Example Applications - RFID: Fundamentals and Applications in Contactless Smart Cards and Identification - page 354

The reader's signal is not modulated (read-only transponder). The specified maxi-
mum reader distance is 13m.
ISO 10374 specifies the following information that can be stored in the transponder:

• owner's code, serial number and test digit;

• container length, height and width;

• container type, i.e. suitcase container, tank container, open top container and others;

• laden and tare weight.

A battery provides the power supply to the electronic data carrier in the transponder
(active transponder). The lifetime of the battery corresponds with the lifetime of the
container itself, i.e. around 10 to 15 years.
The same technology is used in the identification of goods wagons in North Amer-
ican and European railway transport. A European standard is in preparation for the
automatic identification of European interchangeable containers (Siedelmann, 1997).

13.6 Animal Identification

13.6.1 Stock keeping

Electronic identification systems have been used in stock keeping for almost 20 years
(Kern and Wendl, 1997) and are now state of the art in Europe. In addition to inter-
nal applications for automatic feeding and calculating productivity, these systems can
also be used in inter-company identification, for the control of epidemics and quality
assurance and for tracing the origin of animals. The required unified data transmission
and coding procedures are provided by the 1996 ISO standards 11784 and 11785 (see
Section 9.1). The specified frequency is 134.2 kHz, and FDX and SEQ transponders can
both be used. A size comparison of the various transponders is given in Figure 13.22.
There are four basic procedures for attaching the transponder to the animal:
collar transponders, ear tag transponders, injectible transponders and the so-called
bolus (Figure 13.23). Cross-sections of different types of transponders are shown in
Figure 13.24.
Collar transponders can be easily transferred from one animal to another. This
permits the use of this system within a company. Possible applications are automatic
feeding in a feeding stall and measuring milk output.
Ear tags incorporating an RFID transponder compete with the much cheaper bar-
code ear tags. However, the latter are not suitable for total automation, because barcode
ear tags must be passed a few centimetres from a hand reader to identify the animal.
RFID ear tags, on the other hand, can be read at a distance of up to 1m.
Injectible transponders were first used around 10 years ago. In this system, the
transponder is placed under the animal's skin using a special tool. A fixed connection
is thereby made between the animal's body and the transponder, which can only be
removed by an operation. This allows the use of implants in inter-company applications,
such as the verification of origin and the control of epidemics.