Currently, in everyday use, we use RFIDs for theft prevention at stores. However, several companies have come up with several novel ideas to make lives easier.

Such a company is Metro Group. Innovating from the warehouse to one's home, their concept of the RFID is prevalent throughout everyday life from when one reaches for the milk in the refrigerator to sorting clothes for the laundry machine.

Metro Group is one of several companies making the RFIDs that are placed in warehouses to account for inventory. They also have concept designs for refrigerators that tell the owner if he or she is out of milk; laundry machines that can detect when you've mixed in a red sock with your white laundry; mirrors that can take a snapshot of your physique so that you can try on the clothes that you picked out without actually having to wear them; and personal pads that you can carry around in a store, which document which items you are about to purchase. The last allows the shopper to pass through a scanner, with credit card in hand and, with the items already listed, payment is all but a swipe away.

All of these items mentioned, from the red sock to the milk to the new outfit, are all fitted with RFIDs, which originate from the warehouse with the original shipments. These RFIDs are integrated into our everyday lives so that you do not have to worry about minute things of everyday life.

(via Metro Group; Photo Credit: Space is Lost)

The advantages of an active RFID include a longer range reading distance. The power supply can amplify the signal and transmit it to farther distances. In addition, the power source to an active RFID can also power other sensors on the RFID, enabling it to send certain signals under certain circumstances.

However, with the RFID, the downside is to replace the battery when the battery is exhausted; Likewise, a serious downfall to an active RFID is its cost. The cost of a single active tag can cost twenty or more USD, which makes buying a couple to several thousand for any use quite pricey. Furthermore, using a battery also leads to a much more bulky RFID, compared to a passive RFID.

(via Technovelgy.com)

Pasive RFIDs are tags that do not require a power source to operate. Instead, the reader for the RFID is operated on a voltage source. With this voltage source, the reader is able to construct a magnetic field when it senses a tag is near. From this, a current is induced through the magnetic field, which allows the tag to send its signal to the reader.

Most passive tags signal by backscattering the carrier wave from the reader. This means that the antenna has to be designed both to collect power from the incoming signal and also to transmit the outbound backscatter signal. The response of a passive RFID tag is not necessarily just an ID number: The tag chip can contain non-volatile data.

The reading and writing depend on the chosen radio frequency and the antenna design/size. Passive tags have a variety of ranges depending on the antenna incorporated into the tag. Some have a read distance ranging from about 11 cm (with near-field) and up to approximately 10 meters (with far-field)! There are even some tags that can reach up to 183 meters when combined with a phased array. Due to the simplicity in design they are also suitable for manufacture with a printing process for the antennas.

The lack of an onboard power supply means that the device can be quite small. Commercially available products exist that can be embedded in a sticker, or under the skin in the case of low frequency (LowFID) RFID tags. This information can be even retreived from over a couple hundred meters. Because of it's low-profile and simplicity, there are several applications for passive tags, ranging from inventory to paying for products remotely. More about its applications and setbacks will be found in upcoming posts.

(via Wikipedia, image credit: Sandia National Lab)

There are two main parts of an RFID. One part is an integrated circuit for storing/processing information, modulating/demodulating a radio frequency signal, as well as other functions. The other part is an antenna then used to receive and send signals.

There are several types of RFIDs, such as passive, semi-passive, and active RFIDs. Passive RFIDs operate through inducing a magnetic field upon them, which generates current for them to work; on the other hand, semi-passive and active RFIDs require an internal source of power for them to function. More details about the different types of RFIDs will follow up in the coming posts in this series. Later in this series, we will also introduce the current and future applications of RFIDs.