Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Access Control:
The transmitters which are mounted on vehicles
emit a signal which is read by the sensors at the tolls. This is used
to keep track of the number of accesses through the toll, and also
control the access of the vehicle through the toll. A popular such
system is the New York's
EZ-Pass
, which is equipped with a 921.75
MHz semi-passive tag. Access control to commercial buildings and
installations for employees and workers is often managed with the
use of cards with RFID chips embedded in them.
Animal Movement:
Animals can be implanted with RFID tags
in order to trace their movement. Alternatively, pet owner infor-
mation can also be implanted on the RFID tag. Both kinds of
tags can be useful in locating a lost pet, or in tracking the pat-
terns of movement of wild life. More sophisticated tags (equipped
with GPS receivers and transmitters) have been used in order to
transmit signals that can be picked up by satellite, and have been
used to track aquatic animals and other wild life.
Library Tracking:
RFID technology can be be used in order
to automate the tracking of items which are checked out from
the library by patrons. Such RFID tags also serve as security
devices with the use of exit sensors, which track items that are
being removed from the library, but have not been checked out.
For example, several libraries such as the Santa Clara City library
in California, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas library, and the
Eugene, Oregon public library have already tagged every book,
tape, CD, or other item in their collection [55].
Airline Luggage Management:
In this case, the RFID chips
are attached to the luggage tags. Therefore, by placing sensor
readers at strategic locations, it is possible to track the movement
of luggage. This has been shown to be very useful in reducing lost
luggage [54, 66].
Automobile Immobilizers:
Some of the newer car models have
keys which contain an RFID tag. This key is authenticated by
the steering column, and is required for vehicle operation. Such
immobilizers typically have a small read range of a few centime-
ters, and operate in the low frequency end of the electromagnetic
spectrum. Such systems have been widely credited with greatly
reducing auto theft.
Even though RFID technology has been around for many years, its
use for
large scale applications
, has only recently found widespread ac-
ceptance. The massive nature of RFID data is associated with numerous
