Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFID) uses wireless frequencies to transfer electronically stored data from one tagged item to somewhere else. The tags are usually embedded into the tracked object.
Two-way radio transmitter receivers send a signal to the tag and read its response. RFID tags can often only be read within restricted zones. They can also be made incredibly small – scientists have even glued them to ants!
Since the Second World War various governments had been experimenting with RFID-like devices for covert listening. But on January 23, 1973, Mario Cardullo patented his ‘passive radio transponder’ with memory. He had demonstrated it earlier, in 1971, to the New York Port Authority as a device for toll payment.
The RFID system is superior to barcodes, as the tags can be read if they pass near a reader, even if the object is covered or not visible. Tags can also be read when they are inside cases and boxes and the radio transmitter/receiver can read many simultaneously, whereas barcodes can only be read one at a time.
RFID technology is getting cheaper and more reliable to use, leading to a wider use of RFID in industry. Car manufacturers use it to tag a car as it begins the production process and follows it through its various assembly stages to the end. Almost any type of goods can be followed through the supply chain processes using the system. In the fashion industry the RFID label is attached to the garment at the production stage and may be read and traced throughout the entire supply chain, until it is removed at the point-of-sale.
Contribution to Retail History
RFID use is already widespread and demand among retailers worldwide continues to rise as cost of tags has declined. The tags not only enable better and more secure inventory control for retailers across the supply chain, but are also being used for dynamic pricing, real-time inventory and in-store marketing. Retailers use more than 8 billion tags annually.