As we roll deeper into the 21st century, RFID dry inlay are set to become ubiquitous, tagging everything from food to animals, medical prescriptions to sports memorabilia. In the rail-road industry, RFID dry inlay mounted on locomotives and rolling stock identify the owner, identification number and type of equipment and its characteristics. Infrastructure management and protection : At least one company has introduced RFID technology to identify and locate underground infrastructure assets such as gas pipelines, sewer lines, electrical cables, communication cables, etc. Originally meant for large ranches and rough terrain, since the outbreak of mad-cow disease, RFID has become crucial in animal identification management.
Transportation payments : In many countries, RFID dry inlay can be used to pay for mass transit fares on bus, trains, or subways, or to collect tolls on highways.Animal identification: RFID dry inlay for animals represent one of the oldest uses of RFID technology. An early experiment with RFID implants was conducted by British professor of cybernetics Kevin Warwick, who implanted a chip in his arm in 1998. Also, unlike RFID label, barcodes can be generated and distributed electronically.
Hospitals and healthcare : Adoption of RFID in the medical industry has been widespread and very effective. An RFID system may replace or supplement bar codes and may offer another method of inventory management and self-service checkout by patrons. Temperature exposure : Currently, RFID dry inlay are created by gluing an integrated circuit (IC) to an inlay.
Sports : RFID for timing races began in the early 1990s with pigeon racing, introduced by the company Deister Electronics in Germany. RFID can provide race start and end timings for individuals in large races where it is impossible to get accurate stopwatch readings for every entrant. Complement to barcode : RFID dry inlay are often a complement, but not a substitute, for UPC or EAN barcodes. Telemetry : Active RFID tags also have the potential to function as low-cost remote sensors that broadcast telemetry back to a base station. Global standardization : The frequencies used for UHF RFID in the USA are currently incompatible with those of Europe or Japan.
Security concerns : Retailers such as Walmart, which already heavily use RFID technology for inventory purposes, also use RFID as an anti-employee-theft and anti-shoplifting technology. If a product with an active RFID tag passes the exit-scanners at a Walmart outlet, not only does it set off an alarm, but it also tells security personnel exactly what product to look for in the shopper’s cart.
