Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems-gctid26739

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http://www.epic.org/privacy/rfid/

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems

Introduction

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a type of automatic identification system. The purpose of an RFID system is to enable data to be transmitted by a portable device, called a tag, which is read by an RFID reader and processed according to the needs of a particular application. The data transmitted by the tag may provide identification or location information, or specifics about the product tagged, such as price, color, date of purchase, etc. The use of RFID in tracking and access applications first appeared during the 1980s. RFID quickly gained attention because of its ability to track moving objects. As the technology is refined, more pervasive—and invasive—uses for RFID tags are in the works.

In a typical RFID system, individual objects are equipped with a small, inexpensive tag which contains a transponder with a digital memory chip that is given a unique electronic product code. The interrogator, an antenna packaged with a transceiver and decoder, emits a signal activating the RFID tag so it can read and write data to it. When an RFID tag passes through the electromagnetic zone, it detects the reader's activation signal. The reader decodes the data encoded in the tag's integrated circuit (silicon chip) and the data is passed to the host computer for processing.

RFID tags come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Some tags are easy to spot, such as the hard plastic anti-theft tags attached to merchandise in stores. Animal tracking tags which are implanted beneath the skin of family pets or endangered species are no bigger than a small section of pencil lead. Even smaller tags have been developed to be embedded within the fibers of a national currency.

While barcodes have historically been the primary means of tracking products, RFID systems are rapidly becoming the preferred technology for keeping tabs on people, pets, products, and even vehicles. One reason for this is because the read/write capability of an active RFID system enables the use of interactive applications. Also, the tags can be read from a distance and through a variety of substances such as snow, fog, ice, or paint, where barcodes have proved useless.

Currently, RFID tags are not widely used in consumer products because the price of the tags is still prohibitively expensive. However, as companies push for enhanced means of tracking products and profiling consumers, the increased demand and production of RFID technologies will drive down prices. Already, developments in RFID technology are yielding systems with larger memory capacities, wider reading ranges, and faster processing. In response, the market for RFID tags is growing explosively, projected to reach $10 billion annually within the decade.

History

RFID systems have gained popularity, and notoriety, in recent years. A driving force behind the rapid development of RFID technology has been the rise of pervasive commerce, sometimes dubbed the quiet revolution. Pervasive commerce uses technologies such as tracking devices and smart labels embedded with transmitting sensors and intelligent readers to convey information about key areas where consumers live and work to data processing systems. To gather this data, retailers can choose from a range of options.

RFID systems may be roughly grouped into four categories:

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   EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) systems: Generally used in retail stores to sense the presence or absence of an item. Products are tagged and large antenna readers are placed at each exit of the store to detect unauthorized removal of the item.
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   Portable Data Capture systems: Characterized by the use of portable RFID readers, which enables this system to be used in variable settings.
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   Networked systems: Characterized by fixed position readers which are connected directly to a centralized information management system, while transponders are positioned on people or moveable items.
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   Positioning systems: Used for automated location identification of tagged items or vehicles.

These RFID systems enable business owners to have real-time access to inventory information, as well as a broader, clearer picture of consumers' buying habits. RFID technology also enables retailers and corporations to peek into the lives of consumers in ways that were, until recently, off limits. Products embedded with RFID tags can continuously transmit information ranging from an electronic product code (EPC) identifier, to information about the item itself, such as consumption status or product freshness. Data processing systems read and compile this information, and can even link the product information with a specific consumer.

This composite information is vastly superior—and more invasive—than any data that could be obtained from scanning bar codes, or even loyalty cards. Frequent shopper cards link consumers to their purchases, but this limited information gives retailers only a narrow view of a consumers' in-store purchasing trends. In contrast, RFID systems enable tagged objects to speak to electronic readers over the course of a product's lifetime—from production to disposal—providing retailers with an unblinking, voyeuristic view of consumer attitudes and purchase behavior.

The future of RFID technology

Currently, RFID technology is still too expensive to be used by retailers en masse. The cost per electronic tag now stands at about 30 cents apiece, but is expected to fall to as little as three cents in the next three years. RFID tags will probably not become pervasive until the per chip cost dips below one penny. Retailers will still have to purchase sensors to read the tags, which can cost $1,000 each.

In spite of the costs, some retailers are willing to pay the price for the insight RFID tags provide into the lives of consumers. Over the next few years, industry experts expect to see a broad range of RFID pilots, and even several fully integrated systems, launched. A handful of corporations have already signed on, and are moving ahead with plans to embed products with RFID tags. Recently, Microsoft Corporation announced that it would develop software that will enable retailers, manufacturers, and distributors to use RFID tags to track goods within stores and factories, as well as programs specifically designed to use the new retail tagging technology.

Other proposed uses of RFID technology include:

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   Tracking apparel: Clothing maker Benetton planned to embed retail items with RFID tags. The implanted devices would enable Benetton to track individuals and inventory their belongings by linking a consumer's name and credit card information with the serial number in an item of clothing. Privacy advocates noted the potential abuses of a system, and Benetton agreed not to tag clothing with tracking devices—for now.

   However, Marks & Spencer, one of the largest retailers in the UK, announced that it will begin tagging apparel items with ultra high frequency (UHF) tags beginning in Fall, 2003. UHF tags are a new generation of RFID technology that provide faster data transfer speeds and longer read ranges. Marks & Spencer has already used tracking devices extensively in its food supply division.
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   Tracking consumer packaged goods (CPGs): Gillette, Wal-Mart, and the U.K.-based supermarket chain Tesco are teaming up to test specially designed shelves that allow for real-time tracking of inventory levels. The "smart shelves" will be able to read radio frequency waves emitted by microchips embedded in millions of shavers and other products. Wal-Mart plans to test the Gillette shelf initially in a store located in Brockton, Mass. If the technology is successful, Wal-Mart also plans to join forces with Procter & Gamble to test a similar system with cosmetic products, and has encouraged its top 100 suppliers to use wireless inventory tracking equipment by 2005. So far, Wal-Mart executives say the company plans to use RFID chips only to track merchandise, and will remove the tags from items that have been purchased. However, Wal-Mart's decision to implement RFID technology will likely propel the ubiquity of the tags in CPGs.
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   Tracking tires: Tire manufacturer Michelin recently began fleet testing of a radio frequency tire identification system for passenger and light truck tires. The RFID transponder is manufactured into the tire and stores tire identification information, which can be associated with the vehicle identification number (VIN). Critics argue the tags could ultimately become tracking devices that can tell where and when a vehicle is traveling.
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   Tracking currency: The eureurasiaan Central Bank is moving forward with plans to embed RFID tags as thin as a human hair into the fibers of Euro bank notes by 2005, in spite of consumer protests. The tags would allow currency to record information about each transaction in which it is passed. Governments and law enforcement agencies hail the technology as a means of preventing money-laundering, black-market transactions, and even bribery demands for unmarked bills. However, consumers fear that the technology will eliminate the anonymity that cash affords.
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   Tracking patients and personnel: Alexandra Hospital in Singapore recently began a new tracking system in its accident and emergency (A&E ) department in the wake of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) scare. Under this system, all patients, visitors, and staff entering the hospital are issued a card embedded with an RFID chip. The card is read by sensors installed in the ceiling, which record exactly when a person enters and leaves the department. The information is stored in a computer for 21 days. Officials say that the technology enables health care workers to keep tabs on everyone who enters the A&E department, so that if anyone is later diagnosed with SARS, a record of all other individuals with whom that person has been in contact can be immediately determined. Other hospitals in Singapore are expected to adopt similar technology.
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   Payment systems: In 1997, ExxonMobil developed the wireless payment application known as Speedpass. Since then, six million consumers have utilized the payment option at 7,500 Speedpass-enabled locations. Now, a wide range of merchants and retailers are looking for ways to implement radio frequency (RF) wireless payment systems. Sony and Phillips are leading the way. The two corporations will soon begin field testing an RFID system called Near Field Communication (NFC), which will enable RFID communication between PCs, handheld computers, and other electronic devices. The companies envision that consumers will log on to their personal online portal by swiping their smart cart—embedded with a Sony or Philips RFID—which will be read by a RFID reader plugged into the USB port on the computer. Next, consumers would shop online, say, for tickets to a local event. The consumer would pay for the tickets online, download them to their PC and then transmit them with NFC technology to an RFID tag in their mobile phone. Then, at the event, consumers would wave their cell phone near a reader in the turnstile, and be automatically admitted.

What You Can Do to Protect Your Privacy

While corporate giants tout the merits of RFID technology, civil liberties advocates point out that the ability to track people, products, vehicles, and even currency would create an Orwellian world where law enforcement officials and nosy retailers could read the contents of a handbag—perhaps without a person's knowledge—simply by installing RFID readers nearby. Such a fear is not unfounded. Currently, some RFID readers have the capacity to read data transmitted by many different RFID tag. This means that if a person enters a store carrying several RFID tags—for example, in articles of clothing or cards carried in a wallet—one RFID reader can read the data emitted by all of the tags, and not simply the signal relayed by in-store products. This capacity enables retailers with RFID readers to compile a more complete profile of shoppers than would be possible by simply scanning the bar codes of products a consumer purchases.

Even the RFID industry itself is aware of the threat to privacy posed by the development and installation of tags in commonplace items. Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN) recently located internal public relations documents which detail how RFID developers plan to offset public opposition to the technology. The documents, prepared by Fleishman-Hillard, a communications consultancy, suggest that RFID industry leaders are planning a public relations campaign designed to counter opposition to the pervasive use of RFID technology. The documents detailing how such a campaign may unfold begin by outlining obstacles that hinder the widespread implementation of RFID technology. These obstacles include the facts that: "consumers are very concerned about invasions of their privacy," are "cynical about the government and private sector's commitment to protecting privacy," and are "inclined to believe that businesses have little incentive to protect consumers' personal information." In response, the documents cite the need for the development of a proactive plan that would "neutralize opposition" and "mitigate possible public backlash." One method of doing so suggested by the documents is through the creation of a Privacy Advisory Council made up of "well known, credible, and credentialed experts" who may be "potentially adversarial advocates." The documents cite EPIC as an example of such a potential council member. Although EPIC has been approached by others on this issue, EPIC will not serve on such a council or consult for other companies.

The proposed uses of RFID tags pose exponentially greater risks to personal privacy. Many technology experts predict the development of a seamless network of millions of RFID receivers strategically placed around the globe in airports, seaports, highways, distribution centers, warehouses, retail stores, and consumers' homes, all of which are constantly reading, processing, and evaluating consumers behaviors and purchases. In addition to undermining a consumer's ability to enjoy a lifestyle in relative anonymity, critics of the technology counter that the information gathered by RFID readers could be obtained by the government for surveillance or monitoring the activities of citizens, or even misused by hackers and criminals. Even more, the ever-expanding use of RFID chips would leave no aspect of life safe from the prying eyes of retail and corporate giants. Chips integrated into commonplace products such as floor tiles, shelf paper, cabinets, appliance, exercise equipment, and grocery and packaged products would allow even our most intimate activities to be monitored.

Opponents of RFID tags have proposed measures to side-step the chips' relentless information-gathering, ranging from disabling the tags by crushing or puncturing them, to simply boycotting the products of companies which use or plan to implement RFID technology. One way to destroy the tags is to microwave them for several seconds. Another method is to obstruct the information gathered by RFID readers by using blocker tags. When carried by a consumer, blocker tags impair readers by simulating many ordinary RFID tags simultaneously. Blocker tags can also block selectively by simulating only designated ID codes, such as those issued by a particular manufacturer.

In an attempt to soothe consumers' fears, companies have argued that most items tagged with RFID chips can't be tracked beyond an operating distance of about five feet. However, while this may be true today, industry experts say plans for building far more sensitive RFID signal receivers are in the works.

As RFID technology becomes more advanced, consumers may ultimately lose all ability to evade products implanted with chips. Corning researchers have developed tiny, barcoded beads that are invisible to the human eye. The microscopic beads can be embedded in inks to tag currency and other documents, and even attached to DNA molecules. They can also be added to substances like automobile paint, explosives, or other products that law enforcement officers or retailers have a strong interest in tracking. Researchers say the technology could be ready for commercial use in three to six years.

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http://www.spychips.com/faqs.html

Frequently Asked Questions About RFID

Q. What is RFID?
A. Radio Frequency IDentification is an automatic data capture technology that uses tiny tracking chips affixed to products. These tiny chips can be used to track items at a distance--right through someone's purse, backpack, or wallet. Many of the world's largest manufacturing companies would like to replace the bar code with these "spy chips," meaning that virtually every item on the planet--and the people wearing and carrying those items--could be remotely tracked. There is currently NO REGULATION protecting consumers from abuse of this technology. >> Learn More about RFID

Q. What do RFID chips and tags look like?
A. RFID chips are usually attached to antennas. The chip and antenna combination is called a "tag." RFID tags vary widely in size, shape and color. We have pictures of several of these chips online:
Click here for images of RFID tags
Click here for images of an RFID tag used in a Gillette Mach 3 Razor package

Q. What companies make or use RFID devices?
A. We have a list of 103 companies that were sponsors of the MIT Auto-ID Center as of June 25, 2003. The MIT Auto-ID Center is the organization that developed the infrastructure for RFID with the help of global businesses like Gillette, Unilever and Procter & Gamble. We expect that these companies will be among the first to adopt the technology.

Q: How can I tell if there's an RFID chip in my ____?
A: Since no law requires manufacturers to tell you when they've put an RFID chip into a product or its packaging, the only way for an average consumer to know if a product contains a chip is to see it with his or her own eyes. (Or you can invest in an electronics lab and costly RFID readers.) The good news is that most RFID devices in commercial use today have a fairly conspicuous antenna, ranging from the size of a fingernail to the size of a full-sized sheet of paper. If you suspect that an item contains a hidden RFID chip, here are a few search tips: Look closely at any paper labels or stickers on the object. Peel them off and hold them up to the light. Do you see flat, dark or metallic lines converging on a central point? If so, you may be looking at the antenna of an RFID chip. The least invasive ways to check for RFID chips in shoes is to pull back the inner pads and look around or have the shoes X-rayed. The problem with RFID chips is that they can be embedded in plastic, foam, rubber or other materials at the manufacturing plant. Short of destroying the shoes or having them X-rayed, it would be hard to find deeply embedded chips. We are still researching the use of RFID chips in shoes to determine the extent of any chipping. (See the Q & A on shoes below for more information.) If the item is made of cardboard, first scan its surface. Do you see a small, clear, flat plastic housing the size of a match head stuck anywhere onto the cardboard? If so, is it hooked up to a flat, metallic antenna or to matte grey spray-on ink? If so, you are most likely looking at an RFID tag. Pull the cardboard layers apart and look for a tell-tale antenna embedded inside. It is rumored that International Paper, an Auto-ID Center sponsor that makes packages for consumer goods, among other things, may be devising ways to embed RFID tags directly into paper and cardboard packaging. If you have access to an X-ray machine (say, if you're a veterinarian or a chiropractor) you can X-ray the item to see if it contains an RFID tag. Since most antennas are metal-based, you should be able to spot an RFID tag in this way.* Again, you are looking for an antenna converging on a central dot-sized chip. If you find something unusual and would like us to take a look, drop us an email. *Note that some highly advanced defense department and academic research chips do not have a "tell-tale antenna" since they combine the antenna within the chip itself. These devices can be so small they would be nearly impossible to find.

Q: What do I do if I find an RFID chip? Can I kill or disable it?
A: You can disable a chip for all practical purposes by disconnecting it from its antenna. It is usually pretty obvious where the chip is located in an RFID tag (all the antennas will run to it). Once you find the tiny black square you can use a pair of scissors or a knife to cut it off. To ensure that the tiny chip cannot later be read (assuming anyone could even find a device so small), you can puncture it with a straight pin, crush it, or pulverize it. (Note: While burning or microwaving can destroy a chip, we do not recommend these methods because of fire risk. See the Q & A below.) Do not try to "drown" it, since water does not generally destroy RFID chips. Running a magnet over the chip will not work, either.

Q: Can I microwave products to kill any hidden RFID tags they might contain?
A: While microwaving an RFID tag will destroy it (a microwave emits high frequency electromagnetic energy that overloads the antenna, eventually blowing out the chip), there is a good chance the the tag will burst into flames first. The difficulty of destroying a hidden RFID chip is one reason we need legislation making it illegal to hide a chip in an item in the first place.

Q: Are there some products that can't be RFID chipped?
A: Items containing LIQUID or METAL are especially hard to chip. Liquids tend to absorb the electromagnetic energy needed to power the chip, while metal tends to reflect it and bounce it around in unpredictable ways. Both problems can cause interference in the RFID signal sent by a chip to the reader. These bugs are still being worked on. You can use this information about metal to your advantage. Has your store recently remodeled, replacing traditional metal shelving with new-fangled plastic shelves, to prevent interference with RFID transmission?

Q: Will a magnet erase an RFID chip?
A: No, the chips are not magnetically encoded. Running a magnet over the chip or using a tape eraser will not affect the chip.

Q: Can chips in clothing survive the washer and dryer?
A: Yes. Many RFID tags are designed to withstand years of normal wear and tear, including washing and drying. In fact, we know of at least one uniform rental company that uses RFID chips to keep track of its inventory. The chips hold up under the rough handling and commercial washings.

Q: Is it true there are plans to put RFID chips in Euro banknotes?
A: Hitachi has been working with the eureurasiaan Central Bank on the idea of putting RFID chips into Euro banknotes. This would eliminate the anonymity of cash by making it trackable. In essence, it would "register" your cash to you when you get it from the teller or take it out of the ATM. Euro banknotes could be RFID tagged as early as 2005. See: "Euro Notes May be Radio Tagged" at http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t295-s2135074,00.html for details.

Q: Does U.S. currency contain RFID chips?
A: To the best of our knowledge, US currency does NOT currently contain RFID chips.

Q: What's the read range of these chips? Can they be tracked by satellite?
A: There are two types of tags: "passive" (no independent power source) and "active" (containing a battery or attached to one). Depending on a number of factors (antenna size, RF frequency, environmental conditions etc.) a passive tag can have a range of anywhere from 1 inch to 40 feet. Active tags can have a read range of miles or more. Most tags being considered for use in consumer products are passive.

Q: Is CASPIAN aware of any RFID tags in shoes?
A: We are aware of at least one company that uses embedded RFID technology in shoes for security purposes. According to the shoe company, the RFID labels they use do not contain unique product information. Rather, the RFID labels reportedly serve only to trigger an alarm if a consumer leaves the store without paying for the shoes. (Note that at a June 2003 RFID conference in Chicago, Alien Technology displayed a Wal-Mart Athletic Works® running shoe with an Alien RFID tag inserted under the insole. Alien said that the shoe was for display purposes only and that there were no planned/current trials or applications in those shoes. However, there was much excitement at the conference over the possibilities for RFID chips in shoes. Their stated reason for wanting to chip shoes was to keep shoe sizes together and match pairs. In our opinion, pervasive RFID chipping of shoes will become a frightening reality unless we tell companies that we will not buy products with chips!)