RFID Tags

Radio Frequency Identification has the potential to be one of the most widely used and powerful identifying technologies we have. Tags can be battery powered or unpowered, and can be purchased in a variety of sizes and configurations to allow for a wide range of uses. They are contactless, and require neither touch nor line of sight. In particular, they work through plastic, wood, and other materials, and can be set up to work in harsh environmental conditions, where barcodes or less robust equipment would be unable to function. Our classic example of this is under the spout of Mr. Java, where a polyurethane-encased reader is regularly subjected to 245 degrees Farenheit espresso. The kitchen is no place for fragile technology.

There are a wide variety of RFID tags. The simplest work in much the same way a barcode does, giving out a single pre-programmed number when placed in the vicinity of a reader. It's also possible to store a limited amount of information on the tags themselves. Research is currently underway to produce tags that report information about their physical environment, such as temperature or position, in addition to readable and writable storage.

The current (temporary) argument against RF tags is that of cost. Compared to a printed barcode, the cost is presently prohibitive except in harsher environments unsuited to barcodes or more elaborate packaging systems, such as the EZPass toll-paying system. Currently, a simple tag has a lower price limit of approximately ten cents: too much to put on a packet of cornflakes, but an entirely reasonable way to track the history of a $300 jacket. A tagged world will arrive, one bit at a time.

definition from the CI white paper, 2000