What Are the Potential Uses of RFID?

Can you please explain what the technology can be used for?

—Seyed

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Seyed,

There are so many uses for radio frequency identification technology that it's hard to know where to begin. It's sort of like asking what computers can be used for.

RFID is a technology that enables you to identify objects remotely using radio waves. Because you can identify objects without line of sight or touching them, it is possible to track items or to trigger actions. For example, if a tagged carton is moving down a conveyor, the RFID transponder can communicate its ID number via an RFID reader linked to a diverter. The reader can be programmed to divert the carton one way or another, depending on where it needs to go.

So you can use RFID to track, manage and interact with almost anything—individuals (for evacuation purposes or patient monitoring); vehicles (for toll collection); parts, parts bins, raw materials and work-in-process (for manufacturing); finished goods (for inventory tracking); and IT equipment, tools and furniture (for asset tracking). In addition, RFID transponders can be linked to temperature, motion, strain and other types of sensors in order to determine the condition of objects.

I would encourage you to scan the headlines of our news stories for the past few months. You will see the enormous number of different applications for which the technology is used.

—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal