Researchers Propose Recorder Tag for Extending RFID Apps

During the manufacturing of an electronic product, an EPC serial number would be encoded to the recorder tag's chip, which would be utilized to track the device through the supply chain. Once the product is purchased, the tag could be used to record data related to a warranty or other information linked to that particular user. The information stored on the tag could then be read on the device itself, through its display screen, so consumers could access the data without needing to obtain an RFID reader. This would enable a consumer to easily determine when a laptop's warranty is due to expire, or look up the terms of that warranty, without having to contact the manufacturer.

The tag data would also be accessible via an interrogator, thereby allowing a technician who receives a non-functioning laptop for repair to access information regarding that computer, even if it will not power up. Or, the manufacturer or recycler could access this data via an RFID reader in order to access the device's component specifications, which could streamline the disassembly and recycling process at the end of the device's life.

Additionally, the recorder tag could provide a means of collecting data related to safety. A temperature sensor, for instance, could be attached to a recorder tag, which would contain a log of a device's internal temperature. Manufacturers could then correlate the temperature and usage data in order to better understand the underlying causes of fires or explosions due to overheated batteries.

Outside of retail supply chain applications such as these, Mitsugi says, officials within the aerospace industry have expressed interest in integrating the recorder tag into parts, in order to collect their usage and maintenance histories. The same type of application could be utilized for automobiles or trucks. With the addition of sensors inside the parts, the recorder tag could also track the conditions to which parts are exposed during their lifetimes. This would extend the usefulness of RFID tags, compared with those attached to a part's housing and used only to store that part's ID number, linked to maintenance and usage history stored in a database. Furthermore, it would eliminate the need to tag the parts after they are manufactured.

Mitsugi says he hopes, in 2009, to have a secondary prototype, sporting a IC that integrates the two separate chips in the current prototype, and that can hold up to 2 kilobits of data. Once this new model is ready, he intends to show it to members of EPCglobal, as well as other interested parties. At the October JAG meeting, he states, "there was interest, but they basically said, 'Keep working on it.'"

According to Mitsugi, the price of a final version of a recorder tag has yet to be determined.