Paper examines potential for active RFID

New applications for active and semi-active RFID fall into four categories: sensing, transport and logistics, asset tracking and access control.

A new white paper from Innovision Research and Technology "Beyond product codes: new opportunities for radio frequency identification technology" looks at the growing adoption of active and semi-active RFID across a broad range of applications beyond simple electronic product coding.

Broadly, the new applications for active and semi-active RFID fall into four categories: sensing (for example, in food supply chain or equipment monitoring); transport and logistics (for example, tolling, payload measurement or driver authorisation); asset tracking (including IT equipment location and protection); and access control (for example, workforce safety and security, and time and attendance).

"To date, the deployment of active RFID technology has been held back by the relatively high cost of meeting the particular - often unique - needs of the application, especially where the volumes involved are much lower than in item coding applications", says Marc Borrett, Business Development Director at Innovision Research and Technology.

"Flexible multi-frequency designs and reduced costs boost the potential for customisable, multi-function active RFID technology and integration".

Passive RFID has achieved widespread, mass-market success in high-volume electronic product code (EPC) and logistics applications, as well as considerable success in areas like smart ticketing and access control.

However passive RFID has its limitations, and the potential for active (battery-driven) RFID technology to add real business across a range of applications is now being widely recognised.

Active RFID - which can integrate some kind of data collection capability as well as a battery for active transmission - moves the technology beyond simple identification applications.

Furthermore, it is now possible to produce multifrequency, multifunction active RFID tags cost-effectively, which opens up significant opportunities for sophisticated applications in areas such as supply chain management and asset tracking.

The growth in active and semi-active RFID is being driven by increasing demand for the tracking, location and monitoring of people and things, for reasons of safety, security, customer satisfaction and productivity.

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