An RFID tag is attached to an item or a crate.
Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) microchips (also called RFID tags) are part of a system to keep track of inventory. An RFID tag is attached to an item or a crate. When a hand-held reader bounces a Radio Frequency (RF) signal off the tag, the returning signal uniquely identifies the item. RFID technology has problems as well as benefits.
Too Easy to Read
The U.S. Army is one of the first significant users of RFID Technology. It quickly found that RFID tags made it easier for agents to tell what was in crates setting on the docks of foreign ports. Unauthorized agents could find out what was in a crate by walking by it with a reader hidden under their clothes. It is also possible to tell what crates are inside a warehouse by running a reader along the outside of the warehouse because RF signals work through walls. The property that makes RFID systems so convenient also makes them a security risk.
Too Hard to Read
The readers don't always work the way they should. A metal object touching the tag or a magnetic field caused by the contents of a crate can throw the readings off. Noisy radio frequency environments--including days where there are excessive sunspots--can also interfere with the readings. The incompatible coding standards in different countries can also make RFID use a problem. Reading problems are rare and this itself can add to the problem. When a tag is misread or missing or damaged the inventory control person usually does not search through the crates. The technology works so well that when it does fail the operator usually jumps to the wrong conclusion.
Popular Backlash
Some manufacturers (such as Prada) have put RFID chips into items to track the item's life cycle. The manufacturers believed this would be an unobtrusive way to do market research, but customers considered it an invasion of privacy. The practice has created a popular backlash against RFID devices. Protests and boycotts eventually changed this practice. Religious conservatives consider RFID the "mark of the beast" because the Bible (in Revelation) contains a passage where it describes people having a "mark" when they enter the marketplace in the final days before the Apocalypse. RFID technology seems innocuous enough, but it has acquired a negative reputation that should be considered before using it in some contexts.
Tags: attached item, attached item crate, item crate, Radio Frequency, RFID attached, RFID attached item, RFID tags
