Radio-Frequency ID Technology Starts Out
Federal authorities have deployed radio frequency identification technology to supervise their assets, tracking everything from oceangoing containers to paper health check files, and even to ascertain how fast a letter goes through the international postal system.
RFID technology applies readers that radiate a radio signal to accumulate info from data tags, which come in two flavors-active and passive. Active tags, used by the Defense Department to chase large containers, are powered by an internal battery, granting them to lead up communication and hold data that can be rewritten or altered and channeled over a space of about 300 feet. Passive RFID tags have a shorter range, about 30 feet, and get their operating power from the reader. Data on a passive tag commonly is read-only, which means the tag cannot be changed.
Deploying RFID will be a wondrous step in helping shorten over-crowding and long lines.