THE DATA FRONT

payment applications [as with road or bridge tolls] there are
good reasons to limit the read range and maximize the tag's
security.'
A lack of adequate ROI data was the third-highest ranked
reason for non-deployment according to a survey of 185 retail
organizations conducted by New York-based ABI Research in
mid-2008. 'In times of economic slowdown, a quick positive
return on investment is especially important to potential
RFID users,' said practice director Michael Liard. 'We asked
respondents about their hopes and expectations for ROI on
'"Unit prices have certainly dropped
dramatically from dollars to a few
cents each, but rock-bottom prices are
not everything, neither are long-term
agreements. People remain cautious"
their RFID investments. While a substantial majority saw 12-24
months as a reasonable expectation, more than one third
anticipated a return within the first year.'
Victor Vega, marketing director of California-based Alien
Technology, remembers when RFID chips cost $12 each in
the mid-1990s when the company was founded: 'Unit prices
have certainly dropped dramatically from dollars to a few
cents each, but rock-bottom prices are not everything, neither
are long-term agreements. People remain cautious. Some
Some RFID basics
Radio frequency ID tags use inlays comprising an integrated circuit, or
silicon chip, and an antenna. They allow encoded data to be remotely
received and transmitted to a hand-held or fixed-mount reader (or
scanner), importantly beyond the line of sight of the recording method
and for more than one item at a time. The reader decodes the data for
processing by a host computer. Inlays have many different designs
and sizes to suit specific applications. The more sophisticated types
allow users to both read and write data. Chipless, chip-based and
electromagnetic ID tags, commonly called 'smart labeling', are linked
with RFID technology.
High-frequency (HF) tags have a near-field sensitivity of around 5
feet (1.5 m), which suits many everyday applications, and a global
operating frequency of 13.56 MHz. Lately, more powerful ultra-high
frequency (UHF) tags with longer reading ranges have become more
prominent. They operate with data communication rates from 860
to 960 MHz. The usual passive types are powered by the reader, as
opposed to active tags which require an internal battery. UHF tags are
increasingly associated with the Gen 2 protocol, a user-driven standard
from EPCglobal (formally called Electronic Product Code Class 1
Generation 2 and ISO approved in 2006).
may 2009 | L&L