Printed-Electronics RFID Tags Debut
Some businesses are starting to use these low-cost tags, while vendors and researchers continue to improve the tags' performance and add features.
By Mary Catherine O'Connor
Aug. 23, 2010—The promise of low-cost radio frequency identification tags made with printed electronics has been circulating for years.RFID Journal first wrote about the nascent technology in 2004—at which time analysts predicted functioning RFID tags would be printed in five to 10 years—and then reported on significant advances in 2008.
Today, that promise is starting to come true. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is using printed-electronics RFID tags in its disposable, limited-use transit-fare cards. And a number of end users in other industries are testing printed tags for use in applications such as product authentication and promotions.
There's still a gap between the performance and read range of conventional silicon-based RFID tags and those made with printed electronics, but the industry has come a long way. Innovations on the horizon could improve the performance of printed RFID tags, and there's general agreement that they'll be less expensive—some analysts estimate that printed RFID tags will be one-tenth or less the cost of silicon-based tags.
Aug. 23, 2010—The promise of low-cost radio frequency identification tags made with printed electronics has been circulating for years.
Today, that promise is starting to come true. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is using printed-electronics RFID tags in its disposable, limited-use transit-fare cards. And a number of end users in other industries are testing printed tags for use in applications such as product authentication and promotions.
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