RFID technology: Advantages and Disadvantages

Radio Frequency Identification has existed since the 1970s but has only recently gained popularity for its uses. It was first implemented to help the owners of livestock keep track of their animal (Bonsor, Keener, & Fenlon, n.d.). Presently, RFID systems have developed to the point where they have hundreds of uses, ranging from tracking luggage at an airport to detailing a patient’s medical history in a hospital.

Advantages of RFID Technology

• The tag does not need to be in line of sight with the receiver to be read (compare to a barcode and its optical scanner) (Shepard, 2004, p. 58). 
• RFID tags can store a lot of information, and follow instructions
• Has the ability to pinpoint location 
• Technology is versatile: can be smaller than a thumb tack or can be the size of a tablet, depending on its use
• . According to a report that studied the use of RFID within the average Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI), carried out by Professor Tsan-Ming Choi of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, it was concluded that the use of RFID actually enhanced each supply chain’s system performance and increased expected profit (2011).

Disadvantages of RFID Technology

• Active RFID can be expensive because of batteries
• There still needs to be regulations about RFID guidelines
• There is a privacy concern towards RFID devices, for example some claim that Wal-Mart is infringing on natural rights by overseeing what customers buy
• RFID may be easily intercepted, even if it is Encrypted (Shepard, 2004, p. 58). 
• It takes a lengthy time to program RFID devices

Conclusion

The billion dollar industry that RFID has evolved into has done great good for a lot of different fields. RFID has given doctors the ability for quick access to patients records, the assurance of accounted merchandise for small business and large alike, and the government the ability to conduct taxes for tolls in this technological day and age. But with as many benefits as  it has, Radio Frequency Identification's overwhelming credibility is balanced out by the criticism against it. Though RFID allows for the allocation and distribution of sensitive information, if that information is compromised, the effects could be devastating. For there to be order in the realm of RFID, legislation and guidelines need to be set up and enforced to ensure the integrity and confidence of the data being communicated, which will in turn help Radio Frequency Identifications emerge as more secure and advanced.

Bibliography

Bert, M. (2006, February 2). Which is better: RFID legislation or RFID guidelines? In Aim global. Retrieved February 26, 2012, from Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility website: http://www.aimglobal.org/members/news/templates/template.aspx?articleid=667&zoneid=26

The content of this source is provided by the Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility, a leader in Radio Frequency Identification device information and solutions. The author has been working for the company as an author and editor to several articles and responses in the RFID field. The information I used from this source pertained to the legal issues and the required steps to secure RFID regulation in legistlation.

Bonsor, K., Keener, C., & Fenlon, W. (n.d.). How RFID works. In HowStuffWorks. Retrieved February 25, 2012, from HowStuffWorks, inc. website: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/rfid9.htm
This article is from the well-known database HowStuffWorks which gives valuable information in an easy to understand presentation to an inquirer. This website article was broken down into several different aspects of RFID technology. This site helped me gain insight into the history of RFIDs. It also helped me learn more about some of the uses of RFID technology.

Choi, T. (2011). Coordination and risk analysis of VMI supply chains with RFID technology. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 7(3), 497, 503. doi:10.1109/TII.2011.2158830

This source was pulled from a scholarly journal, IEEExplore. This was an in depth study carried out by an associate professor at a prestigious university in China. Compared to my other sources, this source was the most in-depth thesis driven source of information. I pulled the statistics and conclusions from his paper to aid my analysis on the cost benefits of RFID.

McIver, R. (2005, March 22). RFID privacy issues. In RFID gazette. Retrieved February 28, 2012, from Dotmarketer website: http://www.rfidgazette.org/2005/03/rfid_privacy_is.html

This source is a special report on How RFID will impact consumer privacy. The author has written many articles related to RFIDs. It is important because it gives a personal perspective about privacy problems and issues. Compared to my other sources, this author has the least years of experience in the field of RFID communication devices. The reason why this is desired is because it gives a first person view of the issue at hand. I extracted real examples of how RFID could undermine privacy.

Shepard, S. (2004). Transponders. In S. Champman (Ed.), RFID: Radio frequency identification (1, pp. 56-58). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Professional.

This source is from a published informational book devoted to just Random Frequency Identification devices. It is written by Steven Shephard, a respected expert in the field of digital communications. I gathered important information about how RFIDs work and the different types of RFID devices there are (i.e. passive and active).

Want, R. (2006). An introduction to RFID technology. IEEE Pervasive Computing, 5(1), 25-33. doi:10.1109/MPRV.2006.2

An introduction to RFID is written by Roy Want who is the principal engineer at Intel Research in California. He recieved his Ph.D in a related field of communications. This informational piece is pulled from the scholarly journal, IEEExplore. I pulled the following from this source: the different uses for RFID and additional details about the technology like its broadcast distance and different leading organizations that have standardized RFID.

What is RFID? (n.d.). In AIM GLOBAL. Retrieved February 25, 2012, from Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility website: http://www.aimglobal.org/technologies/RFID/what_is_rfid.asp

This source is also pulled from the Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility. Because it does not have a designated author, it is understood that what is written in the article is the belief of the organization as a whole. Given the weight of significance this company has in the field of RFID, it is confirmed that the information given is valuable. From this article, I extracted the nits and grits of the technology behind RFIDs (i.e. the three main components and how they interact).