics like ethylene. Active tags typically have much longer range (approximately 300 feet) and larger memories than passive tags, as well as the ability to store additional information sent by the transceiver. The United States Department of Defense has successfully used active tags to reduce logistics costs and improve supply chain visibility for more than 15 years. At present, the smallest active tags are about the size of a coin and sell for a few dollars.

The RFID system

An RFID system may consist of several components: tags, tag readers, edge servers, middleware, and application software.

The purpose of an RFID system is to enable data to be transmitted by a mobile device, called a tag, which is read by an RFID reader and processed according to the needs of a particular application. The data transmitted by the tag may provide identification or location information, or specifics about the product tagged, such as price, color, date of purchase, etc. The use of RFID in tracking and access applications first appeared during the 1980s. RFID quickly gained attention because of its ability to track moving objects. As the technology is refined, more pervasive and possibly invasive uses for RFID tags are in the works. MacGyver - 1980s hero The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ...

In a typical RFID system, individual objects are equipped with a small, inexpensive tag. The tag contains a transponder with a digital memory chip that is given a unique electronic product code. The interrogator, an antenna packaged with a transceiver and decoder, emits a signal activating the RFID tag so it can read and write data to it. When an RFID tag passes through the electromagnetic zone, it detects the reader's activation signal. The reader decodes the data encoded in the tag's integrated circuit (silicon chip) and the data is passed to the host computer. The application software on the host processes the data, often employing Physical Markup Language (PML). The Electronic Product Code, (EPC), is an electronically coded tag that is intended as an improvement on the UPC barcode system. ... Physical Markup Language (PML) is a markup language based on XML for communicating a description of physical environments and the objects within them, their relationships to you, each other and the space. ...

Take the example of books in a library. Security gates can detect whether or not a book has been properly checked out of the library. When users return items, the security bit is re-set and the item record in the Integrated library system is automatically updated. In some RFID solutions a return receipt can be generated. At this point, materials can be roughly sorted into bins by the return equipment. Inventory wands provide a finer detail of sorting. This tool can be used to put books into shelf-ready order. An integrated library system, or ILS, is a sort of enterprise resource system for a library. ...

Current usage

• The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency began using RFID tags as a replacement for barcode tags. The tags are required to identify a bovine's herd of origin and this is used for trace-back when a packing plant condemns a carcass. Currently CCIA tags are used in Wisconsin and by US farmers on a voluntary basis. The USDA is currently developing its own program.Image:CCIA tags.jpg

• In the UK, systems for prepaying for unlimited public transport have been devised, making use of RFID technology. The design is embedded in a creditcard-like pass, that when scanned reveals details of whether the pass is valid, and for how long the pass will remain valid. The first company to implement this is the NCT company of Nottingham City, where the general public affectionately refer to them as "beep cards".

RFID tags used in libraries: square book tag, round CD/DVD tag and rectangular VHS tag.

• High-frequency RFID tags are used in library book or bookstore tracking, pallet tracking, building access control, airline baggage tracking, and apparel and pharmaceutical item tracking. High-frequency tags are widely used in identification badges, replacing earlier magnetic stripe cards. These badges need only be held within a certain distance of the reader to authenticate the holder. The American Express Blue credit card now includes a high-frequency RFID tag.

• UHF RFID tags are commonly used commercially in case, pallet, and shipping container tracking, and truck and trailer tracking in shipping yards.

• Microwave RFID tags are used in long range access control for vehicles.

• RFID tags are used for electronic toll collection at toll booths with Georgia's Cruise Card, California's FasTrak, Illinois' I-Pass, the expanding eastern states' E-ZPass system, Florida's SunPass, Massachusett's Fast Lane, North Texas NTTA and Houston HCTRA EZ Tag, The "Cross-Israel Highway" (Highway 6), Philippines South Luzon Expressway E-Pass, Brisbane's Gateway Motorway E-Toll in Australia, Central Highway (Autopista Central) in Chile and all highways in Portugal (Via Verde, the first system in the world to span the entire network of tolls) and France (Liber-T system). The tags are read remotely as vehicles pass through the booths, and tag information is used to debit the toll from a prepaid account. The system helps to speed traffic through toll plazas as it records the date, time, and billing data for the RFID vehicle tag.

• Sensors such as seismic sensors may be read using RFID transceivers, greatly simplifying remote data collection.

• In January 2003, Michelin began testing RFID transponders embedded into tires. After a testing period that is expected to last 18 months, the manufacturer will offer RFID-enabled tires to car makers. Their primary purpose is tire-tracking in compliance with the United States Transportation, Recall, Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act (TREAD Act).

• Some smart cards embedded with RFID chips are used as electronic cash, e.g. SmarTrip in Washington, DC, USA, EasyCard in Taiwan, Suica in Japan, T-Money in South Korea, Octopus Card in Hong Kong, and the Netherlands and Oyster Card on the London Underground in the United Kingdom to pay fares in mass transit systems and/or retails. The Chicago Transit Authority recently began using RFID technology in their Chicago Card.

• Starting with the 2004 model year, a Smart Key/Smart Start option became available to the Toyota Prius. Since then, Toyota has been introducing the feature on various models around the world under both the Toyota and Lexus brands, including the Toyota Avalon (2005 model year), Toyota Camry (2007 model year), and the Lexus GS (2006 model year). The key uses an active RFID circuit which allows the car to acknowledge the key's presence within approximately 3 feet of the sensor. The driver can open the doors and start the car while the key remains in a purse or pocket.

• In August 2004, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRH) approved a $415,000 contract to evaluate the personnel tracking technology of Alanco Technologies. Inmates will wear wristwatch-sized transmitters that can detect if prisoners have been trying to remove them and send an alert to prison computers. This project is not the first such rollout of tracking chips in US prisons. Facilities in Michigan, California and Illinois already employ the technology.

• A number of ski resorts, particularly in the French Alps, have adopted RFID tags to provide skiers hands-free access to ski lifts.

Skytrain Bangkok. ... Nottingham City Transport is Nottinghams major bus operator, running a comprehensive nework of services in the Nottingham City area and a handful of services beyond the city boundries to Southwell, Newark, Loughborough, and Nottingham East Midlands Airport. ... Nottingham is a city (and county town of Nottinghamshire) in the East Midlands of England. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1212x1395, 706 KB) Summary Photo of types of RFID tags used in libraries taken by me. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1212x1395, 706 KB) Summary Photo of types of RFID tags used in libraries taken by me. ... A modern-style library in Chambéry In the traditional sense of the word, a library is a collection of books and periodicals. ... A wooden pallet A plastic pallet with nine legs, which can be lifted from all four sides For the fictional town in the Pokémon series of games, named after an artists palette, see Pallet Town. ... In security, specifically physical security, the term access control refers to the practice of restricting entrance to a property, a building, or a room to authorized persons. ... (See also List of types of clothing) Introduction Humans often wear articles of clothing (also known as dress, garments or attire) on the body (for the alternative, see nudity). ... A badge is a device, patch, or accoutrement which is presented or displayed to annote some feat of service, a special accomplishment, as a symbol of authority (ex: police), or as a simple means of identification. ... Marcus Boltonas (Mark Boltan) Marcus Boltonas Brief history The magnetic stripe which is often reffered to as the Bolton is derived from the Marcus Boltonas from the Jurassic period. ... American Express NYSE: AXP is a diversified global financial services company, headquartered in New York City. ... This article is about the radio frequency. ... The driver of this DAF tractor with an auto-transport semi-trailer prepares to offload Å koda Octavia cars in Cardiff, Wales For other meanings, see Truck (disambiguation). ... Microwave image of 3C353 galaxy at 8. ... Many ETC systems use transponders like this one to electronically debit the accounts of registered cars without their stopping Transponder used in some Chilean freeways Electronic toll collection (ETC), an adaptation of military identification friend or foe technology, aims to eliminate the delay on toll roads. ... A toll road, turnpike or tollpike is a road on which a toll authority collects a fee for use. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq. ... Mounted FasTrak transponder FasTrak is an electronic toll collection system in the state of California in the United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq. ... I-PASS is the electronic toll collection system used by the Illinois Tollway. ... E-ZPass is the electronic toll collection system used on most toll bridges and toll roads in the eastern United States from Virginia to Maine, and recently extended into Illinois. ... SunPass is an Electronic toll collection system in use by the State of Florida and was originally created by the Florida Department of Transportation and Floridas Turnpike. ... Fast Lane is the electronic toll collection used in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA. The member agencies are the Massachusetts Turnpike (which also operates the Sumner Tunnel and Ted Williams Tunnel) and the Massachusetts Port Authority (which operates the Tobin Bridge). ... About EZ Tag EZ Tag is a prepaid toll system in Houston, Texas, United States that allows motorists to pay tolls without stopping at toll booths. ... The South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), also called South Superhighway, is the main artery that connects Metro Manila with the provinces of the CALABARZON region in the Philippines. ... Via-Verde (literally Green Lane) is an electronic toll collection system used in Portugal since 1991, and extended to every toll in every highway and bridge in the country since 1995. ... Prepaid refers to services paid for in advance. ... In accountancy, an account is a label for recording a quantity of almost anything. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Seismology (from the Greek seismos = earthquake and logos = word) is the scientific study of earthquakes and the movement of waves through the Earth. ... Telemetry is a technology that allows the remote measurement and reporting of information of interest to the system designer or operator. ... 2003: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December A timeline of events in the news for January, 2003. ... Michelin (full name: Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin) (Euronext: ML) based in Clermont-Ferrand, France in the Auvergne région of France, is primarily a tyre manufacturer. ... The Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act was passed by the United States legislature in the fall of 2000. ... Smart card used for health insurance in France. ... Electronic money (or digital money) refers to cash and transactions using electronic means, encompassing the use of computer networks (such as the Internet) and digital stored value systems. ... Front of a Washington Metro SmarTrip card. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... EasyCard (traditional Chinese: 悠遊卡) is a contactless smartcard system operated by Taipei Smart Card Corporation for use on the Taipei Rapid Transit System and on buses and other public transport services in Taipei. ... The Suica (Japanese: スイカ) card is a rechargeable contactless smart card used on the (JR) East network, Tokyo Monorail, and Rinkai Line in Japan. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Obverse side of a standard adult card. ... The Oyster card is a form of electronic ticketing designed for use on Transport for London and National Rail services within the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. ... The nickname Tube comes from the circular tube-like tunnels through which the small-profile trains travel. ... In the United States of America, transit describes local area common carrier passenger transportation configured to provide scheduled service on fixed routes on a non-reservation basis. ... Quincy el Station serving the Brown Line, Purple Line and Orange Line The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), founded on October 1, 1947, provides bus and rail mass transit services to the citizens of Chicago and several of the citys inner suburbs. ... Chicago Card Plus The Chicago Card and the Chicago Card Plus are contactless smart cards used by riders of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Pace to electronically pay for bus and train fares in the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA and the surrounding suburbs. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Toyota redirects here. ... Prius may refer to: Hitachi Flora Prius, a personal computer. ... Lexus is a brand name of the Toyota Motor Corporation for its line of luxury vehicles. ... Interior of a 2003 Toyota Avalon The Toyota Avalon is a fullsize car produced by Toyota in the United States and Australia, originally based on the the platform of the then-current Toyota Camry. ... The Toyota Camry is a mid-size car manufactured by Toyota in Georgetown, Kentucky, USA, as well as Australia, and Tsutsumi, Japan. ... The Lexus GS is a rear-wheel drive, luxury sports sedan manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corp. ... 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December See also: August 2004 in sports Deaths in August 2004 • 30 Fred Whipple • 26 Laura Branigan • 24 Elisabeth Kübler-Ross • 18 Elmer Bernstein • 15 Amarsinh Chaudhary • 14 CzesÅ‚aw MiÅ‚osz • 13 Julia Child • 8 Robert... Official language(s) None Capital Largest city Columbus Columbus (largest metropolitan area is Cleveland) Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq. ... In communications and information processing, a transmitter (sometimes abbreviated XMTR) is an object (source) which sends information to an observer (receiver). ... Official language(s) None (English, de-facto) Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Area  Ranked 11th  - Total 265,172 km² / 102,384 sq. ... A ski resort is a ski area with a village and/or high-end accommodations and other amenities at the base of the mountain. ... The French Alps are simply those parts of the Alps which lie in France. ... A chairlift A chairlift is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a constantly moving loop of steel cable strung between two end terminals and generally over intermediate towers. ...

RFID in inventory systems

An advanced automatic identification technology such as the Auto-ID system based on the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has two values for inventory systems. First, the visibility provided by this technology allows an accurate knowledge on the inventory level by eliminating the discrepancy between inventory record and physical inventory. Second, the RFID technology can prevent or reduce the sources of errors. Benefits of using RFID include the reduction of labor costs, the simplification of business processes and the reduction of inventory inaccuracies.

Academic Papers on this issue

RFID mandates

Wal-Mart and the United States Department of Defense have published requirements [7] that their vendors place RFID tags on all shipments to improve supply chain management. [8]. Due to the size of these two organizations, their RFID mandates impact thousands of companies worldwide. The deadlines have been extended several times because many vendors face significant difficulties implementing RFID systems. In practice, the successful read rates currently run only 80%, due to radio wave attenuation caused by the products and packaging. In time it is expected that even small companies will be able to place RFID tags on their outbound shipments. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ... The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated as DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ... It has been suggested that Bullwhip Effect be merged into this article or section. ...

Since January, 2005, Wal-Mart has required its top 100 suppliers to apply RFID labels to all shipments. To meet this requirement, vendors use RFID printer/encoders to label cases and pallets that require EPC tags for Wal-Mart. These smart labels are produced by embedding RFID inlays inside the label material, and then printing bar code and other visible information on the surface of the label. The Electronic Product Code, (EPC), is an electronically coded tag that is intended as an improvement on the UPC barcode system. ... Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ... An EPC RFID tag used for Wal-Mart Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. ...

Human implants

Hand with the planned location of the RFID chip

Just after the operation to insert the RFID tag was completed

Implantable RFID chips designed for animal tagging are now being used in humans as well. An early experiment with RFID implants was conducted by British professor of cybernetics Kevin Warwick, who implanted a chip in his arm in 1998. Applied Digital Solutions proposes their chip's "unique under-the-skin format" as a solution to identity fraud, secure building access, computer access, storage of medical records, anti-kidnapping initiatives and a variety of law-enforcement applications. Combined with sensors to monitor body functions, the Digital Angel device could provide monitoring for patients. Night clubs in Barcelona, Spain and in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, use an implantable VeriChip to identify their VIP customers, who in turn use it to pay for drinks [9]. Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: RFID ... Image File history File links File links The following pages link to this file: RFID ... Image File history File links Photo of Amal Graafstra, a Washington state native and business owner, having an RFID chip implanted in his left hand in early 2005. ... Image File history File links Photo of Amal Graafstra, a Washington state native and business owner, having an RFID chip implanted in his left hand in early 2005. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Professor Kevin Warwick is a cybernetics professor at the University of Reading, England. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Applied Digital (AMEX: ADSX) develops security products for consumer, commercial, and government sectors worldwide. ... Digital Angel (AMEX:DOC) is an American company that produces animal identification and tracking systems using RFID. External links Official website The mark of the devil. ... Barcelona is the capital city of Catalonia, an autonomous community in Spain. ... Rotterdam Location Flag Country The Netherlands Province South Holland Population 604,819 (2005) Coordinates 51° 55 N.; 4° 30 E. Website www. ... The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). ... VeriChip is a human-implantable RFID (radio frequency identification) device from VeriChip Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions of Delray Beach, Florida. ...

In 2004, the Mexican Attorney General's office implanted 18 of its staff members with the Verichip to control access to a secure data room. (This number has been variously mis-reported as 160 or 180 staff members, though the correct number is actually 18. [10])

Security experts are warning against using RFID for authenticating people due to the risk of Identity Theft. For instance a Mafia Fraud Attack would make it possible for an attacker to steal the identity of a person in real-time. Due to the resource-constraints of RFIDs it is virtually impossible to protect against such attack models as this would require complex distance-binding protocols.

Hong Kong Airport imbeds RFID chips in each luggage tag. RFIDs can be more reliably tracked electronically than the old barcode system. Computerized conveyor belt system delivers luggage to the airplanes automatically.

Potential uses

RFID tags are often envisioned as a replacement for UPC or EAN barcodes, having a number of important advantages over the older barcode technology. They may not ever completely replace barcodes, due in part to their higher cost and in other part to the advantage of more than one independent data source on the same object. The new EPC, along with several other schemes, is widely available at reasonable cost. The Universal Product Code (UPC) is one of a wide variety of bar code languages called symbologies. ... European Article Numbering-Uniform Code Council (EAN-UCC) is the international organization of product barcodes that are printed on almost everything that is sold in stores worldwide. ... The Electronic Product Code, (EPC), is an electronically coded tag that is intended as an improvement on the UPC barcode system. ...

The storage of data associated with tracking items will require many terabytes on all levels. The escape is filtering, as nobody will save data without defined purpose. It is likely that goods will be tracked preferably by the pallet using RFID tags, and at package level with Universal Product Code (UPC) or EAN from unique barcodes. A terabyte is a unit of measurement in computers. ... UPC is a three letter acronym that can stand for: Uganda Peoples Congress Ultra Personal Computer Unified Parallel C Uniform Plumbing Code Union des Populations du Cameroun United Pan-Europe Communications United Pentecostal Church United Poultry Concerns United Presbyterian Church Universal Product Code Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya University... European Article Numbering-Uniform Code Council (EAN-UCC) is the international organization of product barcodes that are printed on almost everything that is sold in stores worldwide. ...

The unique identity in any case is a mandatory requirement for RFID tags, despite special choice of the numbering scheme. RFID tag data capacity is big enough that any tag will have a unique code, while current bar codes are limited to a single type code for all instances of a particular product. The uniqueness of RFID tags means that a product may be individually tracked as it moves from location to location, finally ending up in the consumer's hands. This may help companies to combat theft and other forms of product loss. Moreover, the tracing back of products is an important feature that gets well supported with RFID tags containing not just a unique identity of the tag but also the serial number of the object. This may help companies to cope with quality deficiencies and resulting recall campaigns, but also contributes to concern over post-sale tracking and profiling of consumers.

It has also been proposed to use RFID for POS store checkout to replace the cashier with an automatic system which needs no barcode scanning. However this is not likely to be possible without a significant reduction in the cost of current tags and changes in the operational process around POS. There is some research taking place, however, this is some years from reaching fruition. POS must not be confused with EFT/POS and POS Terminal used in Electronic payment POS or PoS is an acronym for point-of-sale (or point of purchase). ... A cashier is a person responsible for totaling the amount due for a purchase and then charging the consumer for that amount. ...

Active RFID tags also have the potential to function as low-cost remote sensors that broadcast telemetry back to a base station. Applications could include sensing of road conditions by implanted beacons, weather reports, and noise level monitoring. Telemetry is a technology that allows the remote measurement and reporting of information of interest to the system designer or operator. ...

Gen 2

GS1 and GS1 US operate the joint venture EPCglobal. EPCglobal is working on international standards for the use of RFID and the EPC in the identification of any item in the supply chain for companies worldwide. The organization's board of governors includes representatives from GS1, GS1 US, The Gillette Company, Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Checkpoint Systems and Auto-ID Labs and others. GS1 is a global organization dedicated to the design and implementation of global standards and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains globally and across multiple sectors. ... GS1 US is the GS1 Member Organization in the United States of America. ... EPCglobal is a joint venture between GS1 (formerly known as EAN International) and GS1 USâ„¢ (formerly the Uniform Code Council, Inc. ... The Electronic Product Code, (EPC), is an electronically coded tag that is intended as an improvement on the UPC barcode system. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... GS1 is a global organization dedicated to the design and implementation of global standards and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains globally and across multiple sectors. ... GS1 US is the GS1 Member Organization in the United States of America. ... The Gillette brand logo The Gillette Company (NYSE: G) was founded by King C. Gillette in 1901 as a safety razor manufacturer. ... It has been suggested that Global Gillette be merged into this article or section. ... Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ... The Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), commonly known as HP, is a very large, global company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, United States. ... Johnson & Johnson NYSE: JNJ is an international pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1885. ... Auto-ID Labs, previously known as the Auto-ID Center, is a federation of research universities working on an open standard for creating a seamless global network of physical objects. ...

The EPCglobal gen 2 standard was approved in December 2004, and is likely to form the backbone of RFID tag standards moving forward. This was approved after a contention from Intermec that the standard may infringe a number of their RFID related patents. It was decided that the standard itself did not infringe their patents, but it may be necessary to pay royalties to Intermec if the tag were to be read in a particular manner. EPC Gen2 is short for EPCglobal UHF Generation 2. EPC standardisation is headed to become adopted by ISO, e.g. in accordance with complementary standardisation based on the ISO standard 18000-6. ← - 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in December • 30 Artie Shaw • 29 Julius Axelrod • 28 Jacques Dupuis • 28 Jerry Orbach • 28 Susan Sontag • 26 Reggie White • 26 Sir Angus Ogilvy • 23 P. V. Narasimha Rao • 23 Doug Ault • 19 Renata Tebaldi • 16... Intermec Technologies Corporation ([1]) is an Auto Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) company and is a subsidiary of UNOVA. A major owner of RFID patents underpinning the EPCglobal RFID standard. ... Intermec Technologies Corporation ([1]) is an Auto Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) company and is a subsidiary of UNOVA. A major owner of RFID patents underpinning the EPCglobal RFID standard. ...

Patient identification

In July 2004, the Food and Drug Administration issued a ruling that essentially begins a final review process that will determine whether hospitals can use RFID systems to identify patients and/or permit relevant hospital staff to access medical records. The use of RFID to prevent mixups between sperm and ova in IVF clinics is also being considered [11]. 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December See also: July 2004 in sports Deaths in July • 31 David B. Haight • 29 Francis Crick • 29 Nafisa Joseph • 23 Joe Cahill • 23 Mehmood • 23 Illinois Jacquet • 23 Carlos Paredes • 22 Sacha Distel • 21 Jerry Goldsmith • 21... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Medical records refer to records, either in paper or electronic form, of the results of medical tests, diagnoses and treatments for individuals. ... The signifier sperm can refer to: (mass noun, from Greek sperma = seed) a substance which consists of spermatozoa and which is a component of semen (mass noun) semen itself (informally, count noun with plural sperm or sperms) a single spermatozoon (= sperm cell) sperma ceti (Latin ceti, genitive of cetus = whale... A human ovum An ovum (from Latin, loosely, egg or egg cell) is a female sex cell or gamete. ... In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a technique in which egg cells are fertilized outside the mothers body in cases where conception is difficult or impossible through normal intercourse. ...

In October 2004, the FDA approved the country's first RFID chips that can be implanted in humans. The 134 kHz RFID chips, from VeriChip Corp., a subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions Inc., can incorporate personal medical information and could save lives and limit injuries from errors in medical treatments, according to the company. The FDA approval was disclosed during a conference call with investors. Shortly after the approval, authors and anti-RFID activists Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre discovered a warning letter from the FDA that spelled out serious health risks associated with the VeriChip. According to the FDA, these include "adverse tissue reaction," "migration of the implanted transponder," "failure of implanted transponder," "electrical hazards" and "magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] incompatibilty." Applied Digital (AMEX: ADSX) develops security products for consumer, commercial, and government sectors worldwide. ... Katherine Albrecht is a Harvard doctoral candidate and the founder of CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering), a national consumer organization created in 1999 to educate consumer-citizens about shopper surveillance. ... Spychips co-author Liz McIntyre speaks out against RFID on CBS 11 TV Dallas [1] Liz McIntyre is a consumer privacy expert and author of Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track your Every Move with RFID. In this book, McIntyre and co-author Katherine Albrecht reveal how...

Some in-home uses, such as allowing a refrigerator to track the expiration dates of the food it contains, have also been proposed, but few have moved beyond the prototype stage. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into refrigeration. ...

Regulation and standardization

There is no global public body that governs the frequencies used for RFID. In principle, every country can set its own rules for this. The main bodies governing frequency allocation for RFID are:

• USA: FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
• Canada: DOC (Department of Communication)
• Europe: ERO, CEPT, ETSI, and national administrations (note that the national administrations must ratify the usage of a specific frequency before it can be used in that country)
• Japan: MPHPT (Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Post and Telecommunication)
• China: Ministry of Information Industry
• Australia: Australian Communications and Media Authority.
• New Zealand: Ministry of Economic Development

Low-frequency (LF: 125 - 134.2 kHz and 140 - 148.5 kHz) and high-frequency (HF: 13.56 MHz) RFID tags can be used globally without a license. Ultra-high-frequency (UHF: 868 MHz-928 MHz) cannot be used globally as there is no single global standard. In North America, UHF can be used unlicensed for 908 - 928 MHz, but restrictions exist for transmission power. In Europe, UHF is under consideration for 865.6 - 867.6 MHz. Its usage is currently unlicensed for 869.40 - 869.65 MHz only, but restrictions exist for transmission power. The North American UHF standard is not accepted in France as it interferes with its military bands. For China and Japan, there is no regulation for the use of UHF. Each application for UHF in these countries needs a site license, which needs to be applied for at the local authorities, and can be revoked. For Australia and New Zealand, 918 - 926 MHz are unlicensed, but restrictions exist for transmission power. The FCCs official seal. ... The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) was established on June 26, 1959 as a coordinating body for European state telecommunications and postal organizations. ... The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is a standardization organization of the telecommunications industry (equipment makers and network operators) in Europe, with worldwide projection. ... Australian Communications and Media Authority is an Australian government agency whose main roles are to regulate broadcasting, radiocommunications and telecommunications, and to respresent Australian interests in international communications matters. ...

These frequencies are known as the ISM bands (Industrial Medical Scientific). The return signal of the tag may still cause interference for other radio users [12]. The industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio bands were originally reserved internationally for non-commercial use of RF electromagnetic fields for industrial, scientific and medical purposes. ... In communications and especially in telecommunications, an interference is anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message as it travels along a channel between a source and a receiver. ...

Some standards that have been made regarding RFID technology include:

• ISO 11784 & 11785 - These standards regulate the Radio frequency identification of animals in regards to Code Structure and Technical concept
• ISO 14223/1 - Radio frequency identification of Animals, advanced transponders - Air interface
• ISO 10536
• ISO 14443
• ISO 15693
• ISO 18000
• EPCglobal - this is the standardization framework that is most likely to undergo International Standardisation according to ISO rules as with all sound standards in the world, unless residing with limited scope, as customs regulations, air-traffic regulations and others. Currently the big distributors and governmental customers are pushing EPC heavily as a standard well accepted in their community, but not yet regarded as for salvation to the rest of the world.

A primary security concern surrounding RFID technology is the illicit tracking of RFID tags. Tags which are world-readable pose a risk to both personal location privacy and corporate/military security. Such concerns have been raised with respect to the United States Department of Defense's recent adoption of RFID tags for supply chain management [13]. More generally, privacy organizations have expressed concerns in the context of ongoing efforts to embed electronic product code (EPC) RFID tags in consumer products. ISO TC 23 / SC 19 Agricultural electronics Standards of TC 23 / SC 19 ISO 11784:1996 Radio frequency identification of animals -- Code structure ISO 11785:1996 Radio frequency identification of animals -- Technical concept ISO 14223/1:xxxx Radio frequency identification of Animals, advanced transponders - Air interface ISO 11784:1996 Radio... ISO 14223/1:xxxx Radio frequency identification of Animals, advanced transponders - Air interface ISO 14223 consists of the following parts, under the general title: Part 1:Radio Frequency Identification of Animals, Advanced transponders - air interface Part 2: Radio Frequency Identification of Animals, Advanced transponders - code and command structure Part 3... ISO 14443 defines a proximity card used for identification that usually uses the standard credit card form factor defined by ISO 7810 ID-1. ... ISO 15693 is an ISO standard for Vicinity Cards, i. ... EPCglobal is a joint venture between GS1 (formerly known as EAN International) and GS1 USâ„¢ (formerly the Uniform Code Council, Inc. ... The United States Department of Defense, abbreviated DoD or DOD and sometimes called the Defense Department, is a civilian Cabinet organization of the United States government. ...

A second class of defense uses cryptography to prevent tag cloning. Some tags use a form of "rolling code" scheme, wherein the tag identifier information changes after each scan, thus reducing the usefulness of observed responses. More sophisticated devices engage in challenge-response protocols where the tag interacts with the reader. In these protocols, secret tag information is never sent over the insecure communication channel between tag and reader. Rather, the reader issues a challenge to the tag, which responds with a result computed using a cryptographic circuit keyed with some secret value. Such protocols may be based on symmetric or public key cryptography. Cryptographically-enabled tags typically have dramatically higher cost and power requirements than simpler equivalents, and as a result, deployment of these tags is much more limited. This cost/power limitation has led some manufacturers to implement cryptographic tags using substantially weakened, or proprietary encryption schemes, which do not necessarily resist sophisticated attack. For example, the Exxon-Mobil Speedpass uses a cryptographically-enabled tag manufactured by Texas Instruments, called the Digital Signature Transponder (DST), which incorporates a weak, proprietary encryption scheme to perform a challenge-response protocol. A rolling code (or somtimes called a hopping code) is used in keyless entry systems to prevent replay attacks (Where an eavesdropper records the transmission and replays it at a later time to cause the receiver to unlock.) Such systems are typical in garage door openers and keyless car entry... A symmetric-key algorithm is an algorithm for cryptography that uses the same cryptographic key to encrypt and decrypt the message. ... Public key cryptography is a form of cryptography which generally allows users to communicate securely without having prior access to a shared secret key, by using a pair of cryptographic keys, designated as public key and private key, which are related mathematically. ... Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), better known in the electronics industry (and popularly) as TI, is a company based in Dallas, Texas, renowned for developing and commercializing semiconductor and computer technology. ... The Texas Instruments Digital Signature Transponder (DST) is a cryptographically-enabled radio-frequency identification (RFID) device used in a variety of wireless authentication applications. ... In cryptography, encryption is the process of obscuring information to make it unreadable without special knowledge. ...

Still other cryptographic protocols attempt to achieve privacy against unauthorized readers, though these protocols are largely in the research stage. One major challenge in securing RFID tags is a shortage of computational resources within the tag. Standard cryptographic techniques require more resources than are available in most low cost RFID devices. RSA Security has patented a prototype device that locally jams RFID signals by interrupting a standard collision avoidance protocol, allowing the user to prevent identification if desired. [14]. Various policy measures have also been proposed, such as marking RFID tagged objects with an industry standard label. RSA Security is a public company NASDAQ: RSAS. Its headquarters are in Bedford, Massachusetts, and it maintains offices in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Japan. ...

RFID Legislation

• California – SB1834

PURPOSE: Restrict the way businesses and libraries in California use RFID tags attached to consumer products or using an RFID reader that could be used to identify an individual.

Defeated by members of the California state assembly on June 25, 2005.

• Massachusetts – HB 1447, SB 181

PURPOSE: Requires labels regarding use and purpose of RFID on consumer products; requires the ability to remove tags; and restricts info on tags to inventory and like purposes.

• Maryland – HB 354

PURPOSE: Creates a task force to study privacy and other issues related to RFID and report on whether legislation is needed.

• Missouri – SB 128

PURPOSE: Requires a conspicuous label on consumer packaging with RFID disclosing existence of the tag and that the tag can transmit a unique ID before and after purchase.

• Nevada – AB 264

PURPOSE: Requires manufacturers, retailers and others to ensure placement of a label regarding existence of RFID on product prior to sale.

• New Hampshire – HB 203

PURPOSE: Requires written or verbal notice of existence of a tracking device on any product prior to sale.

• New Mexico – HB 215

PURPOSE: Requires businesses purveying tagged items to post notices on their premises and labels on the products; requires removal or deactivation of tag at point of sale.

• Rhode Island – H 5929

PURPOSE: Prohibits state or local government from using RFID to track movement or identity of employees, students or clients or others as a condition of a benefit or service.

• South Dakota – HB 1114

PURPOSE: Prohibits requiring a person to receive implant of an RFID chip.

• Tennessee – HB 300, SB 699

PURPOSE: Requires conspicuous labeling of goods containing RFID disclosing existence of RFID and that it can transmit unique information.

• Texas – HB 2953

PURPOSE: Prohibits school district from requiring student to use an RFID device for identification; requires school to provide alternative method to those who object to RFID.

• Utah – HB 185

PURPOSE: Amends computer crime law to include RFID.

• Wisconsin – Assembly Bill 291

PURPOSE: Prohibits anyone, including employers or government agencies, from requiring people to have microchips implanted in them. Violators would face fines of up to $10,000.

Controversy

How would you like it if, for instance, one day you realized your underwear was reporting on your whereabouts?

— California State Senator Debra Bowen, at a 2003 hearing [15]

The use of RFID technology has engendered considerable controversy and even product boycotts by consumer privacy advocates such as Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre of CASPIAN who refer to RFID tags as "spychips". The four main privacy concerns regarding RFID are: Debra Bowen has been a California State Senator of the 28th State Senate district since 1998, and is a candidate for California Secretary of State in 2006. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A boycott is an action undertaken to abstain from using, buying, or dealing with someone or some organisation as an expression of protest or as a means of coercion. ... Katherine Albrecht is a Harvard doctoral candidate and the founder of CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering), a national consumer organization created in 1999 to educate consumer-citizens about shopper surveillance. ... Spychips co-author Liz McIntyre speaks out against RFID on CBS 11 TV Dallas [1] Liz McIntyre is a consumer privacy expert and author of Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track your Every Move with RFID. In this book, McIntyre and co-author Katherine Albrecht reveal how... For Caspian Sea, go to: Caspian Sea CASPIAN Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN) is a national grass-roots consumer group dedicated to fighting supermarket loyalty or frequent shopper cards. ... Spychips is a term used to describe RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) microchips. ... Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to keep their lives and personal affairs out of public view, or to stop information about themselves from becoming known to people other than those whom they choose to give the information. ...

• The purchaser of an item will not necessarily be aware of the presence of the tag or be able to remove it;
• The tag can be read at a distance without the knowledge of the individual;
• If a tagged item is paid for by credit card or in conjunction with use of a loyalty card, then it would be possible to tie the unique ID of that item to the identity of the purchaser; and
• The EPCglobal system of tags create, or are proposed to create, globally unique serial numbers for all products, even though this creates privacy problems and is completely unnecessary for most applications.

Most concerns revolve around the fact that RFID tags affixed to products remain functional even after the products have been purchased and taken home, and thus can be used for surveillance and other nefarious purposes unrelated to their supply chain inventory functions. Although RFID tags are only officially intended for short-distance use, they can be interrogated from greater distances by anyone with a high-gain antenna, potentially allowing the contents of a house to be scanned at a distance, something distinctly Orwellian in nature. Even short range scanning is a concern if all the items detected are logged in a database every time a person passes a reader, or if it is done for nefarious reasons (e.g., a mugger using a hand-held scanner to obtain an instant assessment of the wealth of potential victims). With permanent RFID serial numbers, an item leaks unexpected information about a person even after disposal; for example, items that are resold or given away can enable mapping of a person's social network. Credit cards An array of various credit cards. ... In marketing generally and in retailing more specifically, a loyalty card, rewards card, points card, or club card is a plastic card, visually similar to a credit card or debit card, that identifies the card holder as a member in a commercial incentives programme. ... // Computer programming In object-oriented programming, object identity is a mechanism for distinguishing different objects from each other. ... Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior. ... In electronics, gain is usually taken as the mean ratio of the signal output of a system to the signal input of the system. ... A database is an organized collection of data. ... Robbing a merchants house in Japan, around 1860 Robbery is the crime of seizing property through violence or intimidation. ... A social network is a social structure made of nodes which are generally individuals or organizations. ...

Another privacy issue is due to RFID's support for a singulation (anti-collision) protocol. This is the means by which a reader enumerates all the tags responding to it without them mutually interfering. The structure of the most common version of this protocol is such that all but the last bit of each tag's serial number can be deduced by passively eavesdropping on just the reader's part of the protocol. Because of this, whenever RFID tags are near to readers, the distance at which a tag's signal can be eavesdropped is irrelevant; what counts is the distance at which the much more powerful reader can be received. Just how far this can be depends on the type of the reader, but in the extreme case some readers have a maximum power output (4 W) that could be received from tens of kilometres away. Singulation is a means by which an RFID reader identifies a tag with a specific serial number from a number of tags in its field. ... In computing, a protocol is a convention or standard that controls or enables the connection, communication, and data transfer between two computing endpoints. ... This article is about the unit of information. ... A serial number is a unique number that is one of a series assigned for identification which varies from its successor or predecessor by a fixed discrete integer value. ... Eavesdropping is the intercepting of conversations by unintended recipients. ... The watt (symbol: W) is the SI derived unit of power. ...

Technical note: the anti-collision scheme of iso15693 will render this rather implausible. To eavesdrop on the reader part of the protocol - and gather the 63 least significant bits of a uid - would require the reader to send a mask value of 63 bits. This can only happen when the reader detects a collision up to the 63th bit. In other words: One can eavesdrop on the transmitted mask-value of the reader, but for the reader to transmit a 63 bit mask-value requires two tags with identical least significant 63 bits. The probability of this happening must be near zero. I.e. the eavesdropper needs two virtually identical tags to be read at the same time by the reader in question.

The potential for privacy violations with RFID was demonstrated by its use in a pilot program by the Gillette Company, which conducted a "smart shelf" test at a Tesco in Cambridge, England. They automatically photographed shoppers taking RFID-tagged safety razors off the shelf, to see if the technology could be used to deter shoplifting. [16] This trial resulted in consumer boycott against Gillette. There was also a protest of Tesco. A boycott against Tesco for its involvement with item-level RFID tagging has been in effect since early 2005. Software development stages Development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ... The Gillette brand logo The Gillette Company (NYSE: G) was founded by King C. Gillette in 1901 as a safety razor manufacturer. ... Tesco PLC (LSE: TSCO) is a United Kingdom-based international supermarket chain. ... Map of the Cambridgeshire area (1904) The city of Cambridge is an old English university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire. ... A sepia-tinted photograph of an English couple, taken in 1895. ... Occams Razor or Hanlons razor A razor is a an edge tool (primarily, used in shaving). ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

In another incident, uncovered by the Chicago Sun-Times, shelves in a Wal-Mart in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, were equipped with readers to track the Max Factor Lipfinity lipstick containers stacked on them. Webcam images of the shelves were viewed 750 miles (1200 km) away by Procter & Gamble researchers in Cincinnati, Ohio, who could tell when lipsticks were removed from the shelves and observe the shoppers in action. New home of the Chicago Sun-Times at 350 N. Orleans St. ... Broken Arrow or broken arrow can refer to several things. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq. ... The cosmetic firm Max Factor was named after Max Factor, Sr (b. ... Lipstick Lipstick is a cosmetic product for the lips that is richer in color and texture than lip gloss, pirmarily used to apply color to the lips. ... A Creative webcam A web camera (or webcam) is a real-time camera whose images can be accessed using the World Wide Web, instant messaging, or a PC video calling application. ... Cincinnati, Ohio viewed from the SW, across the Ohio River from Kentucky. ... Official language(s) None Capital Largest city Columbus Columbus (largest metropolitan area is Cleveland) Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq. ...

In January 2004 privacy advocates from CASPIAN and the German privacy group FoeBuD were invited to the METRO Future Store in Germany, where an RFID pilot project was implemented. It was uncovered by accident that METRO "Payback" customer loyalty cards contained RFID tags with customer IDs, a fact that was disclosed neither to customers receiving the cards, nor to this group of privacy advocates. This happened despite assurances by METRO that no customer identification data was tracked and all RFID usage was clearly disclosed. [17] 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For Caspian Sea, go to: Caspian Sea CASPIAN Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN) is a national grass-roots consumer group dedicated to fighting supermarket loyalty or frequent shopper cards. ... In marketing generally and in retailing more specifically, a loyalty card, rewards card, points card, or club card is a plastic card, visually similar to a credit card or debit card, that identifies the card holder as a member in a commercial incentives programme. ...

The controversy was furthered by the accidental exposure of a proposed Auto-ID consortium public relations campaign that was designed to "neutralize opposition" and get consumers to "resign themselves to the inevitability of it" whilst merely pretending to address their concerns. [18] Auto-ID Labs, previously known as the Auto-ID Center, is a federation of research universities working on an open standard for creating a seamless global network of physical objects. ... Public relations is the art and science of building relationships between an organization and its key publics. ... There are several common types of campaign: For organized efforts, each toward specific political goals, see political campaign. ...

The standard proposed by EPCglobal includes privacy related guidelines for the use of RFID-based EPC. These guidelines include the requirement to give consumers clear notice of the presence of EPC and to inform them of the choice that they have to discard, disable or remove EPC tags. These guidelines are non-binding, and only partly comply with the joint statement of 46 multinational consumer rights and privacy groups. The Electronic Product Code, (EPC), is an electronically coded tag that is intended as an improvement on the UPC barcode system. ... Consumer protection is government regulation to protect the interests of consumers, for example by requiring businesses to disclose detailed information about products, particularly in areas where safety or public health is an issue, such as food. ...

In 2004, Lukas Grunwald released a computer program RFDump which with suitable hardware allows reading and reprogramming the metadata contained in an RFID tag, although not the unchangeable serial number built into each tag. He said consumers could use this program to protect themselves, although it would also have significant malicious uses.

Passports

A number of countries have begun to embed RFID devices in new biometric passports, to facilitate efficient machine reading of personal data. Security expert Bruce Schneier said of these proposals: "It's a clear threat to both privacy and personal safety. Quite simply, it's a bad idea." The RFID-enabled passport uniquely identifies its holder, and in the proposal currently under consideration, will also include a variety of other personal information. This could greatly simplify some of the abuses of RFID technology, and expand them to include abuses based on machine reading of data such as a person's nationality. For example, a mugger operating near an airport could target victims who have arrived from wealthy countries, or a terrorist could design a bomb which functioned when approached by persons from a particular country. Symbol for biometric passports, usually printed on the cover of the passports A biometric passport is an Information Age identity document that uses biometrics to authenticate the citizenship of travelers. ... Bruce Schneier Bruce Schneier (born January 15, 1963) is an American cryptographer, computer security specialist, and writer. ... IED is also an abbreviation for Intelligent Electronic Device A large cache of munitions found in Afghanistan in 2004. ...

The US State Department initially rejected these concerns on the grounds that they believed the chips could only be read from a distance of 10 cm (4 in), but in the face of 2,400 critical comments from security professionals, and a clear demonstration that special equipment can read the test passports from 10 m (33 feet) away, the proposal was reviewed. RFID passports will start to be issued in mass distribution in October 2006.[19] In November 2005, the State Department stated that as of October 2006 all new US passports will contain RFID chips with some security features. The passports will be shielded to prevent skimming. The department will also implement Basic Access Control (BAC), which functions as a Personal Identification Number (PIN) in the form of characters printed on the passport data page. Before a passport's tag can be read, this PIN must be entered into an RFID reader. The BAC also enables the encryption of any communication between the chip and interrogator [20]. The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ... The metre, or meter, is a measure of length, approximately equal to 3. ... A foot (plural: feet) is a non-SI unit of distance or length, measuring around a third of a meter. ... Categories: | ...

The Pakistan Passport Authority has started issuing passports with RFID tags.

The Norwegian Passport authority has also issued passports with RFID tags, and was criticized by the Norwegian Data Inspectorate Department because of their lack of implementing any security features. As of November 2005 only a handful of passports have been issued [21]. Ongoing events • Abramoff-Reed gambling scandal • Atlantic hurricane season • Avian influenza (H5N1) outbreak • Bali bombings investigation • Civil unrest in France • UK Conservative Party leadership election • DeLay political financing scandal • Fuel prices • Irans nuclear program • Kashmir earthquake • London bombings investigation • Malawi food crisis • NaNoWriMo • Niger food crisis • North Koreas...

The Malaysian Passport Authority has started using passports with RFID tags since early 2000.

The New Zealand government introduced chipped passports on 4 November 2005 after trials with pilots from the United States in association with Australia. All new passports issued by New Zealand will contain these chips. November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 57 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

France is to start issuing biometric identity cards on 17 April 2006. April 17 is the 107th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (108th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Driver's licenses

The US state of Virginia has considered putting RFID`S tag into driver's licenses ostensibly to make lookups faster for police officers and other government officials. The Virginia General Assembly also hopes that by including the tags, false identity documents would become much harder to obtain. The proposal was first introduced in the "Driver's License Modernization Act" of 2002, which was not enacted, but as of 2004 the concept was still under consideration. Official language(s) English Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Area  Ranked 35th  - Total 42,793 sq. ... Driving licences within the European Union are subdivided into different categories. ... The Virginia General Assembly is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state. ... China ID card 居民身份证 ,front (top) back (bottom). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

The idea was prompted by the fact that some of the September 11 hijackers held fraudulent Virginia driver's licenses. However the American Civil Liberties Union has noted that in addition to being a risk to privacy and liberty, the RFID proposal would not have hindered the hijackers, since the false documents they carried were valid, officially issued documents obtained with other false identification. The weakness in the system is not failure to validate documents in the field, but failure to verify identity before issuing them. The explosion resulting from the crashing of United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower. ... Aircraft hijacking (also known as Skyjacking) is the take-over of an aircraft, by a person or group, usually armed. ... The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a major national non-profit organization based in New York City that defends individual rights in the United States through litigation. ...

Religious Reaction to RFID

There has been discussion by members of the Christian community, especially Christian anarchists, that RFID tagging could represent the mark of the beast mentioned specifically in the Book of Revelation (see Revelation 13:16). This subject is studied by those Christians interested in the fields of eschatology (last things) and dispensationalism. Previously, other forms of identification such as credit cards and UPC codes had been suggested as candidates for the mark. [22] [23] [24] A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. ... Christian anarchism (also known as Christian libertarianism) is the belief that the only source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answerable is God, embodied in the teachings of Jesus. ... The Number of the Beast is mentioned in the Book of Revelation of the Christian New Testament and has long been accepted to be 666. ... Visions of John the Evangelist, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ... Albrecht Dürer - Four horsemen of the Apocalypse Look up eschatology in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Dispensationalism is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall flow of the Bible. ... Credit cards An array of various credit cards. ... The UPC (Universal Product Code) was the original barcode widely used in the United States and Canada for items in stores. ...

While the exact Mark of the Beast used in the Left Behind series was not fully explained, the implanted chip exhibited behavior similar to a RFID tag. This is about the novel, for the Series see Left Behind (series) Left Behind: a Novel of the Earths Last Days is a novel in the series Left Behind, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. ...

Vulnerabilities

• The New York Times reported on new research showing how RFID tags could be "infected" with computer viruses. "RFID malware is a Pandora's box...," the Times quotes from the study available at www.rfidvirus.org.
• The Wall Street Journal reported on the privacy implications of RFID technology in consumer cards and passports. The article refers to RFID Blocking Wallets which are "designed to shield radio chip bank card[s] from being read without [the consumer's] knowledge" as a method of ensuring security.
• Security expert Bruce Schneier reports on a Weizmann Institute of Science study suggesting "so-called 'wallet phones' will be capable of attacking HF tags" through power analysis attack.
• Wired Magazine reported that current encryption and security measures used by RFID devices are grievously inadequate. Currently, it is very easy to steal and/or modify the data contained on most RFID chips.

The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... In computer security, a computer virus is a self-replicating computer program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents. ... Malware is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system, without the owners consent. ... The Wall Street Journal is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with an average daily circulation of 1,800,607 (2002). ... Bruce Schneier Bruce Schneier (born January 15, 1963) is an American cryptographer, computer security specialist, and writer. ... The Weizmann Institute of Science (מכון ויצמן למדע) is an institute of higher learning and research in Rehovot, Israel. ... In cryptography, power analysis is a form of side channel attack in which the attacker studies the power consumption of a cryptographic hardware device (such as a smart card, tamperproof black box, microchip, etc). ... Wired is a full-color monthly magazine and on-line periodical published in San Francisco, California since March 1993. ...

Notes

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

RFID

• Ubiquity
• WiBro
• Electronic tagging
• Mass surveillance
• RFID & inventory problems