What is RFID?

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) utilises the application of electronic tags to an object, place, or person to enable identification from a distance without a direct line-of-sight. This is achieved using invisible radio waves over distances ranging from millimetres to hundreds of metres.

RFID comprises a set of technologies that enables storing and remotely retrieving data. An RFID system has two main components:

• The Radio Frequency (RF) Reader (base-station or interrogator)

• The Radio Frequency (RF) Tag (transponder)

When RFID tags are attached to physical objects, they enable those objects to identify themselves to RF readers via radio frequency communication.

In other words, they allow the object to say, "Hello, I'm here and my name is…"

Depending on the tag itself, this information can be limited to "I'm here" or as complex as "where I am, who I am & what I am doing etc."