The Practicalities, Perils and Promise of RFID

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The Practicalities, Perils and Promise of RFID

• Joe McCarthy
• Connector in Chief
• Interrelativity, Inc

26 April 2005
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Outline
It may be simple, but its not easy Identify
any object anywhere automatically The
innocent have nothing to fear The future is
here, its just unevenly distributed.

• What is RFID?
• What is it good for?
• What are the risks?
• What is on/over the horizon?

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What is RFID?
Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a
generic term that is used to describe a system
that transmits the identity (in the form of a
unique serial number) of an object or person
wirelessly, using radio waves. RFID Journal
Roy Want, Intel
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Its simple,but it isnt easy
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Complications

• Tag size, shape, frequency
• Passive, semi-passive, active
• Distance, orientation
• RF interference (EMI)
• Other tags, readers
• Other sources of RF
• Metal, liquids,
• Standards
• ISO, EPC
• Patents
• Data Format
• Writeable tags
• Interoperability
• Tags, readers, backend systems, countries

Frequency Category Range
128 kHz LF Inches
13.56 MHz HF Feet
915 MHz UHF Meters
2.45 GHz Microwave Many meters
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EPCglobal

• TAGS RFID
• EPC Electronic Product Code
• ONS Object Name Service
• PML Physical Markup Language
• SavantTM Distributed Operating System
• ALE Application Level Events (devices,
  data, apps)

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Costs

• Tags
• Passive 0.20 - 0.40
• Active 10 - 50
• Readers
• Passive (UHF) 500 - 3,000
• Active readers signposts
• Computers, networking, databases,
• Training (mandatory, 10K, 1-2 weeks)
• Forrester Research estimate (for a 12B consumer
  products company)
• 128,000 for consulting and integration
• 315,000 for the time of the internal project
  team
• 80,000 for tag and reader testing

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RFID Market

• Today 2B, 1.8B tags (400M passive, 1.4B active)
• 2008 7B 2015 27B, 1 trillion tags
• RFID vs. barcodes
• 5-10B barcodes / year
• To reach 10B RFIDs / year, need lt 0.01 / tag
  cost (2020)
• Requires alternate technology, print them off

Intellitag PM4i (Intermec)
Sabre 1555 (Intermec)
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Identify any object anywhere automatically
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Supply Chain
Pallet
Case
Item
Transport Vessel / Vehicle
Container
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Access Control
Countries
Buildings
Ski resorts
Containers
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Asset Tracking
At school
Documents Folders
Beer kegs
Airline luggage
On the bus
Livestock
Salmon
Pets
At the park
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RFID in Healthcare
Medications
Patients
Equipment
Surgical sites
Blood
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Transactions
ExxonMobil SpeedPass
MasterCard PayPass
Illinois Tollway I-Pass
PowerPay
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The innocent have nothing to fear
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Risks

• Internet aggregate electronic data
• RFID Internet aggregate physical world data
  (!)
• Tracking tracing people, places things
• Item-level vs. supply chain

BoycottTesco.com
BoycottBenetton.com
BoycottGillette.com
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Hacks
http//rfid-analysis.org/
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The future is here,its just unevenly
distributed
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RFID Mobile Phones

• KDDI
• RFID readers
• Active Passive
• NTT DoCoMo n901iC FOMA
• Sony FeliCa chip ( surround sound, card scanner)

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RFID Sensors

• TempSens
• Up to 64 temp. readings
• Three modes
• Interval (2 sec 18 hrs)
• Out-of-range events
• Out-of-range max/min
• Shelf life up to 18 months
• Applications perishable food, drugs
• www.ksw-microtec.de

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RFID Robots

• Kobe, Japan
• Mobility Support Project

• Utah State University
• Center for Persons with Disabilities

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RFID People

• VeriChip (Applied Digital Solutions)

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RFID Displays

• Proactive Displays Large displays with sensors
  that can detect and respond to people nearby
• Awareness interactions among people in shared
  spaces
• Virtual community ? physical community

Physical tags(RFID)
Real-world interactions

Digital profiles(WWW)

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Ticket2Talk
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Thanks! / Questions?

• For more information
• http//interrelativity.com/rfid