What is RFID and how will it affect me?

RFID offers an advance in convenience but you have to ask, at what price?

RFID Wireless Shopping

So, what can your wireless networking do once you have eliminated network wires and your USB wires? Well, the answer is astonishing: wireless has gone shopping.

RFID: Electronic Barcodes

Yes, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a replacement for the barcode that uses wireless radio technology. While barcodes need to be scanned by people in shops that have limited staff in their stores, RFID make the whole process easier.

In the case of RFID, barcodes are replaced with radio signals, which are automatically scanned. So, theoretically you can have a shopping card containing RFID-labelled products, and simply put it near an RFID scanner. Here all the things in your card would be automatically recognized and their prices added up straight away.

This means that you would be able to stop at the machine on exit from the supermarket, and simply put your credit card in a machine before you leave. You can be checked out in a matter of seconds saving your precious time, and the supermarket money as well. Only the people get paid to scan barcodes lose, but hey, this is how technology works.

How on Earth Does It Work?

Strangely enough, RFID tags have little antennas that enable them to transmit small amounts of data using radio signals. Most tags in use today lack a power supply of their own (a power supply makes the tag bigger and more costly), which means that they rely on power they are given through the air by radio. This is such a little amount of power that it is only just enough to transmit an ID number from a distance of maximum five meters.

Tags that send numbers are enough for shopping purposes - a barcode is just a number in the form of lines, in the end. These tags cost about 40 cents, and mass production will decrease the price even further- RFID is likely to become popular in the next decade. The smallest RFID tags are already so thin, you will hardly be able to see them.

Privacy and Other Uses of RFID

There are privacy worries about the use of RFID, as tagging anything you want becomes so quick and easy to do - and the tags can be scanned without any human interference. But hey, this is also what makes the system so functional.

RFID tags have already been implanted in Pets so that people can identify them, and the idea of human beings having RFID implants as a replacement for identity cards isn't as unthinkable as you may think - in fact, it is possible now. Back in 1998, a professor implanted a tag in his arm. Today, the technology is being considered for prisoners. RFID tracking of citizens is not so far behind.

If RFID shopping tags are placed on things, then they could even remain on people's clothes or other products even without realizing it. This might lead to some consequences: for instance, someone might be able to place an RFID scanner in your house and get to know which items still have a tag on.

RFID is already popular in many industries. For example, warehouses make use of them to track goods, while airlines use them to track baggage, and libraries put them in books. Their usage is widespread in building access control (the ID cards employees use to open doors automatically).

Travel is also an area that offers space for development: many places in the USA have the option of using RFID cards to pay at toll booth's, and the London Underground now uses RFID payment cards called Oyster cards. There are even RFID car keys that allow you to open the door without taking them out of your pocket.

Environmental Concerns

Finally, let's not forget about concerns on the environmental impact that RFID could have. Even though they're not big, using computer chips to replace barcodes could lead to thousands of computers being thrown away each year.

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