4.4 RFID
4.4.3 R eseARch on RfId
One.of.the.first.works.exploring.RFID.was.the.paper.by.Stockman.(1948)..This.transcript.not.only.
discussed.the.basic.problems.of.researching.“reflected-power”.communication,.but.also.discussed.the.
usage.of.the.technology..It.also.predicted.that.“…considerable.research.and.development.work.has.to.
be.done.before.the.remaining.basic.problems.in.reflected-power.communication.are.solved,.and.before.
the.field.of.useful.applications.is.explored.”.For.this.prediction.to.become.valid,.advances.in.transistor.
technologies,.ICs,.microprocessors,.development.of.communication.networks,.and.computing.power.
had.to.happen.over.the.next.30.years,.which.would.spur.cost.economics.of.RFID.type.technologies.
Also,.in.the.1950s,.other.technical.developments.in.radio.and.radar.along.with.the.IFF.explora- tion.of.long-range.transponder.systems.for.identification.include.FL.Vernon’s,.“Application.of.the.
microwave. homdyne”. and. D.B.. Harris,. “Radio. transmission. systems. with. Modula. table. passive.
transponder.”.These.developments.also.led.to.future.patents.for.RFID.technology.
4.4.3.1 In the Twentieth Century
In. the. 1960s,. RF. Harrington.studied.the. electromagnetic. theory. related. to. RFID. papers,.“Field.
Measurements. using. active. scatterers,”. “Theory. of. loaded. scatterers”. in. 1963–1964;. Robert.
Richardsons. “Remotely. activated. radio.frequency. powered. devices”. in. 1963;. Otto. Rittenbacks’s.
“Communication.by.radar.beams”.in.1969;.H.H..Vogelmans’s.“Passive.data.transmission.tech- niques. utilizing. radar. beams”. in. 1968;. and. J.P.. Vindings. “Interrogator-responder. identification.
system”.in.1967.
Commercial.activities.were.beginning.in.the.1960s..Sensormatic.and.Checkpoint.were.founded.
in. the. late. 1960s.. Other. companies. like. Knogo,. developed. EAS. equipment. to. counter. theft.
using.1-bit.tags..Fundamentally,.the.presence.or.absence.of.a.tag.was.detected.and.the.tags.were.
made.inexpensively.and.could.provide.effective.antitheft.measures..Most.of.these.systems.used.
microwave.or.inductive.technology..This.EAS.technology.was.the.first.widespread.use.of.RFID.
technology.
4.4.3.2 The First RFID Patents
The.first.U.S..patents.for.RFID.tags.were.from.Mario.W..Cardullo.and.Charles.Watson.in.1973..
Mario.W..Cardullo.received.the.first.U.S..patent.for.an.active.RFID.tag.with.rewritable.memory.on.
January.23,.1973..That.same.year,.Charles.Walton,.a.California.entrepreneur,.received.a.patent.for.
a.passive.transponder.used.to.unlock.a.door.without.a.key..The.electronic.door.lock.operated.with.a.
card.that.communicated.with.an.embedded.transponder.that.communicated.a.signal.to.a.reader.near.
the.door..When.the.reader.detected.a.valid.identity.number.stored.within.the.RFID.tag,.the.reader.
unlocked.the.door..Walton.licensed.the.technology.to.lock.makers.and.other.similar.companies.
The.testing.of.these.technologies.was.still.relevant.when.one.of.the.authors.worked.for.United.
Parcel.Services.(UPS).in.the.early.1990s.in.the.Strategic.Systems.Group..Unfortunately,.the.reliabil- ity.and.the.cost.effectiveness.were.not.viable.even.20.years.later.at.a.company.as.successful.at.UPS.
4.4.3.3 Toll Road and Animal Tracking
Also.in.the.1970s,.Los.Alamos.National.Laboratory.at.the.request.of.the.U.S..energy.department.
developed.a.system.for.tracking.nuclear.materials..Scientists.developed.the.idea.of.putting.a.tran- sponder.in.a.truck.and.readers.at.the.gates.of.secure.facilities..The.gate’s.antenna.would.wake.up.
the.transponder.in.the.truck,.which.would.respond.with.an.ID.and.potentially.other.data,.such.as.the.
driver’s.ID,.then.the.gate.would.automatically.open.
There.was.a.realization.on.how.RFID.technologies,.specifically.electronic.vehicle.identification.
(EVI),.could.change.transportation..This.was.evidenced.in.the.transportation.efforts.included.work.
at.Los.Alamos.and.by.the.International.Bridge.and.Turnpike.and.Tunnel.Association.(IBTTA).and.
the.U.S..Federal.Highway.Administration..Unfortunately,.the.IBTTA.and.U.S..Federal.Highway.
Administration.held.a.conference.in.1973.and.concluded.that.there.is.no.national.interest.in.develop- ing.a.standard.for.EVI..The.late.1970s.is.when.companies.realized.the.potential.commercial.aspects.
of.RFID,.such.companies.as.Identronix,.a.spin-off.from.Los.Alamos.Scientific.Lab,.Amtech.that.
later.became.part.of.Intermec.and.Transcore.were.developed.
Later.in.the.mid-1980s,.this.type.of.system.was.commercialized.when.former.Los.Alamos.sci- entists.left.and.formed.companies.that.developed.automated.toll.payment.systems..These.systems.
have.become.widely.used.on.roads,.bridges,.and.tunnels.around.the.world..Organizations.such.as.
the.Port.Authority.of.New.York.and.New.Jersey.tested.electronic.toll.collection.systems.built.by.
General.Electric,.Westinghouse,.Philips,.and.Glenayre.
Also.in.the.1970s,.animal.tracking.efforts.were.initially.investigated.using.microwave.systems.
at.Los.Alamos.and.using.inductive.technologies.in.Europe..Animal.ID.was.pursued.in.Europe.by.
Alfa.Laval,.Nedeap,.and.others.
Other.forward-moving.occurrences.in.the.1970s.included.the.use.of.modulated.backscatter..In.
1975,.Alfred.Koelle,.Steven.Depp,.and.Robert.Freyman.introduced.the.transcript.“Short-range.
radio-telemetry.for.electronic.identification.using.modulated.backscatter,”.which.is.the.foundation.
for.current.RFID.passive.tags..Other.events.include.the.development.of.the.Raytheon’s.“Raytag”.
along.with.other.events.from.RCA.and.Fairchild.in.RFID.development..Richard.Klensch.of.RCA.
developed. the. “Electronic. identification. system”. in. 1975,. and. Sterzer. of. RCA. developing. an.
Overview of AIT Technologies 47
“Electronic.license.plate.for.motor.vehicles”.in.1977..Thomas.Meyers.and.Ashley.Leigh.of.the.
Fairchild.organization.developed.“Passive.encoding.microwave.transponder”.in.1978.
In.the.1980s,.RFID.history.documents.many.commercial.implementations..The.most.common.
implementations.in.the.United.States.were.for.transportation,.personnel,.and.animals..In.Europe,.
interests.were.in.short-range.systems.for.animals,.industrial.and.business.applications..Toll.roads.in.
Italy,.France,.Spain,.Portugal,.and.Norway.were.equipped.with.RFID..The.Association.of.American.
Railroads. and. the. Container. Handling. Cooperative. Program. was. active. with. RFID. initiatives..
Though.testing.of.RFID.tags.for.collecting.tolls.had.been.going.on.for.many.years,.the.first.com- mercial.application.began.in.Europe.in.1987.in.Norway..This.was.followed.quickly.in.the.United.
States.by.the.Dallas.North.Turnpike.in.1989..Port.Authority.of.New.York.and.New.Jersey.began.
commercial.operation.of.RFID.for.buses.going.through.the.Lincoln.Tunnel..RFID.was.finding.a.
home.with.electronic.toll.collection.
Also,.Los.Alamos.was.requested.by.the.agricultural.department.to.develop.passive.RFID.tags.to.
track.cows..The.goal.was.to.facilitate.the.tracking.of.the.amount.of.hormones.and.medicines.that.
were.administered.to.cows.when.they.were.ill..The.challenge.of.ensuring.that.each.cow.received.the.
correct.dosage.was.having.multiple.economic.factors..Los.Alamos.came.up.with.a.passive.RFID.
system.that.used.125.kHz.radio.waves..A.transponder.encapsulated.in.glass.is.injected.under.the.
cow’s.skin.or.is.attached.to.an.identification.tag..The.transponder.draws.energy.from.the.reader.and.
reflects.back.a.modulated.signal.to.the.reader.using.a.technique.known.as.backscatter..This.system.
is.still.used.in.cows.around.the.world.today.(Figure.4.3).
These. low-frequency. transponders. were. also. put. in. cards. and. used. to. control. the. access. to.
buildings.
Over.time,.companies.commercialized.125.kHz.systems..Later,.other.companies.developed.sys- tems.that.operate.on.higher.radio.spectrum.to.high.frequency.(13.56.MHz)..This.frequency.was.
chosen.because.it.was.unregulated.and.unused.in.most.parts.of.the.world..This.frequency.offered.
greater.range.and.faster.data.transfer.rates..Companies.in.Europe.began.using.it.to.track.reusable.
containers.and.other.assets..The.13.56.MHz.frequency.RFID.systems.are.used.for.access.control,.
payment.systems.(mobile.speed.pass),.contactless.smart.cards,.and.as.an.antitheft.device.in.cars..
The.cars.have.a.reader.in.the.steering.column.that.reads.the.passive.RFID.tag.in.the.plastic.hous- ing.around.the.key..The.car.is.rendered.disabled.if.the.ID.number.it.is.programmed.to.look.for.is.
not.found.
In.the.early.1990s,.IBM.engineers.developed.and.patented.a.UHF.RFID.system.that.offers.lon- ger.read.ranges—20.ft.under.good.conditions—and.faster.data.transfer..IBM.did.some.early.pilots.
FIGURE 4.3 Cattle.tagging.
with.Walmart,.but.never.commercialized.this.technology,.but.when.IBM.ran.into.financial.trouble.
in.the.mid-1990s,.it.sold.its.patents.to.Intermec,.a.material.handling.systems.provider..Intermec.
has.installed.the.system.in.numerous.different.applications,.from.warehouse.tracking.to.farming..
Intermec.invested.in.this.future.of.this.technology.due.to.the.fact.that.at.the.time.it.was.expensive.
because.of.the.low.volume.of.sales.and.lack.of.international.standards.
Also,. in. 1990s,. electronic. toll. collection. using. RFID. technologies. expanded. to. wide-scale.
deployment.of.electronic.toll.collection.in.the.United.States..Open.highway.electronic.tolling.sys- tem.opened.in.Oklahoma.in.1991.cars.in.which.cars.pass.scanning.points.at.highway.speeds.(no.
need.for.camera’s.or.barriers)..The.world’s.first.combined.toll.collection.and.traffic.management.
system.was.installed.in.the.Houston.area.by.the.Harris.County.Toll.Road.Authority.in.1992..Both.of.
the.authors.personally.were.able.to.witness.the.construction.of.the.toll.road.in.Houston.(Figure.4.4).
Later,.the.Kansas.turnpike.used.a.system.based.on.the.Title.21.Standard,.which.allows.usage.
by.other.states.such.as.Georgia,.which.also.used.the.same.standard..The.Title.21.Standard.was.
designed. to. have. a. multi-protocol. capability. in. electronic. toll. collection. applications.. Also,. the.
Northeastern.United.States,.seven.regional.toll.agencies.formed.the.E-ZPass.Interagency.Group.in.
1990.to.develop.a.regionally.compatible.electronic.toll.collection.system..Also,.toll.tags.were.inte- grated.for.multiuse.like.parking.garages,.toll.booths,.gated.communities,.and.business.campuses,.
an.example.would.be.the.Dallas.Toll.Tag..Texas.Instruments.began.developing.the.TRIS.used.for.
starting.cars.
The. development. of. computer. engineering. technology,. which. allowed. microwave. Schottky.
diodes.fabricated.on.a.regular.CMOS.IC,.permitted.the.construction.of.the.microwave.RFID.tags..
These. tags. contained. a. single. circuit,.which.previously. had.been. limited.to. inductively.coupled.
RFID.transponders..Thus,.allowing.for.cheaper.active.tags.and.readers.
Federal. Communications. Commission. allocated. spectrum. in. 5.9.GHz. band. for. expansion. of.
intelligent.transportation.systems,.which.will.spur.more.RFID.development.and.applications..RFID.
systems.have.been.installed.in.numerous.different.applications,.from.warehouse.tracking.to.farm- ing..But.the.technology.was.expensive.at.the.time.due.to.the.low.volume.of.sales.and.the.lack.of.
open,.international.standards.