What is RFID? - The Radio Frequency Technology Briefly Explained

The automatic identification process called Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID for short, is a contactless communication technology used to transmit information about the identification of animals, goods, or even people.

What is RFID?

The identification process RFID is used to identify animals, goods and people. It enables contactless transmission of this information. The system itself consists of two different components. First, a data carrier, also called a transponder or tag, is needed on which the data to be transmitted is stored. In addition, a device is required with which the data can be read and written. The method is used to realize applications that are not possible with conventional systems.

1. RFID works via weak electromagnetic waves.
2. The waves are emitted by the reader and interact with the transponders.
3. There are both passive and active transponders. In the former, there is no separate power supply. The energy is obtained from the energy field of the reader, which means that no further maintenance of the transponders is necessary.
4. It is different with active transponders. These are a lot more complex, because they contain a battery or accumulator. The advantage of this version is that the reading range is increased enormously, but the disadvantage is that the life of the transponder is again limited.

RFID is mainly used in logistics in trade and industry. However, this is also used in vehicle identification and in the detection of counterfeit banknotes and medicines.