RFID Technology: Working, Applications, and Limitations Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. It begins by explaining the fundamental working principles of RFID, including its key components like RFID tags, readers, and antennas, and then details the different types of RFID tags, such as passive, semi-passive, and active. The report then discusses the business and technical problems that RFID technology solves, including improved asset tracking, inventory management, and automated toll payments, and also compares RFID with barcode and QR code technologies. Furthermore, it addresses the limitations of RFID, like security vulnerabilities and cost, while also providing a case study of RFID implementation at Walmart and showcasing its applications in various market sectors, including retail, banking, healthcare, and supply chain management. The report concludes by emphasizing the potential of RFID to enhance operational efficiency and security across diverse industries.

Running head: RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION
Radio Frequency Identification
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s name

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RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION
Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
2. Working of RFID Technology.....................................................................................................2
2.1 Types of RFID..................................................................................................................3
3. Business and Technical Problems solved by using RFID Technology.......................................3
3.1 Barcode and RFID............................................................................................................4
3.2 RFID and QR code...........................................................................................................5
4. RFID Limitations.........................................................................................................................5
5. Implementation of RFID in Walmart..........................................................................................6
6. Use of RFID in Market Places.....................................................................................................6
6.1 Retail.................................................................................................................................6
6.2 Banking.............................................................................................................................7
6.3 Healthcare Industry...........................................................................................................7
6.4 SCM..................................................................................................................................7
7. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................7
8. References....................................................................................................................................9

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1. Introduction
RFID or radio frequency identification is an advanced technology that incorporates
electrostatic or electromagnetic coupling in radio frequency portion belonging to the
electromagnetic spectrum for unique identification of objects, animals or people. Organizations
are adopting this technology in place of barcodes (Rajaraman, 2017).
This report discusses about the working mechanism of RFID. It points out the various
categories of RFID tags. It talks about the business as well as technical issues that are solved by
using RFID technology. This report describes the implementation of RFID in one organization
and it also presents the use of RFID in various market places.
2. Working of RFID Technology
RFID technology utilizes radio frequency for the purpose of identifying objects,
collecting information about the objects and entering the details in the system by an automated
process. The three main components of RFID technology are the RFID tag, RID reader and
antenna. An RFID tag consists of an antenna as well as an integrated circuit (Hutter & Schmidt,
2013). These are used for the purpose of transmitting data to RFID reader. The RFID reader
converts radio waves into usable data. The RFID tags can be activated by radio signals. The data
that is collected from the RFID tag is then transferred to a host system by using a communication
interface. The data is stored in the database of the system for further analysis. The role of RFID
tag is to carry data and it contains an antenna along with micro chip. The reader can also be
referred as interrogator.

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2.1 Types of RFID
Passive RFID: This type of tag does not contain battery. Here the energy is transferred
from reader via radio frequency. The power of the tag is available only within the field of the
reader. It range of communication is short in this type of tag (Rajaraman, 2017). It has a limited
range because the radio wave is reflected from tag to the reader. It is able to read as well as
transfer sensor value when the tag is powered by the reader.
Semi-passive RFID: This RFID tag incorporates the main features of the active tag. It
consists of a power source like battery to power the chip. This energy that is captured can be
used for the purpose of backscattering. The communication or read range is more than that of
passive tags.
Active RFID: This tag consists of battery or power source. Tag power is available on a
continuous basis. It has got high signal strength from the RFID tag to the reader. The range of
communication is 100 meter or more. Active tags are mostly used in large objects. Its data
bandwidth is higher than the bandwidth of passive tags.
3. Business and Technical Problems solved by using RFID Technology
RFID technology has played a significant role in solving the issue of object, human and
animal tracking. Assets that are present in warehouses can be tracked in a simplified manner.
The process of inventory management has improved by attaching RFID tags to the goods that are
present in the factory (Fan et al., 2014). This technology has helped in solving the problem of
over stocking as well as under stocking of goods. It has helped in providing security to the stocks
and controlling the stock quality. RFID tags can be used for automating the process of toll tax
payments by attaching the tags to the vehicles (Kalantri et al., 2014). Effective animal

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monitoring is made possible by utilizing RFID tags. It acts as a significant tool for tracking the
movements of the animals and determining their characteristics. RFID technology has improved
farm management in an effective manner. Missing goods and products can be tracked by using
RFID technology (Shin & Eksioglu, 2014). RFID technology is responsible for producing
accurate results as it does not involve human interventions. RFID tags have been able to improve
organizational efficiency.
3.1 Barcode and RFID
BARCODE RFID
Barcode has a set of data that can be scanned and
converted to numeric codes. It requires line of
sight.
It does not require line of sight. RFID tag utilizes
radio waves for tracking as well as identifying
goods.
The read range varies from inches to feet. Passive RFID can read up to 30 feet and active
RFID can read up to 100 feet.
Barcodes can identify one kind of item. It has the capability to identify every item.
Optical laser technology is used. Radio frequency technology is used.
Human intervention is required for scanning
barcodes.
Scanners are fixed and it does not require human
labor.
It cannot be updated. New data can be updated.
Damaged tags will not work. Hence it is less
reliable.
It has high reliability.
Table 1: Comparison between Barcode and RFID
(Source: Lotlikar et al., 2013, p. 821)

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3.2 RFID and QR code
QR Code RFID
This technology requires line of sight. Line of site is not required.
Read range is from inches to feet. The read range is much more than the read range of
QR code.
Human intervention is required. No human intervention is needed.
Data cannot be updated. It can only be read. Data can be updated.
30 % data can be recovered from damaged tags. It
is less reliable than RFID.
It has high reliability.
Table 2: Comparison between QR code and RFID
(Source: Lotlikar et al., 2013, p. 821)
4. RFID Limitations
Security: RFID tags are susceptible to security threats and attacks. Attackers can gain
unauthorized access to and modify the information on the RFID tags. There can be other attacks
like virus and side channel attacks. Strong security measures like encryption of the data in the
tags can overcome this limitation.
Collision: Signal collision can take place while scanning several RFID tags at the same
time. Use of anti-collision algorithms will prevent this issue.
Cost: The cost of RFID technology is much more than that of QR codes and barcodes
(Lehpamer, 2012). Organizations incur huge cost in setting up this technology. Passive tags are
less expensive than active and semi active tags.

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Complex design: The installation procedure of RFID technology is unique. RFID
technology has reader and tag. It has a complex design and working mechanism.
5. Implementation of RFID in Walmart
Walmart has implemented RFID technology in the year 2003 for improving its supply
chain operations. Initially it had used RFID for tracking pallets of the merchandise present in its
supply chain and warehouses. Walmart is able to track the movement of its products in an
accurate manner by deploying RFID technology. It makes use of RF tags for keeping an account
of the shelved stocks. RFID tags are able to provide real time information about the store
shelves. RFID technology has been able to reduce the inventor cost of Walmart (Shin &
Eksioglu, 2015). Implementation of RFID has improved the supply chain efficiency of Walmart.
Walmart was able to reduce its out of stock level by 16 per cent and reduce excess inventory.
Walmart was also able to achieve operational improvements and WIP data management.
6. Use of RFID in Market Places
6.1 Retail
RFID tags can be attached to the products in the retail store. It will help the store to
prevent any shoplifters to take away any product without payment and enhance the security level
of the stores. It will enable the employees to locate the products and record the quantity (De
Marco et al, 2012). RFID tags are implemented in retail industry for automating the inventory
tracking process and enhancing the operational efficiency of the retail stores.

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6.2 Banking
Banking sector has achieved high level of data accuracy by implementing RFID
technology. It has improved the level of customer service and simplified the payment procedure.
RFID tags will help the banks to keep track of laptops and other assets (Zhu, Mukhopadhyay &
Kurata, 2012). Data security of the banks can be improved by implementing RFID technology.
6.3 Healthcare Industry
The Healthcare industry is able to keep a track of prescription drugs on the basis of
expiry date and many other important details like lot number (Manzoor, 2016). Patient safety can
be enhanced by using RFID technology. RFID bands can be scanned for getting accurate details
about the patient.
6.4 SCM
RFID technology has been able to improve the accuracy as well as timeliness of the
inventory data. It has reduced the inventory cost of the organizations (Fosso Wamba, 2012).
RFID tags have enhanced the efficiency of supply chain management by accurate monitoring of
the movements of goods and products throughout the supply chain. It has simplified the
procedure of asset tracking by using radio frequency.
7. Conclusion
It can be concluded from this report that RFID technology can be implemented in various
industries like healthcare, banking and retail for enhancing operational efficiency and security
standards. This report said that RFID is more reliable than barcode and QR code. It also
discussed about certain limitations like security issues and high cost of RFID tags. This report

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explained how the RFID works. It also explained few business and technical issues like asset
tracking problem that can be solved by RFID technology.

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8. References
De Marco, A., Cagliano, A. C., Nervo, M. L., & Rafele, C. (2012). Using System Dynamics to
assess the impact of RFID technology on retail operations. International journal of
production economics, 135(1), 333-344.
Fan, T. J., Chang, X. Y., Gu, C. H., Yi, J. J., & Deng, S. (2014). Benefits of RFID technology
for reducing inventory shrinkage. International Journal of Production Economics, 147,
659-665.
Fosso Wamba, S. (2012). Achieving supply chain integration using RFID technology: the case
of emerging intelligent B-to-B e-commerce processes in a living laboratory. Business
Process Management Journal, 18(1), 58-81.
Hutter, M., & Schmidt, J. (2013). Radio Frequency Identification.
Kalantri, R., Parekar, A., Mohite, A., & Kankapurkar, R. (2014). RFID based toll collection
system. International Journal of Computer Science and Information Technologies, 5(2),
2582-5.
Lehpamer, H. (2012). RFID design principles. Artech House.
Lotlikar, T., Kankapurkar, R., Parekar, A., & Mohite, A. (2013). Comparative study of
Barcode, QR-code and RFID System. International Journal of Computer Technology
and Applications, 4(5), 817.
Manzoor, A. (2016). RFID-Enabled Healthcare. International Journal of Information
Communication Technologies and Human Development (IJICTHD), 8(2), 26-46.