rfid in research paper

• Open access
• Published: 04 September 2015

A systematic review of RFID applications and diffusion: key areas and public policy issues

• Kwangho Jung 1 &
• Sabinne Lee 2  

Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity volume  1 , Article number:  9 ( 2015 ) Cite this article

34k Accesses

26 Citations

11 Altmetric

Metrics details

RFID applicants called as e-ID, smart tag, and contactless smart card are being applied to numerous areas in our daily life, including tracking manufactured goods, currency, and patients to payments systems. To review these various applications of RFID is important to exploring not only ongoing e-governance issues such as digital identification, delivery process, and governance but also business oriented application areas like supply chain. Through a systematic review methodology from 111 previous studies about RFID technology for public sector, we found six key areas of RFID applications: defense and security, identification, environmental applications, transportation, healthcare and welfare, and agriculture-livestock. We also suggest that the diffusion and applications of RFID can involve unexpected disadvantages including technological deficiency, uncertain benefits, dubious transparency, uncomfortable privacy issue, and unequal distribution of digital power and literacy. Further research on RFID impact includes not only various theoretical issues of but also legal and managerial problems. Rigorous research is required to explore what factors are critical to adopt and implement new RFID applications in terms of technology governance and digital literacy. Massive data driven research is also expected to identify RFID performance in government agencies and various industry sectors.

RFID technology has been widely implemented all over the world and its impact on our daily life is very diverse and massive (Li et al., 2006 ; Wyld, 2005 ). Those diverse areas of RFID application include logistical tracking, monitoring and maintenance of products, product safety and information, and payment process. Today many governments around the world in both developed Footnote 1 and developing Footnote 2 countries are trying to apply it for various areas from tracking manufactured goods, currency, and patients to securing sagety of payments systems. Massive RFID applications around all the industry sectors and countries are expected to generate a huge potential benefits for sustainable efficient energy infrastructure, transportation safety, and health care. Over the past 50 years, RFID technology went through innovations and progressions to become a more efficient and effective gadget for human beings as well as effective solutions of technical and organizational problems in various industry sectors. However, key issues of appropriate ICT technology, governing networks among RFID domains, standardization requirement, and privacy still remain unsolved Footnote 3 .

We review previous literature about RFID technology used in public sectors in order to identify what has been done and found to suggest policy implications and further research agenda. More specifically, we discuss four aspects regarding RFID research issues and policy implications. First, we examine various competing concepts of RFID use by governments all over the world. Second, we categorize numerous applications of RFID technology through analyzing previous literature. Third, we try to figure out technological issues and governance problems that RFID technology faces today. Last, we draw key public issues and suggest future research agenda.

Methodology of the RFID literature review

A brief history of rfid technology.

RFID technology was emerged as Frederick Hertz found existence of radio frequency during his experiment in 1886 (Wyld, 2005 ) and developed for the purpose of defense during the Second World War Footnote 4 . During 1970s and 1980s, the RFID system attracted plenty of scholars and innovators, so efforts to register patents progressed (Takahashi, 2004 ). Researchers like Charles Walton had registered a patent to use RFID. In the 1980s, many US and European companies recognized the importance of developing RFID technology and started to manufacture RFID tags. Soon scholars at MIT University opened an Auto-ID center to promote the use and implementation of RFID technology. But most of the scholars report that the first commercialization of RFID technology was done by Wal-Mart as they launched RFID based material identifying system in 2005 (Shahram and Manish 2005 ). Wal-Mart is now tracking merchandise including food, apparels, and electronic items with RFID technology in their supply chain. Footnote 5 . RFID technology is a brand new policy tool that can ensure high transparency, efficiency and effectiveness not only in industrial areas but also in government service delivery. Table  1 describes a brief history of how RFID technology was developed and diffused.

Research design for a systematic review

We searched online data base and expert based information to identify RFID publications between 2003 and 2015. We categorized RFID applications and analyzed issues and concerns that RFID faces today by systematically reviewing published literature. We have collected literature we use for systematic review from two different resources. First, most of the studies are found by searching the e-database. We could access electronic databases, such as Google Scholar, World Web of Science (WWS), Proquest Central, and Science Direct through Seoul National University’s main library homepage. We had set ‘RFID technology’, ‘RFID government,’ ‘RFID application, and ‘RFID issue’ as keywords for searching literature. We found most of the research through this method of searching. The second method we used for collecting data was having discussions with experts. To do this, we first made a list of experts who specialize in IT technology, Science technology, and public administration. Five experts agreed to help us and recommended some research papers that were known for their fluent flow of logic and plentiful contents. We chose relevant research papers from among experts’ recommendations. In sum we had used previous literature collected from two methods we discussed above, searching e-database and asking experts, as our resource of searching.

[Figure  1 ] shows analytical frame that we use for this study. We have determined the literature for systematic review according to three stages shown on the flow chart. First, the original total number of studies we have found from the e-database was 4260. Also 185 research papers were found from experts’ recommendations and previous public papers. A total of 4,445 studies were chosen through the first stage. Second, we excluded 4,121 following general eligibility criteria by screening title and abstract. More specifically, we excluded RFID studies only with one of the following criteria: 1) studies focusing on private sector; 2) studies without considering how public sector implemented RFID technology; 3) studies that did not discuss any social scientific implications; and 4) studies that only deal with RFID technology from pure scientific and engineering points of view. In sum, we included only 324 papers that discussed RFID issues and their implications in public sector. Third, we removed further 213 studies too much focusing on private sector or RFID technology itself, rather on its applications in our society and social scientific implications. Finally, 111 articles were chosen for our systematic review.

Analytical Frame

[Figure  2 ] below showed descriptive statistics of collected literatures by published year. It shows 22 studies were published in 2007 among 111 literatures. As we already described above in history of RFID section, the popularization and commercialization of RFID technology was started in 2005 with Wal-Mart’s adoption. It seems that after Wal-Mart’s innovative footsteps hit the world, many scholars were started to recognize the potential of new technology and tried to understand and develop RFID technology. Besides some governments from all over the world implemented new way of public service delivery using RFID technology. Consequently, 49 literatures were publishedbetween 2006 and 2008 and it forms almost 45 % of our collected studies

Descriptive Statistics of Literatures by year

For this study, we categorized governments’ way of using RFID technology in 6 areas; Agriculture and Livestock, Defense and Security, Environmental Applications, Healthcare and Welfare, Identification, and Transportation. [Figure  3 ] shows descriptive statistics of collected literatures categorized by applications. We categorized studies that did not focus on specific sector and analyze and introduce RFID technology from the general perspectives as ‘RFID general’. ‘RFID general’ studies usually deal with various ways of using RFID technology in diverse sectors simultaneously. As we can see from [Fig.  3 ], RFID general area had 42 papers. That means still lots of RFID studies could not be fully specialized and remained in status of generally introducing RFID technology. Identification sector scores secondly highest number of published literatures among areas. This result seems natural because e-ID card or e-Passport have most powerful force that can hurt privacy, one of the most serious and notorious issues that RFID technology face today

Descriptive Statistics of Literatures by applications

Key applied areas of RFID

Defense and security.

As we show in [Table  1 ], the history of RFID technology was started from the need for ensuring national security. Almost 60 years have passed since US army developed RFID based identification system to identify allies and enemies, RFID technology is still used for protecting people. For instance, Weinstein ( 2005 ) and Konsysnki & Smith ( 2003 ) reported how the US Army and Navy implement RFID technology in cargo containers to identify materials. The US Army and Navy implement RFID not only to identify US troops’ own weapons and containers but also to identify enemies in battle (Tien 2004 ) Footnote 6 . RFID systems are also important in terms of airport and port security. After the 9/11 terror attack on the United States, President George W. Bush let all the airport and port in US adopt identification systems based on RFID technology to protect its nation from additional terrorist attacks (Werb and Sereiko 2002 ) Footnote 7 . In 2012, the Taiwanese government decided to implement an RFID based e-Seal system to increase security and efficiency (Tsai and Huang 2012 ). In addition, RFID technology can be used effectively in prison management Footnote 8 and child protection. In some countries like Japan and Republic of Korea, the RFID tag is implemented in child protection monitoring (Table  2 ). Footnote 9

Identification

Electronic passports like ‘e-passports’ were adopted electrically after the 9/11 attack. After the terrible tragedy broke heart of United States, the American government became aware of the importance of checking VISAs and passports correctly. The US Department of State soon let people who wanted to enter US to use RFID tag embedded electronic passports instead of traditional barcode based passports Footnote 10 . The European Union also endorsed the inclusion of biological information in e-passports. The EU Justice and Home Affairs Council decided to include fingerprints as a second mandatory identifier on passports in 2004. Footnote 11 In addition, RFID can be used in e-ID cards in various countries. For example, in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Labor Party convinced the nation to adopt biometrically-enhanced national identification cards (Ezovski and Watkins 2007 ). Tony Blair’s administration announced its will to implement RFID tag embedded national identification card in late 2004. China is another case where the e-ID card is used today. As a matter of fact, China is the country where e-ID card is widely and largely adopted today. The Beijing Olympics held in 2008 lit the fuse of adoption. The largest smart card project was implemented as a part of preparing the most prominent international sports event. In 2008, the Chinese government supplied 1.2 billion dollars of RFID readers and 2.25 billion dollars of RFID embedded smart cards to citizens. This made China the world’s largest market for RFID (Kovavisaruch and Suntharasaj 2007 ) (Table  3 ).

Environmental applications

RFID technology can be widely applied in environmental applications. Adopting an RFID system in waste management is the most prominent way of using RFID to ensure efficient, eco-friendly waste management among lots of countries in the world. PAYT (Pay-As-You-Throw) program done by European Union (EU) is the pioneer of this field. PAYT is an RFID based waste pricing model that allows each individuals or each household to pay for the tag along with the total amount of waste they throw. Since each household and individual has a waste box in which RFID tags are embedded, the exact volume of waste can be calculated. In Europe this incentive based system has been proven to be a powerful policy tool for reducing the total amount of waste and for encouraging recycling (Schindler et al. 2012 ). Similar systems are broadly implemented in US (Ransford et al. 2012 ). In South Korea, the ministry of environment introduced it to industry and urged them to use an RFID based waste management system, especially in medical waste management. RFID technology is implemented in waste management in developed and developing countries, but the purpose of adoption is somewhat different from Europe to the US. India, the second-most populated country in the world, has adopted RFID technology to cope with the rapid increase of volume and types of waste (Infotech 2013 ). Similarly in 2010, what China faced were the World Expo and huge amounts of construction waste that comprised 30 % to 40 % of the total urban waste. Shanghai was chosen for a pilot project using an RFID based waste management system. All the waste dumping trucks had an embed RFID tag and volume of waste they carry was checked by the local government (Ruan and Hu 2011 ). Another interesting case of environmental application emerges from South Korea. The South Korean government operates U-Street Trees Systems through which the exact location and status of street trees can be monitored. Information about location and status of street trees are collected by an RFID tag that is attached to each tree is saved in a web information system, so trees can be managed effectively. Kim et al. ( 2006 ) claim that this web based information system could manage information remotely with an interactive system (Table  4 ).

Transportation

Public transportation is another popular sector for RFID technology applications. RFID based electronic toll collection technology is one of the oldest and widespread RFID implementation (Ulatowski 2007 ). As soon as an RFID tag embedded car arrives at a toll booth, the RFID reader scans and reads the information that the RFID tag contains. The driver will pay debits according to the price that electronic reader suggests. In the US, electronic toll collection is thought as efficient and effective method that eliminates long lines of traffic at toll booth (Ulatowski 2007 ). RFID based toll collection is also adopted in criminal cases because it enables prosecutors to identify the exact location of the criminal’s car (Smith 2006 ). In South Korea, the Korean government has set credit card-linked electronic toll collection system called ‘Hypass’ especially for collecting transportation tolls on express ways. If an RFID tag is embedded on their cars, drivers can pass the tollbooth without stopping the car because RFID reader scan the data immediately and handle the whole payment process in about 5 s (Kim 2008 ). Hong Kong launched similar public transportation toll collection system in 1997 and the ‘Octopus Card’ is now internationally famous for its convenience. This system is able to handle 10 million transactions per day and includes all modes of public transport (Kovavisaruch and Suntharasaj 2007 ). South Korea has set credit card-linked electronic toll collection system called ‘Hypass’ especially for collecting transportation tolls on express ways. RFID technology is also implemented in railroad toll collection in India, where railroads are the most widely used form of public transportation. If an RFID tag is embedded on their cars, drivers can pass the tollbooth without stopping the car because RFID reader scan the data immediately and handle the whole payment process in about 5 s (Kim, 2008 ). In addition, RFID has been used as a critical technology to promote efficiency and transparency for public transportation system in developing countries. For instance, the Mexican government runs “Creating Traffic Knowledge in Mexico: Applying RFID to prevent vandalism” and one of the purposes of this innovative project is to develop a transportation information system to acquire more subtle data necessary for government decision making ( Prado et al. 2010 ). Analogous to Mexican case, in Bangladesh where BRTA (Bangladesh Road Transport Authority) was started in 2003, the technology is operated mainly for control and supervision of the road transport systems (Hossain et al. 2009 ). RFID technology is also implemented in railroad toll collection in India, where railroads are the most widely used form of public transportation (Table  5 ).

Healthcare and welfare

RFID enables hospitals to manage their equipment more easily and save expenses in public health areas Footnote 12 . The US government agencies like FDA have also already used RFID tag in monitoring drug industry Footnote 13 . Since American hospitals handle almost 4,000 medicines per day, medication errors can be easily occurred. With strong government support, public hospitals in Taiwan have actively adopted innovation of RFID (Kuo and Chen 2008 ) Footnote 14 . Even though it is not yet commercialized, an RFID identification system Footnote 15 for the visually impaired people is being developed by engineers in Pakistan with the support of the Pakistani government (Murad et al. 2011 ) (Table  6 ).

Agriculture and livestock

RFID technology can be an effective tool for securing food safety and managing agriculture and livestock. Another major advantage to this system is that animal disease tracking can be realized through innovative technology like RFID (Hossain and Quaddus 2009 ). With the government support, researchers have developed the Navigation System for Appropriate Pesticide Use as a basic system for risk management in agriculture (Nanseki et al. 2005 ). RFID technology in agriculture was first introduced by the European Union (EU) in the late 1990s and shortly thereafter many countries, such as Australia, Japan and South Korea, adopted the innovation. Among those countries, the Australian government was the most passionate in implementing RFID Footnote 16 . For instance, all the livestock in Australia have RFID embedded tags on their bodies immediately after they are born; information that enables farmers to identify each entity and its health status is registered in National Livestock Identification System (NLIS). RFID technology in Japan has been also adopted in agriculture especially to secure food safety and agricultural risk management that can occur by abusing pesticides (Nanseki et al. 2005 , Sugahara 2009 ). The Japanese government planned to make a food traceability system by 2010 as a part of the “e-Japan” plan (Chen et al. 2008 ). The United States is another case that applies mandatory RFID based identification system in managing livestock. According to RFID Gazette ( 2006 ), the USDA is pushing for RFID tagging of cattle to make tracing of disease patterns easier. With the formation of National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) in 2002, the plan for setting the National Animal Identification System was started. What the US government fulfilled through this program was “to be able to identify all animals and premises that have had contact with a foreign or domestic animal disease of concern within 48 h” (Wyld, 2005 ) because “the sooner animal health officials can identify infected and exposed animals and premises, the sooner they can contain the disease and stop its spread (USDA-APHIS 2005 )” (Table  7 ).

Public policy issues from RFID diffusion

RFID applications and diffusion generate complex policy and governance problems. We address public policy issues such as technological gap and uncertainty of expecting potential benefits and costs from a rapid and massive RFID diffusion. Uneasy governing issues in transparency, digital identification and power distribution are arising from inappropriate RFID applications. We discuss governance issues such as corruption, privacy problem, and digital monopoly and literacy in the following.

Technological concerns

Technology is not still enough to satisfy all the elements that RFID is trying to perform various operational mechanisms. RFID technology deficiencies inevitably occur with the application of technology because there is niche space still left. For instance, RFID technology does not have a unified frequency standard yet. Since there are no internationally agreed upon frequencies for RFID operations, permitted scanner/reader powers also differ between countries. There are still significant differences between the frequencies from the EU and the USA (Hossain et al., 2009 ). In addition, Reichenhach (2008) pointed out the lack of storage capacity. In the EU, where RFID based waste management is common, there are technological barriers like a shortage of storage capacity Footnote 17 . Ema and Fujigaki ( 2011 ) draw implications from a child monitoring case done in Japan that being informed of children’s exact location cannot guarantee their actual safety, but RFID tags often lead to that cherished illusion. Vining ( 2005 ) warned about another possibility of niche space. According to his study about port security in the US, stealing goods without damaging RFID tag is possible because at ports, the container can be drilled into and contents can be removed. The RFID tag does not have to endure any damage through this whole process. In the US, as a response to continued pressure from various stakeholders, the US government even adopted the ‘Faraday cage’ for privacy protection Footnote 18 (Table  8 ).

Uncertain cost-benefit effectiveness

RFID defenders emphasize that RFID technology can guarantee effectiveness and efficiency at a very cheap price. There is, however, substantial evidence to show RFID can generate unexpected costs Footnote 19 . In reality, the RFID tag is much more expensive than a barcode, which was very popular in identifying materials before the rise of RFID technology (Becker 2004 ). Purchasing RFID devices, hardware, and tags is not sufficient to drive system relevantly. To guarantee a better quality of service, the RFID system needs more additional things such as “circular process mechanism, the richness of consultant, project manager, programmers and plentiful project labors” (Kuo and Chen 2008 ). These elements for a better RFID performance may involve considerable costs. Kuo and Chen ( 2008 ) reported that RFID technology consumers and government should pay the extra hidden cost in the healthcare industry (Table  9 ).

Dubious transparency and corruption

RFID technology is expected to increase transparency and monitor corruption. However, RFID technology cannot ensure a high level of transparency than expected. As a matter of fact, RFID tags can be cloned and manipulated quite easily, and this kind of tag corruption can occur at every stage of RFID implementation. There are various examples to show an inappropriate use of RFID technology. For instance, Armknecht et al. ( 2010a , b ) warned the possibility of tag corruption. Lee et al. ( 2012 ) pointed out reader corruption of the RFID technology. An existing security model mainly focuses on the possibility of tag corruption, but reader corruption can hurt consumers’ privacy as seriously as tag corruption can. Jules ( 2006 ) reported one of the tag corruption cases that observed in United States. One of the staff members who worked in a Dupyu store, an unscrupulous retailer, attached a cloned tag to counterfeit drugs. Avoine et al. ( 2010 ) argued that internet based databases can also be directly attacked and emphasized the possibility of reader corruption. There are also unethical behaviors to avoid RFID monitoring process. In the EU where an RFID based waste management system is aggressively implemented, some people disposed waste that came from their house at work places in order to avoid exact calculation through the RFID system. Not only this, Bilitewski ( 2008 ) reported that some conscienceless people are burning or transferring waste outside instead of throwing it into their RFID tag attached garbage can (Table  10 ).

Privacy issues

One of the most serious issues that RFID technology faces today is whether RFID technology is secure enough to protect privacy. Privacy is the most important concern RFID users have to deal with (Perakslis and Wolk 2005 ). RFID tag embedded chips often contain important personal information and usually this kind of private information can hurt one’s privacy seriously if leaked. To prevent leakage of private information, engineers developed cryptography, but there remains criticism Footnote 20 . The reason why these sorts of privacy concerns arise is because of the lack of security protection capacity of modern RFID technology. As we discussed above in the technological issues section, RFID technology today is not developed to secure perfect privacy. The technology itself has lots of deficiencies and people are smart enough to find niche spaces that can destroy the RFID security process. RFID itself can involve not only various hidden costs Footnote 21 but also induces a serious privacy problem Footnote 22 . However, despite these possibilities of attacks on privacy, there are lots of stakeholders and scholars who advocate the potential benefits of RFID. They claim that tracking and profiling consumers is solely for implementing RFID chips more effectively. Eaward Rerisi, one of the producers of early implementation of RFID technology argued that, “An RFID reader can read the number on a tag, but without knowing what the number means, there is no way to access personal information. The idea that the tags can be read by just anybody—that’s pretty impossible” (Murray 2003 ) (Table  11 ).

Unequal power and digital literacy

Unequal distribution of RFID technology can generate unequal distribution of various resources such as information and digital literacy. Especially in developing countries, the combination of unbalanced power distribution between stakeholders and a low level of digital literacy can cause serious problems. Ketprom et al. ( 2007 ) emphasized that in developing countries like Thailand Footnote 23 , governments should provide education and training on how to use brand new technology to poor farmers whose digital literacy remains relatively low. But poor farmers in Thailand are not the only stakeholders who are suffering from a lack of digital literacy. In Bangladesh, where RFID toll collection is common, traffic policies have no interest in using RFID technology for managing public transportation systems. Rather, they prefer traditional ways of toll collecting to information based technology (Hossain et al., 2009 ). Prasanth et al. ( 2009 ) found that the lack of digital literacy among the Indian people hampered an effective process of railroad toll collection in India. Another problem developing countries face is an unbalanced power distribution due to lack of democratic value embedded governance. Chen et al. ( 2008 ) criticized the Taiwanese government because it monopolizes most of the information collected by RFID technology. As we already discussed above, when RFID tag scanned, information saved in RFID tag is scanned by reader and then transmitted to an internet based database. If that data were available to the public, individuals and industry could make more reasonable decisions by analyzing them. We find another unbalanced power distribution case in China’s waste management system. According to Ruan and Hu ( 2011 ), the Chinese government benefits most from the RFID system Footnote 24 (Table  12 ).

Discussion and Conclusion

We found, relying on a systematic review from 111 RFID studies, six key areas of RFID applications. Specifically in the defense and security section, we addressed how military and airports/ports manage RFID systems to ensure security. We also found that RFID is effectively implemented in prison management and child protection programs. Numerous governments have introduced RFID identification tools such as e-passport and e-ID. RFID systems for waste management and street tree management are widely used from rich to poor countries. In healthcare and welfare delivery, RFID based smart cards have turned out to be very efficient. RFID is now being used to monitor counterfeit drugs. RFID has been applied to delivering service for the impaired and to trace infection. However, despite potential benefits from RFID applications, various unexpected problems arise. RFID can still involve technological deficiencies, especially in securing cryptography techniques, international standards of frequency, and storage capacity. RFID technology is not still enough to be efficient and effective in some areas (Becker 2004 , Jensen et al. 2007 ). Tag and reader corruption can hurt transparency and security. Privacy issues are still the most serious issues that RFID faces today (Naumann and Hogben 2008 ). RFID itself can generate new unequal digital literacy and power distribution, especially in developing countries such as Thailand and Bangladesh. Even the most latest innovative technologies, like RFID, do not have perfect answers to securing efficiency, effectiveness, convenience, and transparency. Rather, RFID technology itself creates unexpected problems. It should be noted that democratic governance and trust is still important to technological innovation and policy issues arising from a rapid RFID diffusion.

Our systematic review is incomplete to discuss all of the RFID issues from technology, market and management, e-government, and legal aspects. Further research on RFID diffusion and impact include not only various theoretical issues of but also legal and managerial problems. For instance, both qualitative and quantitative research is required to explore what factors are critical to adopt and implement new RFID technology in terms of governance and digital literacy. Both micro and macro approaches with massive data are also required to identify how RFID improve not only organizational performance in government agencies and various industry sectors but also quality of our life.

For example, after serious attack by Osama Bin Laden on 9/11, the American government decided to implement an RFID tag embedded e-passport and VISA waiver program. The US government asked their member countries to implement e-passport by late 2005 and soon US member countries like ROK and EU started to use e-passports. Currently, no one can enter to United States without an RFID tag based e-passport.

Especially in developing countries, governments usually adopt brand new IT technologies, but their low level of socio-economic infrastructures may prohibit the efficient operation of technology.

For instance, RFID applications may lack social virtues like trust, ethics, and democracy. It is essential to understanding how a rapid diffusion and massive applications of RFID generate conflict or harmony among human behaviors, digital literacy, institutional rules, and technology.

US Army and its allies could not only manage weapons and soldiers but also identify who was the enemy or not (Castro and Wamba, 2007 ). This whole project of developing an RFID based identifying system was known as IFF (Identify Friend of Foe).

See more various examples of RFID applications at the website ( https://epic.org/privacy/rfid/ )

In 2004, the US Army adopted RFID during the Iraq war to track Iraq troops. Not only these, the US Army piloted 4 projects using RFID; identifying material locations, weapons deteriorations, hazardous material tracking, and asset tracking (Anon 2002).

The New York City government also started an RFID e-seal pilot project in the New Jersey Port. Once RFID read and scan the tag, it can identify the contents of the container box. Also, the port of Tacoma and Seattle planned to adopt E-Seals, made of metal bolts with embedded RFID devices to ensure its security (Konsynski and Smith 2003 ).

Calpatria prison, located in Los Angeles, adopted a prisoner monitoring system using RFID chips in 2000 as the very first pilot using RFID in prison management in United States (Kim 2008 ). According to regulations of Calpatria prison, all the prison inmates were issued bracelets in which RFID chips were embedded. Since the pilot project at the Calpatria prison was successful, the local government let other prisons in Los Angeles adopt the innovative bracelet. The LA County prison started to use a brand new bracelet in response to the state government’s order; it is reported that through its adoption the prison could increase efficiency and effectiveness and decrease crimes occurred between inmates simultaneously (Nicholas 2008).

For instance, city governments in the Gifu and Osaka prefecture provided RFID tags that can be attached in students’ schoolbags to public elementary schools (Ema and Fujigaki, 2011 ). Similarly, in Haewoondae beach, one of the most famous vacation spots in South Korea, Busan Metropolitan City provides for parents RFID embedded bracelet that enables tracking exact location of their child by a smart phone ( http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=102&oid=001&aid=0003353674 ).

This project began in 2002, but it took 3 years to fully implement for all 16 US passports (Meingast et al. 2007 ). The appearance of the e-passport is very similar to old passports, but woven into the paper of the passport, there is RFID tag that information about owner of the passport is included. Information about nationality, sex, age, and so on is scanned, as airport staff members scan the passport through RFID reader (Lorenc 2007 ). The US government did not stop at this point and adopted VISA Waiver Program. By 2005, the US member countries had to adopt RFID based e-passports and VISA Waiver Programs in order for their citizens to enter the United States because without e-passports, passengers could not be accepted at American points of entry. Today, the e-passport includes not only individual data but biological data, such as fingerprints (ICAO TAG MRTD/TWF 2004).

E-Government News, “EU Asks US for Time to Issue Biometric Passports”. iDABC European e-Government Services, 1 April, 2005.

For instance, Wicks et al. ( 2006 ) reported that this RFID based hospital management system is very effective in reducing management costs because embedded RFID tags can track lost or hidden expensive equipment. Miller (1999) pointed out that the potential of RFID technology can be expanded in tracking the location of patients and controlling the drugs. Also, Chowdhury and Khosla ( 2007 ) argued that RFID technology can be effectively used not only in hospital equipment management but also in patient management.

According to statistics published by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), about 44,000 to 98,000 people die in the USA per year because of improper drug administration (Kohn et al. 2000). To rectify this phenomenon, in 2004 the US government and US FDA recommended pharmaceutical industries to implement RFID tags to prevent the production of counterfeit drugs (Wyld, 2005 ). The Florida state government added legal regulations to this recommendation in 2006. If a pharmaceutical industry located in Florida does not attach RFID embedded tags on its products, it has to face substantial financial penalties (Skinar 2005).

For instance, RFID technology saved Singapore and Taiwan from SARS attack around 2003. Two public hospitals in Singapore in 2003 adopted RFID technology to track staff, patients, and visitors in order to trace people who carried the SARS virus. The RFID information database saved all the data collected from each individual’s RFID tag for 21 days, which was thought to be long enough for expression of SARS virus (Nicholas 2008). A similar process was done in Taiwan too. During the SARS period, five hospitals, including Taipei Veteran’s General Hospital, implemented RFID tags to track patients who had possibility contracted the SARS virus (Kuo et al. 2004 ) with strong government support.

One peculiar characteristic of this system as compared to other systems is that visually impaired people are both the reader carrier and the service beneficiaries, simultaneously. Generally in government service delivery using RFID technology, the service provider usually carries RFID tag readers and service beneficiaries usually act more passive roles by attaching RFID tags. But in this Pakistani case, the service beneficiaries can identify objects around them by operating RFID tag reader they have.

The Australian government passed legislation on mandatory use of RFID tags in the livestock industry, so Hossain and Quaddus ( 2014 ) categorized Australian case as a very rare and special adoption case. According to Trevarthen and Michael ( 2007 )’s case study, one of the Australian farms where the RFID tag is implemented, farmers not only track the exact location of the cows but also check the condition, identify cows and even feed the new born cows automatically by using an RFID system.

Usually people throw waste in various places. They may throw it away at their houses or at work places, like an office. Since the RFID tag is only attached to a garbage can in house, it is impossible to track all types of waste throwing behaviors. Inevitably, this shortage of storage capacity leads to selective waste collection monitoring.

The faraday cage is an object in metal; proponents of this device argue that faraday cage can prevent hacker’s attack because electronic devices are prevented from passing through the object (Ezovski et al. 2007). But speculation about stability of this technology still remains. Lorenc ( 2007 ) reported that if there is no additional technology, the faraday cage cannot preserve sensitive security.

As a matter of fact, there are two kinds of RFID tags, the passive tag and the active tag. These two tags provide owners with different benefits and liabilities. Active tags are implemented by a power source, such as small battery. Active tags are more efficient and safe in protecting privacy than passive tags, so sensitive organizations like military prefer active tags to passive tags. But ordinary consumers have less accessibility to active tags because active tags are much more expensive than passive ones (Jensen et al. 2007 ).

According to Laurie ( 2007 ), even without physically losing an RFID tag, private information can be stolen because what’s inside RFID tags can be skimmed quite easily. If we can build a device that enables us to transmit an arbitrary number, invading the internet based database is theoretically possible.

For instance, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co. in autumn 2003 planned a very interesting experiment to check the potential deficiencies of RFID technology. Customers of a Wal-Mart store in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma were secretly tracked through RFID tags while purchasing lipstick that Procter & Gamble Co. made (Barut et al. 2006 ).

For instance, Hwang et al. ( 2009 ) and Numann & Hogben (2009) categorized various kinds of privacy attack cases that can possibly occur. According Hwang et al. ( 2009 ), technological deficiency enables hackers to engage in cloning, eavesdropping, replay attack, denial of service, forward security, tag tracing, individual data privacy, and data forging. Specifically, the hacker can read the tag and then clone the tag (cloning), surreptitiously listen to all the communications between and the tag (eavesdropping), repeat or delay the message (replay attack), send large amount of message to break down RFID system (denial of service), compromise a tag (forward security), trace the exact location of the tag (tag tracing), find out shopping trend of the consumer (individual data privacy), and modify information saved on an RFID tag (Data forging). In addition, Numann and Hogben (2008) categorized the privacy attacking cases more briefly. According to their research, the hacker can attack RFID tag in some ways. First, the attacker can open a connection to the chip and can steal the data inside (skimming). Second, the attacker can intercept the communication between tag and reader (eavesdropping). Last, the attacker can track the exact location of the tag or the person.

In Thailand, most of the farms are trying to adopt an RFID system in farm management, but RFID technology is widening the gap between poor and rich farmers. Poor farmers are usually less educated people who have hardly had any experience using digital technology like RFID. On the other hand, well-educated wealthy farmers face low entry barriers and easily adopt the technology. Rich farmers armed with innovative technology not only make enormous fortunes by increasing efficiency but also by replacing poor labors with RFID embedded devices. According to the Thailand Ministry of Labor (2006), most farm labors are afraid of being replaced. Unfortunately, this phenomenon eventually correlates to a serious gap between rich and poor.

The government has invested a huge amount of money to buy necessary devices such as readers, tags, hardware, and so on, but in the long run cost of management will decrease. On the other hand, the waste industry could carry a very heavy debt. The waste contractors have to deal with expensive RFID tag rental and as well as the cost of construction simultaneously. Although this situation is totally unfavorable for them, the waste management industry cannot resist to this policy because the Chinese government is the entity which has made the use of RFID policy and set prices. The industry has no other choice but consent.

Armknecht F, Chen L, Sadeghi AR, Wachsmann C. Anonymous authentication for RFID systems. In: Radio Frequency Identification: Security and Privacy Issues. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer; 2010a. p. 158–75.

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Armknecht F, Sadeghi AR, Visconti I, Wachsmann C. On RFID privacy with mutual authentication and tag corruption. In: Applied Cryptography and Network Security. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer; 2010b. p. 493–510.

Avoine G, Coisel I, Martin T. Time measurement threatens privacy-friendly RFID authentication protocols. In: Radio Frequency Identification: Security and Privacy Issues. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer; 2010. p. 138–57.

Barut M, Brown R, Freund N, May J, Reinhart E. RFID and corporate responsibility: hidden costs in RFID implementation. Bus Soc Rev. 2006;111:287–303.

Article   Google Scholar  

Becker C. A new game of leapfrog? RFID is rapidly changing the product-tracking process. Some say the technology--once costs drop--could displace bar-coding. Modern Healthcare. 2004;34:38–40.

Google Scholar  

Bilitewski B. From traditional to modern fee systems. Waste Management. 2008;28(12):2760–6.

Castro L, Wamba SF. An inside look at RFID technology. J Technol Manag Innov. 2007;2:128–41.

Chen RS, Chen CC, Yeh KC, Chen YC, Kuo CW. Using RFID technology in food produce traceability. WSEAS Transac Inform Sci Appli. 2008;5:1551–60.

Chowdhury B, Khosla R. RFID-based hospital real-time patient management system. In: Computer and Information Science, 2007. ICIS 2007. 6th IEEE/ACIS International Conference on. 2007. p. 363–8. IEEE.

Ema A, Fujigaki Y. How far can child surveillance go?: Assessing the parental perceptions of an RFID child monitoring system in Japan. Surveillance Soc. 2011;9:132–48.

Ezovski GM, Watkins SE. The electronic passport and the future of government-issued RFID-based identification. In: RFID, 2007. IEEE International Conference on. Grapevine, TX: IEEE; 2007. p. 15–22.

Hossain MA. Exploring the Perceived Measures of Privacy: RFID in Public Applications. Aus J Inform Systems. 2014;18(2):133–48.

Hossain MA, Quaddus M. An adoption-diffusion model for RFID applications in Bangladesh. In: Computers and Information Technology, 2009. ICCIT'09. 12th International Conference on. 2009. p. 127–32. IEEE.

Hossain MF, Sohel MK, Arefin AS. Designing and implementing RFID technology for vehicle tracking in Bangladesh. Dhaka, Bangladesh: National Conference on Communication and Information Security; 2009.

Hossain MA, Quaddus M. Developing and validating a hierarchical model of external responsiveness: A study on RFID technology. Inform Systems Frontiers. 2014;17(1):109–25.

Hwang MS, Wei CH, Lee CY. Privacy and security requirements for RFID applications. J Comput. 2009;20:55–60.

Jensen A, Cazier J, Dave D. The impact of government trust perception on privacy risk perceptions and consumer acceptance of residual RFID technologies. AMCIS 2007 Proceedings, 146. (2007).

Jensen AS, Cazier JA, Dave DS. Mitigating consumer perceptions of privacy and security risks with the use of residual RFID technologies through governmental trust. J Inform Syst Security. 2008;4:41–66.

Jules A. RFID security and privacy: A research survey. Selected Areas Commun IEEE J. 2006;24:381–94.

Infotech. RFID based Waste Management System. 2013. http://www.slideshare.net/iaitoinfotech/rfid-in-waste-management-slide-share.

Ketprom U, Mitrpant C, Lowjun P. Closing digital gap on RFID usage for better farm management. In: Management of Engineering and Technology, Portland International Center for. Portland, OR: IEEE; 2007. p. 1748–55.

Kim JG. A divide-and-conquer technique for throughput enhancement of RFID anti-collision protocol. Communications Letters, IEEE. 2008;12:474–6.

Kim EM, Pyeon MW, Kang MS, Park JS. A management system of street trees by using RFID. In: Web and Wireless Geographical Information Systems. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer; 2006. p. 66–75.

Konsynski B, Smith HA. Developments in practice x: Radio frequency identification (rfid)-an internet for physical objects. Commun Assoc Inform Systems. 2003;12:19.

Kovavisaruch L, Suntharasaj P. Converging technology in society: opportunity for radio frequency identification (RFID) in Thailand's transportation system. In: Management of Engineering and Technology, Portland International Center for. Portland, OR: IEEE; 2007. p. 300–4.

Kuo CH, Chen HG. The critical issues about deploying RFID in healthcare industry by service perspective. In: Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Proceedings of the 41st Annual. Waikoloa, HI: IEEE; 2008. p. 111–1.

Kuo F, Lee Y, Tang CY. The Development of RFID in Healthcare in Taiwan. Bejing: ICEB; 2004. p. 340–5.

Laurie A. Practical attacks against RFID. Network Security. 2007;2007:4–7.

Lee K, Nieto JG, Boyd C. A state-aware RFID privacy model with reader corruption. In: Cyberspace Safety and Security. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer; 2012. p. 324–38.

Li S, Visich JK, Khumawala BM, Zhang C. Radio frequency identification technology: applications, technical challenges and strategies. Sensor Review. 2006;26:193–202.

Lorenc ML. Mark of the Beast: US Government Use of RFID in Government-Issued Documents. The Alb LJ Sci Tech. 2007;17:583.

Meingast M, King J, Mulligan DK. Embedded RFID and everyday things: A case study of the security and privacy risks of the US e-passport. In: RFID, 2007. IEEE International Conference on. Grapevine, TX: IEEE; 2007. p. 7–14.

Murad M, Rehman A, Shah AA, Ullah S, Fahad M, Yahya KM. RFAIDE—An RFID based navigation and object recognition assistant for visually impaired people. In: Emerging Technologies (ICET), 2011 7th International Conference on. Islamabad: IEEE; 2011. p. 1–4.

Murray C. Privacy concerns mount over retail use of RFID technology. EE Times. 2003;2:4–5.

Nanseki. A navigation system for appropriate pesticide use: design and implementation. Agricultural Information Research. 2005;14:207–26.

Naumann I, Hogben G. Privacy features of European eID card specifications. Network Security. 2008;8:9–13.

Perakslis C, Wolk R. Social acceptance of RFID as a biometric security method. In Technology and Society, 2005. Weapons and Wires: Prevention and Safety in a Time of Fear. ISTAS 2005. Proceedings. 2005 International Symposium on (pp. 79-87). IEEE. New York, New York; 2005.

Prado JAD, Monterrey IC, Prado FED. Creating Traffic Knowledge System in Mexico: Applying RFID to Prevent the Vandalism. The 15th International Business Information Management Association Conference. 2010. p. 2042–50.

Prasanth V, Hari PR, Soman KP. Ticketing Solutions for Indian Railways Using RFID Technology. In: Advances in Computing, Control, & Telecommunication Technologies, 2009. ACT'09. Trivandrum, Kerala: International Conference on. 2009. p. 217–9. IEEE.

Ransford B, Sorber J, Fu K. Mementos: system support for long-running computation on RFID-scale devices. Acm Sigplan Notices. 2012;47:159–70.

Reichenbach J. Status and prospects of pay-as-you-throw in Europe–A review of pilot research and implementation studies. Waste Management. 2008;28:2809–14.

Romero A, Lefebvre E. Gaining Deeper Insights into RFID Adoption in Hospital Pharmacies. World. 2013;3:164–75.

Ruan T, Hu H. Application of an RFID-based system for construction waste transport: a case in Shanghai. In: Computational Logistics. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer; 2011. p. 114–26.

RFID Gazette. RFID hybrid tech: Combining GPS for location tracking. Retrieved December 5, 2006, from tec.html http://www.rfidgazette.org/2006/12/index.html .

Schindler R, Schmalbein N, Steltenkamp V, Cave J, Wens B, Anhalt A, et al. SMART TRASH – study on RFID tags and the recycling industry, technical report. TR-1283-EC. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Europe Corporation; 2012.

Shahram M, Manish B. RFID Field Guide: Deploying radio frequency identification systems. New York: Prentice Hall; 2005.

Smith JE. You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide: Protecting Privacy from Radio Frequency Identification Technology. NCJL Tech. 2006;8:249.

Sugahara K. Traceability system for agricultural productsbased on RFID and mobile technology. In: Computer and Computing Technologies in Agriculture II, vol. 3. US: Springer; 2009. p. 2293–301.

Tien L. RFID tags should track inventory, not people. RCR Wireless News, 2004. http://www.rcrwireless.com/20040705/archived-articles/rfid-tags-should-track-inventory-not-people .

Takahashi. “The Father of RFID,” Mercury News, www.siliconvalley.com (June 7, 2004).

Trevarthen A, Michael K. Beyond mere compliance of RFID regulations by the farming community: a case study of the Cochrane dairy farm. In: Management of Mobile Business, 2007. ICMB 2007. International Conference on the. Toronto, Canada: IEEE; 2007. p. 8–8.

Tsai FMC, Huang CM. Cost-Benefit Analysis of Implementing RFID System in Port of Kaohsiung. Procedia-Social Behav Sci. 2012;57:40–6.

Ulatowski LM. Recent developments in RFID technology: weighing utility against potential privacy concerns. ISJLP. 2007;3:623.

USDA APHIS. National Animal Identification System: Animal Identification Number(AIN). Retrieved from the web on June 8, 2005. Available at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/traceability/downloads/NAIS_overview_report.pdf.

Vining J. RFID Alone Can’t Resolve Cargo Container Security Issues. 2005.

Weinstein R. RFID: a technical overview and its application to the enterprise. IT professional. 2005;7:27–33.

Werb J, Sereiko P. More than just tracking. Frontline Solutions. 2002;3:11–42.

Wicks AM, Visich JK, Li S. Radio frequency identification applications in hospital environments. Hosp Top. 2006;84:3–9.

Wyld DC. Delta airlines Tags Baggage with RFID. Re:ID Magazine. 2005;1:63–34.

Wyld DC. RFID: The right frequency for government. Washington DC: IBM Center for the Business of Government. IBM Center; 2005.

Wyld DC. Death sticks and taxes: RFID tagging of cigarettes. Int J Retail Distribution Manag. 2008;36:571–82.

Yonhap news. 2013. http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?.mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=102&oid=001&aid=0003353674 .

Zhang R. A transportation security system applying RFID and GPS. J Ind Engr Manag. 2013;6(1):163–74.

Download references

Acknowledgments

This paper was supported by the research grant of Seoul National University Foundation (Korea Institute of Public Affairs) in 2015.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Korea Institute of Public Affairs, Graduate School of Public Administration of Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Kwangho Jung

Graduate School of Public Administration of Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Sabinne Lee

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kwangho Jung .

Additional information

Competing interests.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ contributions

KJ and SL carried out a systematic literature review not only from not only technological point of view but also from social scientific point of view. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Jung, K., Lee, S. A systematic review of RFID applications and diffusion: key areas and public policy issues. J. open innov. 1 , 9 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40852-015-0010-z

Download citation

Received : 07 July 2015

Accepted : 11 August 2015

Published : 04 September 2015

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s40852-015-0010-z

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Digital identification
• Digital delivery
• Contactless smart card

Advertisement

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in health care: where are we? A scoping review

• Review Paper
• Open access
• Published: 23 August 2022
• Volume 12 , pages 879–891, ( 2022 )

Cite this article

You have full access to this open access article

• Laura Profetto 1 ,
• Monica Gherardelli 1   na1 &
• Ernesto Iadanza   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7291-4990 1 , 2   na1  

8298 Accesses

11 Citations

4 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

(RFID) is a technology that uses radio waves for data collection and transfer, so data is captured efficiently, automatically and in real time without human intervention. This technology, alone or in addition to other technologies has been considered as a possible solution to reduce problems that endanger public health or to improve its management. This scoping review aims to provide readers with an up-to-date picture of the use of this technology in health care settings.

This scoping review examines the state of RFID technology in the healthcare area for the period 2017-2022, specifically addressing RFID versatility and investigating how this technology can contribute to radically change the management of public health. The guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) have been followed. Literature reviews or surveys were excluded. Only articles describing technologies implemented on a real environment or on prototypes were included.

The search returned 366 results. After screening, based on title and abstract, 58 articles were considered suitable for this work. 11 articles were reviewed because they met the qualifying requirements. The study of the selected articles highlighted six matters that can be profitably impacted by this technology

The selected papers show that this technology can improve patient safety by reducing medical errors, that can occur within operating rooms. It can also be the solution to overcome the problem of the black market in counterfeiting drugs, or as a prevention tool. Further research is needed, especially on data management, security, and privacy, given the sensitive nature of medical information.

Graphical Abstract

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Privacy Issues with RFID in Healthcare

The Management and Application of a Radio Frequency Identification System in Operating Rooms

Evaluation of Radio Frequency Identification in Hospitals Operations

Explore related subjects.

• Artificial Intelligence

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

1 Introduction

Today, the most important challenges for healthcare professionals are minimizing the impact of adverse events and improving patient safety [ 1 ]. An adverse event is defined as any complication that arises during the patient’s stay in hospital and is not directly related to the underlying disease or reason for hospitalization [ 2 ]. These events can have serious consequences for the patient, her / his family and even the health system. The concept of traceability can provide many benefits to these processes. Traceability means the identification of all information relating to a product from origin to delivery and / or consumption [ 3 ]. In the context of health services, this can be translated as the exact identification of the patient, the drug and the patient / drug relationship administered, which can significantly reduce the incidence of adverse events, thus increasing safety. Healthcare is currently facing the challenges of improving this aspect and reducing operating costs, which unfortunately are often caused by human and systematic errors. The American Institute of Medicine (IOM), recently renamed as the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) [ 4 ], estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 deaths per year are related to medical errors occurring in hospitals, thus showing the desperate need to improve patient safety and well-being in hospitals [ 5 ]. It is possible to identify common phenomena that lead to serious healthcare operation failures in addition to medical mistakes, such as theft loss, and drug counterfeiting [ 6 ].

RFID technology is becoming more prevalent across a variety of industries, with the healthcare sector being a growing area. Indeed, the maturation of applications such as real-time locating system (RTLS) for patient tracking, medical personnel, and asset tracking will most certainly contribute to rapid expansion in the RFID industry in the future years. This market was worth USD 16.95 billion in 2016 and is expanding at a 7.7 percent CAGR between 2017 and 2023 [ 7 ].

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is one of the 16 fundamental innovations for the next decade, as stated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which ranked it as the 10th most innovative technology of the last 25 years, for automatic data collection and traceability of goods [ 8 ]. The identification process consists in reading an RFID tag applied to an asset or a person without any physical contact. The data collection and transfer are done with the use of radio waves, so data is captured efficiently, automatically and in real time without human intervention. The advantage is that an RFID reader can read more tags simultaneously from a greater distance and therefore without the need to approach the reader, unlike traditional barcode scanning. It is therefore possible to attribute an electronic label to assets, healthcare personnel or patients, who once tagged, can be identified, tracked, and managed through a centralized database, using pervasive IT devices such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) or mobile phones [ 9 ].

A RFID device can have different electromagnetic transmission configurations, based on different applications, but typically includes the following components (Fig. 1 ):

Tag reader equipped with an antenna and a transceiver;

Host system or connection to a business system.

RFID system: an RFID reader acquires information from one or some tags and transfers such information to an host system

The Tag is used to store information; each RFID tag contains an electronic integrated circuit and an antenna inside a package (capsule), which are affixed to an object with a unique identification number and a memory that records additional data relating to the manufacturer, the product type and other related environmental information [ 10 ]. The reader is used to collect all the information stored in a tag. The RFID reader consists of a decoder that decodes the information; the antenna is used to transmit and receive the RF waves that carry information from the tag to the reader and vice versa . The RFID reader can read or/and write data in the tags by reading the identifying information (IDs) of the neighboring tags and mapping them to an object through a database or an external service. The software is used to manage the received data and the reader and tag operations, it manages the information in a database [ 10 ]. The latter can also contain the details of the tags and readers. All information is sent to a host computer or RFID middleware to ensure communication between the RFID infrastructure and the various intra- and inter-organizational systems [ 7 ]. Tags can be classified into three classes: active, passive and semi-passive tags [ 10 ].

Active tags are powered by batteries and incorporate both a receiver and a transmitter, have large memories, often rewritable, and can contain sensors. They can operate at distances that are generally much greater than those of passive and semi-passive tags (maximum 200 meters) and have larger memory. The disadvantages are: high price, limited duration as they depend on the antenna and the energy available in the batteries, larger weight and dimensions than passive tags.

Passive tags do not have an internal power source, they are activated when they enter the range of action of an RFID reader, the latter generates a magnetic field that powers, and therefore activates, the chip contained in the tag. Passive tags are smaller in size, lighter in weight and low in cost and with an unlimited lifespan. Unfortunately, they have limited functionality: they have a low communication range, their information storage and computing capacity is limited.

The semi-passive tag is provided with a battery that is used only to power the internal circuit. Unlike the active tag, it communicates via the electromagnetic field created by the reader. The battery stays dormant until triggered by a signal from the reader, saving battery power and extending tag life [ 7 ].

The RFID technology can operate at different frequencies, each having its pros and cons. For the low frequency (LF) band, 125 to 134 kHz, the main advantage is the possibility of its use worldwide, indeed it is available in all major countries: Europe, North America, and Japan. The major applications related to its use are those that require the transmission of limited amounts of data over short distances. It is also affected by small interference with liquids and metals [ 11 ]. The main drawback is that ferromagnetic materials have a shielding effect on electromagnetic waves at these frequencies and therefore can cause reading problems. Furthermore, the large dimensions of the reader antennas and the reduced operational distances limit the diffusion of systems using these frequencies [ 12 ].

The high frequency (HF) band has a central frequency of 13.56 MHz, and is characterized by greater reading range and speed than the LF band. Near Field Communication (NFC), a wireless data interface between devices also works at an operating frequency of 13.56 MHz [ 13 ].

The ultra-high frequency (UHF) band is between 860MHz and 960MHz. These tags have better reading range and better data transfer compared to lower frequency bands. Increasing the frequency allows the use of smaller antennas, that are therefore suitable for portable devices. On the other side, costs are higher with this technology. Usually the different governments, through their legislation, independently manage frequency assignments. Therefore, there are differences internationally in the frequencies assigned for RFID applications even if standardization by ISO and similar organizations is helping to make them more and more compliant. For example, Europe uses 868MHz for ultra-high frequency (UHF), while the United States uses 915 MHz [ 7 ].

The RFID technology used with other technologies, such as the Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), allows to expand its functionality and create hybrid monitoring systems, based on the Internet of Things (IoT) [ 7 ]. This hybrid technique depicts a possible progression of Internet use: objects (“things”) become recognized and intelligent since they can communicate their own data and receive aggregate information from others; as a result, all items can play an active role owing to Internet connectivity [ 14 ].

“Things” or “objects” are elements such as, among others: devices, instruments, plants and systems, materials, products, works, goods, machines, and equipment. The connected objects, that are the basis of the IoT, are more properly defined as “smart objects” and are characterized by some properties or functionality. Identification, connection, localization, the ability to process data and the ability to interact with the external environment are paramount [ 14 ].

The IoT is a system consisting of three levels [ 15 ]:

Perception layer: also called “physical layer”, which identifies and collects all types of information from the physical world of the IoT, through sensors, tags, WSNs, cameras, RFID systems and so on.

Network layer: also called “transport layer”, in charge of transparent data trasmission.

Service layer: also called “application layer”, including a sub-level for data management and a sub-level for application services.

RFID technology, alone or together with other technologies, has been considered as a possible solution to reduce problems that endanger public health or for improving the management of the latter. For example, the problems related to medical waste recycling, if not managed in a safe and conscious way can cause the spread of diseases and environmental pollution, that traditional methods often fail to prevent. There are some studies aimed at finding a solution to this type of problems; some of these aim to design methods that apply reverse logistics based on RFID technology [ 16 ].

This work examines the state of RFID technology in the healthcare area in the last five years, It specifically illustrates RFID versatility and verifies how this technology can contribute to radically change the management of public health. The aspects that have an impact on the qualitative characteristics of health services relating to prevention, diagnostics and monitoring of patients’ health are considered very important.

For this work it has been chosen the Scoping Review research design to assess the current state of RFID employment in healthcare area, to have an overview of the state of the art relating to the chosen topic and to identify the problems that limit RFID use. Scoping Review is a type of research evidence synthesis that aims to detect the literature on a particular research topic or area and to provide an opportunity to identify key concepts [ 17 ]. The guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) have been followed. PRISMA statement aims to provide a guide for the drafting of the results of research in the medical field [ 18 ].

2.1 Eligibility criteria

According to the selected eligibility criteria, only journal articles with a publication year from 2017 to 2022 were included. The examination of these articles, in particular, allows us to concentrate on newly created approaches, and the research confined to the aforementioned time allows us to comprehend the major elements and associated constraints of the most current methodology. The search was restricted to documents in English, which was thought to be the most often used language for this type of topic. Literature reviews or surveys were excluded. Only articles describing technologies implemented on a real environment or on prototypes were included.

2.2 Searching for a paper

The searching of articles was carried out through Scopus, a search engine with a database of peer-reviewed scientific products (journal articles, books, conference proceedings) and more than 70 million bibliographic citations, abstracts, and bibliometric data. It was preferred over other search engines, as it covers wider disciplinary sectors, unlike for example Pubmed which is a purely biomedical database.

The search string launched on Scopus was as follows:

TITLE-ABS-KEY ( rfid AND ( healthcare OR “health care” OR hospital ) ) AND ( LIMIT-TO ( DOCTYPE , “ar”) OR LIMIT-TO ( DOCTYPE , “ch” ) OR LIMIT-TO ( DOCTYPE , “re” ) ) AND ( LIMIT-TO ( PUBYEAR , 2022 ) OR LIMIT-TO ( PUBYEAR , 2021 ) OR LIMIT-TO ( PUBYEAR , 2020 ) OR LIMIT-TO ( PUBYEAR , 2019 ) OR LIMIT-TO ( PUBYEAR , 2018 ) OR LIMIT-TO ( PUBYEAR , 2017 ) ) AND ( LIMIT-TO ( LANGUAGE , “English”) )

With this string we have imposed restrictions on the year of publication (from 2017 to 2022), and on the language: English.

2.3 Selection process

After the literature search, all the recovered documents were examined, selected first by title, then by abstract and finally by evaluating the entire text. The articles rejected based on their title were not related to the health sector but dealt with other issues. In reading the abstract, those articles relating to literature reviews or surveys were discarded. Articles with higher numbers of citations were preferred in this phase. All of the records in the output of the literature search had their titles and abstracts reviewed separately by two reviewers (L.P. and E.I.). The ones deemed to be unrelated to the scope of the review have been eliminated. The two reviewers’ individual results have been compared, and the publications that they both deemed appropriate for the research have been added immediately to the list for full-text download. M.G., a third reviewer, was requested to make a choice about the papers that had been chosen by just one of the two reviewers. The selection process of the sources of evidence is illustrated by means of the flowchart in Fig. 2 .

Selection process of papers

The search returned 366 results. One paper was found among the references of [ 19 ] and was manually added to the final list [ 20 ]. An article concerning the cognitive learning of autistic children was also manually added. This paper deals with the guidelines for preventing Covid-19 infection and is the updated version of a paper [ 21 ] published in the Proceedings of the 12th Asian Conference on Intelligent Information and Database Systems [ 22 ]. Eleven articles were included in this review at the end of the selection process.

3.1 Characteristics of sources of evidence

Tables 1 and 2 provide an overview of the selected articles. For each study, the reference, the used technology, the objective, advantages, limitations and the date of publication are indicated.

3.2 Summary of results

The study of the selected articles highlighted six matters that can be profitably impacted by this technology.

Reduction of medical errors in the operating room

One of the most frequent adverse events related to the use of devices in surgery is the retention of surgical instruments, such as gauze (clinical condition defined in the literature as “Gossypiboma” or “textiloma”) needles, scalpels, electrosurgical adapters, forceps, or parts thereof. A wide range of clinical outcomes, including asymptomatic patients, cases with major consequences such intestinal perforation, sepsis, organ damage, and even death, can result from the retention of foreign material. Due to these events, a mortality rate of 11 % to 35 % is estimated [ 31 ]. Despite the refinement of the guidelines for equipment counting in surgery, the risk of retaining foreign objects is high, and can increase in some situations, such as during emergency operations with unplanned procedure or in the case of patients with a high body mass index (BMI). Therefore, the need to find a solution that can solve this problem at the root. Indeed, RFID technology has proven to be a reliable tool for detecting and tracking surgical material. For example, as regards the gauze, a system has been developed that includes an integrated antenna, capable of scanning the patient’s body and identifying the retained gauze. Each gauze is equipped with a passive RFID tag, in bio-compatible material, that is resistant to water, chemicals and high temperatures [ 30 ]. The count of the used gauze is carried out through a basket-shaped ‘check-out’ antenna, which consists of an array of six antennas: four on the side surface, one on the bottom and one at the intermediate level. The localization of the gauze is carried out through a multiplexer that acts as a body scanner. All data is displayed in real time with software supporting the operating room staff. Surgical instruments (scalpels, probes, hemostatic tissue, forceps, etc.) can also be identified with an RFID tag (Fig.  3 ) by using an antenna that is able to detect them and monitor their usage rate. The usage rate is an important parameter for understanding wear, thus preventing breakage of the instrument during surgery. The antenna is positioned on an instrument holder, the Mayo table, where the instruments are sorted and collected thus allowing a precise reading of the objects that are positioned above [ 28 ].

Radiofrequency identification-tagged instruments (source: https://www.delta.tudelft.nl/article/tracking-surgical-instruments-rfid-chips )

Patient identification

Misidentification of the patient is one of the main causes of medical error, leading to incorrect administration or incorrect dosage of drugs. These mistakes can lead to serious consequences. RFID technology has the potential to prevent such consequences. An example is the use of NFC tags to identify medical staff on shift, hospital patients and drugs [ 2 ].

In the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Virxe da Xunqueira hospital in Spain, an interesting system has been implemented that computerizes and keeps track of hospitalizations, care plans, vital monitoring, prescriptions, and drug administration of patients (Fig. 4 ).

RFID system for tracking in the ICU (doctor (source:  https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/5/1627/htm# )

The developed system consists of two subsystems: hardware and software. They have been designed to facilitate the flow of information between all operators involved in the patient care. The administered drug, the healthcare staff and the patient are identified by means of a NFC tag. This tag must be read by the application to obtain the unique identifier (UID) and manage the pending tasks related to the care process of the patient. For example, the application can thus confirm whether a certain drug, prescribed by the doctor, is waiting to be administered to the patient by hospital staff on shift (Fig. 5 ).

RFID system for tracking in the ICU (source: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/5/1627/htm# )

The identification of healthcare staff is important to ensure that each professional profile has access to information based on its category. In a possible scenario, the nursing staff will be able to manage the drugs administration, while the section for drugs prescription is just for physicians. An objective of this system is the possibility of rapidly identifying patients so that it is possible to check which of them have been administered certain batches of drugs, to manage any pharmaceutical alarms.

Infection prevention and control

It is also important to prevent possible worsening of wounds or infections in time. For example, it is important to monitor the progress of wounds healing to prevent deterioration. It is known that pH is an important biomarker of the state of a wound, normally in the absence of lesions the skin has a slightly acid pH, in the range of 4-6, while when it is damaged this acidic environment is altered. When the wound is acute, pH follows a relatively simple path through a phase of acidic inflammation, followed by a more basic granulation phase, subsequently stabilizing in the 4-6 pH range during re-epithelialization. About the chronic wounds, the process is much more complex [ 32 ] and it is very important to monitor this process to get an idea of the progress of the wound, in order to act promptly. To this end it was proposed to fix a pH meter on wound dressings with a non-contact electronic reading based on RFID, through a low-cost optoelectronic interface [ 29 ]. Optical measurements are carried out with a wireless sensor framework specifically designed for optical chemical sensing. This framework allows quantitative pH data to be self-measured and wirelessly transferred via RFID to a computer. The system is based on a commercial integrated circuit, the MLX90129, which provides wireless communication functions (RFID and NFC). The optoelectronic sensor consists of an LED light source and a photodiode that measures the light reflected by the pH-sensitive film. The LED and photodiode are controlled by the wireless platform during sample acquisition with an adjustable sampling rate (Fig. 6 ).

Schematic showing operation of the wireless smart bandage (source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0925400517303222 )

Among the many wireless technologies available, the use of RFID for wound detection is particularly appealing, owing to inherent characteristics such as low power consumption, which allows for longer measurements, or its compatibility with NFC, which allows for data transfer and analysis directly from a smartphone.

The usage of a humidity sensor for diapers is especially important for non-self-sufficient persons, children, or people with certain diseases, who, if not examined often, are vulnerable to skin rashes and bacterial infections [ 25 ]. The low-cost smart diaper features a passive RFID tag made of SAP (Super Absorbent Polymer), a subclass of hydrogel that is responsible for the majority of absorption and boosts conductivity when wet. This characteristic is utilised for detection as well as an antenna element in the tag’s construction. The plan was to create a bow-tie antenna made of metal and SAP that expands when wet, increasing the power given to the RFID tag chip. The RFID reader, when placed within the tag’s reading range and linked to the internet, allows you to send a notice to the mobile device associated with it, notifying the healthcare personnel or caregiver in the event of an emergency. Another essential protection is that linked to epidemics; there are crucial steps to be done to avoid catching the virus. So, even when we talk about COVID-19, we know that the WHO has standards in place to attempt to restrict its spread. They are basic principles that must be followed in order to protect ourselves and others; consequently, they must be taught and mastered even by youngsters, but this may be challenging when dealing with autism. Indeed, autistic children’s learning processes are hampered from early childhood due to a diminished inclination to watch and copy others, as well as trouble interpreting others’ words and activities [ 33 ]. Technology and gaming, such as the creation of an IoT-based gaming platform, can be beneficial [ 23 ]. The platform is made up of three games and comprises of a physical device and a mobile application. To save data, the mobile application is wirelessly connected to the device and the server. Children’s interactions and activities with the device are assessed and saved on the server, allowing past data to be obtained, examined, and analyzed by the server via this application, allowing them to monitor their learning progress (Fig. 7 ).

Conceptual design of the proposed gaming tool (source:  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/07356331211067725 )

A power supply turns on the hardware. There are three switches that correlate to the device’s three games. Only two of these focus on learning Covid-19 infection prevention strategies. The linked gadgets are powered when the corresponding switch is switched on.

One of these games consists of cards, with each card containing a multiple-choice question and four potential pictures illustrated below. Each card has four piezoelectric sensors and an RFID tag that uniquely identifies it. When a card is placed in the corresponding location of the game box, the system reads the RFID tag associated to the card, allowing it to be viewed on the mobile application, which records the replies in the database. As shown in Fig. 8 , the card’s job is to educate a youngster which behaviors are appropriate and which are wrong or to avoid in order to protect us from COVID-19.

a Function card game box and b respective app interface

A second game is to teach the kid the proper sequence for proper hand hygiene, always in relation to viral transmission prevention. The game is organized by six cards, each of which has a picture and an RFID tag (the tag is used to uniquely identify the cards), which must be placed in the correct sequence on the game box by the kid. The latter is made up of RFID scanners, which will uniquely identify the cards and relay the data to the mobile application. Unfortunately, given the rapid transmission of some viruses, such as COVID-19, we know that preventative measures are sometimes insufficient. Several research have attempted to discover a feasible answer to contact traceability [ 26 ]. In one research, an IoT-based approach that gathers information from moving objects is offered [ 26 ]. This information is recorded anonymously until bearers test positive for an infectious illness, such as COVID-19, according to the model.

The visual architectural model shown in Fig. 9 depicts how data flows from the RFID tag, to the reader, and finally to the blockchain; similarly, proximity data collected by the application downloaded on a mobile device (consider the various applications that were freely downloaded during the Covid-19 pandemic, which were used to detect and prevent any infections), from the geolocalizer of contacts incorporated into it, flow into the blockchain via the Internet. In order to maintain anonymity, the data obtained in this manner is kept using the blockchain. Indeed, because to its qualities and the manner in which data is maintained, it is frequently seen as an alternative to other types of databases for registers administered by public bodies in terms of security, dependability, openness, and prices). The contact geolocalizer is a component of the application (DApp), i.e. the front-end through which users interact with the program. If a citizen with the mobile device or RFID tag is diagnosed with COVID-19 or another infectious disease, the information collected may be utilized to send notifications to contacts.

RFID device data flow diagram to the blockchain (source:  https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9181512 )

The collected data is saved on the applicable Smart Contract (SC). A smart contract is a specific collection of instructions recorded on the blockchain that may self-execute activities based on a set of pre-programmed criteria; all of this in an immutable, transparent, and entirely secure manner. To prevent the excessive use of data and the phone battery, information on position changes will be acquired every 10 minutes, as will uploading to the blockchain every twenty minutes. Because the RFID tag lacks the ability to connect to other devices, its contact with other similar devices will be determined by the timestamp information (the timestamp can be defined as a “timestamp,” which is a sequence of characters representing a date and / or a time to determine the actual occurrence of a certain event).

Protection measures

The scarcity of health providers is a severe socioeconomic issue in many nations, especially given the aging of the population [ 34 ]. Cutting-edge medical technology, like as intelligent wheelchairs, can assist the elderly in living independently, therefore alleviating the shortage of health care. However, the lack of a caregiver makes wheelchair accidents more perilous; rollover is one of the most prevalent, and the following fall of the user is possibly lethal. As a result, an RFID-based rollover monitoring sensor attached to wheelchairs can be quite useful [ 24 ]. The suggested sensor is made up of two symmetrical, meandering dipole antennas on the left and right sides, as well as a four-port switch, tilt detector (RBS100600 ONCQUE) in the middle (Fig. 10 ).

Geometry and photograph of the proposed rolloversensor (source:  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mop.32648 )

The rollover sensor is intended to be mounted horizontally beneath the wheelchair seat. When the latter is flipped over, the two pins of the tilt switch on the opposite side (right or left) are connected, and the RFID chip on the same side is activated, generating a voltage, by the energy of the signal sent by the RFID reader. Thus, the wheelchair’s protective measures can be activated to minimize injuries by connecting their circuitry to the RFID chip. When this is activated, a response signal containing the chip code is delivered to the reader. In this manner, the RFID-based location algorithm can get the sensor position, and the emergency signal comprising the sensor location will be transmitted to local hospitals or rescue stations, as well as family members.

Vital signs monitoring remotely and in real time

This is the case with the development of the Wearable IoT-cloud-based hEalth (WISE) system [ 20 ], which employs a network of indestructible sensors to monitor the health of people with chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. It is possible to get a number of biomedical signals, including arterial blood pressure, heart beat, blood pressure, and body temperature. WISE was developed on the basis of the hardware platform Arduino, and is integrated with sensor nodes such as the non-invasive sensor designed to measure blood pressure. The connection of an RFID reader to the Arduino platform makes it easier to identify different users. Furthermore, WISE has a WiFi module that allows data to be sent to the cloud, allowing authorized users to access data in real time from any location and at any time. As a result, the WISE system consists of three key components: the WISE body area network (W-BAN), the WISE cloud (W-Cloud), and the WISE users. Connecting the RFID reader to the Arduino platform makes it easier to identify different users. Furthermore, WISE has a WiFi module that facilitates data transfer to the cloud, allowing authorized users to view data in real time from any location and at any time. As a result, the WISE system is made up of three main components: the WISE body area network (W-BAN), the WISE cloud (W-Cloud), and the WISE users (Fig. 11 ).

WISE system (source: https://jwcn-eurasipjournals.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13638-018-1308-x )

W-BAN data may be effectively and efficiently saved and processed in the cloud. To detect and diagnose probable cardiac disease, key characteristics can be extracted. If an aberrant state is identified, an alert is sent to a designated interlocutor, including a text message to physicians or family members, and a warning is presented on the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) for the users.

Monitoring of medical instruments and drugs

Another important issue is the continuous monitoring of medical instruments and drugs that are essential for patient care, for example, to avoid the stock-out in the inventory. A solution could be the use of an automated system defined as “StocKey ®  RFID Smart Cabinet” [ 27 ]. The medical supplies for the patients’ care and those for the surgical operations are labeled with RFID technology when they are supplied to the hospital. In this way, it is possible to manage expiration dates and automatically schedule reorders. The tags, in fact, identify the product with the lot number, serial number and expiration date. The objects thus identified are kept in a closed cabinet (“Faraday cage”), which allows an accurate view of the medical supplies present in the warehouse. All the inputs and outputs of products, thanks to their RFID tags, are read to be incorporated into the electronic inventory of the cabinet. This system was designed primarily for operating rooms, unlike the IoT-based system [ 14 ], which was designed for in-hospital or out-of-hospital pharmacies and mainly for drugs. This system also uses the RFID tag above the drug packages, which are read by an RFID reader placed in the center of the compartment, where they are located. Everything is connected to an LED that alerts the manager of that department if a check for missing or expired drugs is necessary. RFID labeling can also be considered one of the best solutions against drug counterfeiting, because information, such as raw materials, the manufacturer, and the pharmaceutical company, is collected and thus identification is facilitated. This is a very important, because counterfeit drugs pose a significant threat to patient safety and public health and cause heavy losses to each State economy. For example, counterfeit drugs to treat malaria and pneumonia cause an estimated 250,000 infant deaths each year.

4 Discussion of results

From the analyzed studies, the use of RFID tags seems to be more promising in two scenarios: the first is in the field of surgical instrumentation, since RFID technology allows continuous monitoring of the instruments used during a surgical operation, such as gauze or instruments: scalpels, electrosurgical adapters, forceps, etc. Therefore, the use of RFID tags benefits the patient, in terms of safety, and the medical and nursing staff in carrying out their related duties. The second scenario is that concerning patients’ identification: a correct identification of the patient helps to reduce errors related to the administration of drugs; a quick identification of the patient is very important in case of emergencies launched by the pharmaceutical companies on a specific batch of a drug that could present anomalies or manufacturing errors. Passive RFID tags seem to be the most used, this is probably due to their lower cost compared to active RFID tags, their small size which makes them more flexible, despite their reading range that is much shorter than that of active ones. Although RFID technology holds great promise for Healthcare, there are several risks or barriers that prevent its implementation, in particular the implementation cost and the need to improve data security constitute obstacles to its use within hospitals or public medical facilities. Indeed, data security is a critical issue, since the protection of privacy and sensitive data currently requires careful attention. Another problem is electromagnetic interference (EMI) which occurs when electromagnetic waves from an electronic device interfere with the operation of another electronic device and cause an unwanted response. Many studies from the authors have assessed these aspects by applying risk analysis techniques as well as by investigating electromagnetic compatibility in real hospital settings [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. The use of these technologies still needs to be tested and experimented on a large scale, as experiments have often been carried out using prototypes, in a limited number of places or on a few people.

In this work, the reviewed papers are academic articles, so the results are useful for analyzing the current development state of academic research but may not be suitable for predicting the actual implementation of RFID technology within medical and healthcare facilities.

5 Conclusions

The adoption of RFID technology in Healthcare is growing slowly compared to other areas, despite it is a very valuable tool. The proposed papers have been selected by searching the Scopus database. The presented works show that this type of technology can improve patients’ safety by reducing medical errors, that can occur within operating rooms, such as, for example, the retention of surgical material. It can also be the solution to overcome the problem of the black market in counterfeiting drugs, or as a prevention tool designed for monitoring the state of a wound using “smart bandages”. In the selected papers, issues concerning human limitations and relating consequences are addressed. The consequences are faced and prevented using RFID technology, which provides a prompt solution and an improvement in management, inside and outside the hospitals. As previously mentioned, further research is needed, especially on data management, security, and privacy, given the sensitive nature of medical information.

Availability of data and material

Not applicable.

Code availability

Yao W, Chu C-H, Li Z. The use of RFID in healthcare: benefits and barriers. In: 2010 IEEE International Conference on RFID-Technology and Applications. IEEE; 2010. p. 128–34

Martínez Pérez M, Dafonte C, Gómez Á. Traceability in patient healthcare through the integration of RFID technology in an ICU in a hospital. Sensors. 2018;18(5):1627.

Article   Google Scholar  

Martínez Pérez M, Cabrero-Canosa M, Vizoso Hermida J, Carrajo García L, Llamas Gómez D, Vázquez González G, Martín Herranz I. Application of RFID technology in patient tracking and medication traceability in emergency care. J Med Syst. 2012;36(6):3983–93.

National Academy of Medicine. About the National Academy of Medicine. 2022. https://nam.edu/about-the-nam/ . Accessed 18 Jun 2022.

Mun IK, Kantrowitz AB, Carmel PW, Mason KP, Engels DW. Active RFID system augmented with 2D barcode for asset management in a hospital setting. In: 2007 IEEE International Conference on RFID. IEEE; 2007. p. 205–11.

Yao W, Chu C-H, Li Z. The adoption and implementation of RFID technologies in healthcare: a literature review. J Med Syst. 2012;36(6):3507–25.

Camacho-Cogollo JE, Bonet I, Iadanza E. RFID technology in health care. In: Clinical Engineering Handbook. Elsevier, San Diego, CA 92101, United States; 2020. p. 33–41.

Adhiarna N, Hwang YM, Park MJ, Rho JJ. An integrated framework for RFID adoption and diffusion with a stage-scale-scope cubicle model: a case of Indonesia. Int J Inf Manag. 2013;33(2):378–89.

Kumari L, Narsaiah K, Grewal M, Anurag R. Application of RFID in agri-food sector. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2015;43(2):144–61.

Bibi F, Guillaume C, Gontard N, Sorli B. A review: RFID technology having sensing aptitudes for food industry and their contribution to tracking and monitoring of food products. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2017;62:91–103.

Cosentino GF. RFID Radio Frequency identification tecnologie per uno stile di vita migliore. https://didattica-2000.archived.uniroma2.it/IIM/deposito/Articolo_Gregorio_Cosentino_e_Ivano_Fiorini_su_RFID.pdf . in Italian. Accessed 17 Jun 2022.

Finkenzeller K. Fundamental operating principles. In: RFID Handbook. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, West Sussex (UK); 2010. Chapter 3, p. 29–59. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470665121.ch3 .  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9780470665121.ch3 .

Liu Z, Zhang C, Peng H, Xu Q, Gao Y. Drug distribution management system based on IoT. KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS). 2022;16(2):424–44.

Google Scholar  

Kumari PLS. RFID technology in health-IoT. In: Balas VE, Pal S, editors. Healthcare Paradigms in the Internet of Things Ecosystem. Academic Press, Cambridge; New York; 2020. Chapter 10.

Liu H, Yao Z. Research on the reverse logistics management of medical waste based on the RFID technology. Fresenius Environ Bull. 2017;26:8084–92.

Pham MT, Rajić A, Greig JD, Sargeant JM, Papadopoulos A, McEwen SA. A scoping review of scoping reviews: advancing the approach and enhancing the consistency. Res Synth Methods. 2014;5(4):371–85.

Tricco AC, Lillie E, Zarin W, O’Brien KK, Colquhoun H, Levac D, Moher D, Peters MD, Horsley T, Weeks L, et al. Prisma extension for scoping reviews (Prisma-SCR): checklist and explanation. Ann Intern Med. 2018;169(7):467–73.

Verma N, Singh S, Prasad D. A review on existing IoT architecture and communication protocols used in healthcare monitoring system. Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India): Series B. 2021;1–13

Wan J, AAH Al-awlaqi M, Li M, O’Grady M, Gu X, Wang J, Cao N. Wearable IoT enabled real-time health monitoring system. EURASIP J Wirel Commun Netw 2018;2018(1):1–10.

Hasan U, Islam M, Islam MN, Bin Zaman S, Tajmim Anuva S, Islam Emu F, Zaki T, et al. Towards developing an IoT based gaming application for improving cognitive skills of autistic kids. In: Asian Conference on Intelligent Information and Database Systems. Springer; 2020. p. 411–23.

Nguyen NT, Jearanaitanakij K, Selamat A, Trawiński B, Chittayasothorn S. Intelligent Information and Database Systems: 12th Asian Conference, ACIIDS 2020, Phuket, Thailand, March 23–26, 2020, Proceedings, Part I vol. 12033. Springer, Cham, Switzerland; 2020.

Islam MN, Hasan U, Islam F, Anuva ST, Zaki T, Islam AN. IoT-based serious gaming platform for improving cognitive skills of children with special needs. J Educ Comput Res. 2022.

Liu Q, Zhao W-S, Yu Y. RFID-based bidirectional wireless rollover sensor for intelligent wheelchair. Microw Opt Technol Lett. 2021;63(2):504–9.

Sen P, Kantareddy SNR, Bhattacharyya R, Sarma SE, Siegel JE. Low-cost diaper wetness detection using hydrogel-based RFID tags. IEEE Sens J. 2019;20(6):3293–302.

Garg L, Chukwu E, Nasser N, Chakraborty C, Garg G. Anonymity preserving IoT-based COVID-19 and other infectious disease contact tracing model. IEEE Access. 2020;8:159402–14.

Del Carmen León-Araujo M, Gómez-Inhiesto E, Acaiturri-Ayesta MT. Implementation and evaluation of a RFID smart cabinet to improve traceability and the efficient consumption of high cost medical supplies in a large hospital. J Med Syst. 2019;43(6):1–7.

Yamashita K, Kusuda K, Ito Y, Komino M, Tanaka K, Kurokawa S, Ameya M, Eba D, Masamune K, Muragaki Y, et al. Evaluation of surgical instruments with radiofrequency identification tags in the operating room. Surg Innov. 2018;25(4):374–9.

Kassal P, Zubak M, Scheipl G, Mohr GJ, Steinberg MD, Steinberg IM. Smart bandage with wireless connectivity for optical monitoring of pH. Sensors Actuators B Chem. 2017;246:455–60.

Lazzaro A, Corona A, Iezzi L, Quaresima S, Armisi L, Piccolo I, Medaglia CM, Sbrenni S, Sileri P, Rosato N, et al. Radiofrequency-based identification medical device: an evaluable solution for surgical sponge retrieval? Surg Innov. 2017;24(3):268–75.

Italian Government. Raccomandazione per prevenire la ritenzione di garze, strumenti o altro materiale all’interno del sito chirurgico. 2008.  https://www.salute.gov.it/imgs/C_17_pubblicazioni_585_allegato.pdf . In Italian. Accessed 19 Jun 2022.

Dargaville TR, Farrugia BL, Broadbent JA, Pace S, Upton Z, Voelcker NH. Sensors and imaging for wound healing: a review. Biosens Bioelectron. 2013;41:30–42.

Vivanti G, Salomone E. L’apprendimento Nell’autismo: Dalle Nuove Conoscenze Scientifiche Alle Strategie di Intervento. Edizioni Centro Studi Erickson, Trento, Italy. In Italian. 2016.

Casadei B, Duranti P. OMS. Al mondo servono 10 milioni di operatori sanitari. 2015. https://www.confinionline.it/detail.aspx?prog=56797 . In Italian. Accessed 19 Jun 2022.

Gentili GB, Dori F, Iadanza E. Dual-frequency active RFID solution for tracking patients in a children’s hospital. Design method, test procedure, risk analysis, and technical solution. Proc IEEE 2010;98(9):1656–1662

Iadanza E, Dori F. Custom active RFID solution for children tracking and identifying in a resuscitation ward. In: 2009 Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE; 2009. p. 5223–36.

Iadanza E, Dori F, Miniati R, Corrado E. Electromagnetic interferences (EMI) from active RFID on critical care equipment. In: XII Mediterranean Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing 2010. Springer; 2010. p. 991–4.

Iadanza E, Baroncelli L, Manetti A, Dori F, Miniati R, Gentili GB. An RFID smart container to perform drugs administration reducing adverse drug events. In: 5th European Conference of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering. Springer; 2011. p. 679–82.

Iadanza E, Chini M, Marini F. Electromagnetic compatibility: RFID and medical equipment in hospitals. In: World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering May 26-31, 2012, Beijing, China. Springer; 2013. p. 732–5.

Download references

Open access funding provided by Università degli Studi di Siena within the CRUI-CARE Agreement.

Author information

Monica Gherardelli and Ernesto Iadanza contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

Department of Information Engineering, University of Florence, Via di S. Marta, 3, Florence, 50139, Tuscany, Italy

Laura Profetto, Monica Gherardelli & Ernesto Iadanza

Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, via Aldo Moro, 2, Siena, 53100, Tuscany, Italy

Ernesto Iadanza

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ernesto Iadanza .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval, consent to participate, consent for publication, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest or competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Profetto, L., Gherardelli, M. & Iadanza, E. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in health care: where are we? A scoping review. Health Technol. 12 , 879–891 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12553-022-00696-1

Download citation

Received : 28 July 2022

Accepted : 08 August 2022

Published : 23 August 2022

Issue Date : September 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s12553-022-00696-1

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Medical devices
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Sensors (Basel)

A Review of RFID Sensors, the New Frontier of Internet of Things

Filippo costa.

1 Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Informazione, Università di Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; [email protected] (S.G.); [email protected] (A.M.); [email protected] (G.M.)

Simone Genovesi

Michele borgese.

2 Research and Development Department, Siae Microelettronica, 20093 Cologno Monzese, Italy; [email protected]

Andrea Michel

Francesco alessio dicandia.

3 IDS Ingegneria dei Sistemi SpA, 56121 Pisa, Italy; [email protected]

Giuliano Manara

Associated data.

Not applicable.

A review of technological solutions for RFID sensing and their current or envisioned applications is presented. The fundamentals of the wireless sensing technology are summarized in the first part of the work, and the benefits of adopting RFID sensors for replacing standard sensor-equipped Wi-Fi nodes are discussed. Emphasis is put on the absence of batteries and the lower cost of RFID sensors with respect to other sensor solutions available on the market. RFID sensors are critically compared by separating them into chipped and chipless configurations. Both categories are further analyzed with reference to their working mechanism (electronic, electromagnetic, and acoustic). RFID sensing through chip-equipped tags is now a mature technological solution, which is continuously increasing its presence on the market and in several applicative scenarios. On the other hand, chipless RFID sensing represents a relatively new concept, which could become a disruptive solution in the market, but further research in this field is necessary for customizing its employment in specific scenarios. The benefits and limitations of several tag configurations are shown and discussed. A summary of the most suitable applicative scenarios for RFID sensors are finally illustrated. Finally, a look at some sensing solutions available on the market are described and compared.

1. Introduction

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a low-cost wireless technology that makes possible the connection of billions of things, enabling consumers and businesses to engage, identify, locate, transact, and authenticate products [ 1 ]. The general RFID market has seen a considerable growth over the past few years in terms of the number of RFID tags sold. The exploration of allied technologies such as RFID sensors has been enabled thanks to new chipsets, both within the High Frequency (HF) band (NFC—near field communication) at 13.56 MHz, and within the Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) (RAIN—radio frequency identification) frequency band around 866 MHz (ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute) or 910 MHz (FCC - Federal Communications Commission), which are dedicated to supporting several sensor platforms [ 2 ]. Even though battery-powered sensors have an obvious advantage for data transmission over large distances, at the same time, a battery increases the system’s complexity and maintenance issues, reduces system life, and limits the temperature range of sensor applications. Small form factors of batteries, such as thin-film or other types of micro-batteries, are available on the market, but they need replacement every few days [ 3 ]. RFID sensors can be fully passive, or battery powered; in the latter case, they do not need a frequent change of the batteries as in the case of traditional wireless sensor nodes. In case of battery assisted RFID sensors or battery-assisted passive mode, a simple circuit is built around the memory chip, thus enabling the chip to switch to a local energy-assisted mode only when it senses a certain stimulus [ 4 ]. Instead, chip-based passive sensors acquire the power required for activation from the reader through wireless power transfer.

Different RFID sensors are currently proposed in terms of architecture, complexity, and system requirements. A chip-based design, where the sensor is integrated inside the chip, provides a reliable configuration, since the sensing and communication functions are separated. Since embedding the sensor increases both tag size and cost, an alternative solution is the functional integration of the antenna and the sensor component. The challenge is then to transform the RFID tag antenna into a sensor. In antenna-based RFID sensors, the response is more dependent on the environment. Today’s generation of passive tags has the ability to sense several environmental parameters such as light, humidity, and temperature, becoming a key technology for “object-based” services. The role of RFID systems can be extended, and even involve ubiquitous computing by moving from simple passive tags to smart tags that can perform different functions, thanks to integrated sensors and a microcontroller unit (MCU). Research is also active on the so-called chipless RF sensors that do not employ Integrated Circuits (ICs) and may offer the benefits of a longer life and lower cost. Chipless RFID, also known as passive RFID sensors, are compatible with planar technology, allowing them to be produced by roll-to-roll processing.

RFID sensors are a new paradigm for the internet of things (IoT). They have a limited cost and negligible maintenance, which make them appealing for numerous applicative scenarios such as manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, agriculture, and food. They have attracted numerous research efforts due to their innovative potential in various application fields [ 5 ]. In order to also address the relevance of the research topic at an industry level, we report some figures obtained from the database Scopus. In particular, the number of patents published every year according to the keywords ‘RFID’ and ‘RFID sensor’ are reported in Figure 1 a. The patents classified by registration offices are reported Figure 1 b to highlight the most relevant countries active on this technology. We observe that a very high number of patents, i.e., more than 129,000, have been registered with the United States patent office. Surprisingly, the number of papers published in journals and conferences every year is one order of magnitude lower than the number of registered patents.

Number of ( a ) patents indexed on the Scopus database in February 2021 according to the keyword ‘RFID’ and the keyword ‘RFID Sensor’. ( b ) Number of patents issued by the main patent offices. Acronyms: United States Patent and Trademark Office (US PO), Japan Patent Office (Japan PO), European Patent Office (EU PO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIP), United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKI PO). Source: Scopus.

2. From Wi-Fi Nodes to RFID Sensors

The typical hardware platform of a wireless sensor node consists of a sensor, a microcontroller, a radio frequency transceiver, and a power source. Each node is equipped with a physical sensor for revealing parameters of interest, such as light, temperature, sound, pressure, or other physical phenomena. The architecture of a wireless sensor node is shown in Figure 2 . Power consumption, chip footprint, and computational power, as well as on-chip memory are very important features for a microcontroller. To this aim, choosing a low-power-consumption transceiver that connects the node to the network is crucial for saving power. In fact, current consumption of a transceiver takes up most of the power consumption budget. Transceivers are available from various manufacturers, such as Infineon Technologies AG (Neubiberg, Germany) [ 6 ], Analog Devices Inc. (Norwood, MA, USA) [ 7 ], and others. A crucial characteristic of a sensor node is the power source and battery management, especially in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), where the battery is irreplaceable. The node typically also includes a circuit that adjusts the RF front-end to compensate for changes of the RF front-end caused by the sensing element [ 8 ].

Simplified sketch of classical wireless sensor architecture.

Although battery technology is mature, the mean time to replacement is only one year, or two, even, for relatively large batteries [ 9 ]. This means that for a sensor network with a considerable number of devices installed, several batteries need to be replaced every few days, which is unfeasible for many applications. Finally, systems based on battery-powered communication still cost more than USD 5 a unit, with no clear commercial or technical solution to achieve a cost lower than one dollar [ 9 ]. A possible way to overcome this problem is represented by ambient-power scavenging, which can, in principle, supply power indefinitely. In this context, an augmented version of RFID technology with sensing capabilities can represent the turn-around point for the massive development of the internet of things (IoT).

RFID sensors can be of different types, and are based on many different approaches. Some of the sensors are already available on the market, while other are still in development and are not yet mature enough for market applications. A classification of RFID sensors covering both chip-equipped tags and chipless tags is shown in Figure 3 . The former set includes configurations in which the sensor is integrated directly into the tag (electronic sensors), whereas the latter rely on the modification of the tag response due to a detuning of the tag antenna for sensing (electromagnetic sensors). On the other hand, the chipless counterpart can exploit the properties of piezoelectric materials (acoustic sensors), the changes in the electromagnetic response of the tag (electromagnetic sensors), or thin-film transistors (electronic sensors) for sensing purposes.

Classification of RFID sensors. Acronyms: SAW (surface acoustic wave), TFT (thin film transistor).

Finally, it is important to point out that each one of the mentioned solutions for sensing possesses pros and cons. Consequently, the user has to decide the best trade-off, depending on the goal they want to achieve. A summary of the characteristics of various kinds of sensors is illustrated in Table 1 , where it is emphasized, once again, that higher performance comes at the cost of a higher price.

Industrial IoT Technologies.

3. Chip Based RFID Sensors

There exist two implementations of a sensor employing a chip, namely the electronic RFID sensor and the electromagnetic one. A sketch representing the two topologies is shown in Figure 4 . Both configurations contain the same functional units, but with a fundamental difference in the sensing part. In the electronic configuration, the sensing unit interacts with the IC, whereas in the electromagnetic configuration, the sensing operation is based on the change in the tag frequency response. In both cases, the primary constraint that determines the maximum reading distance of the sensor tag is represented by the value of the voltage that is available at the chip [ 10 ].

RFID-based sensor topology: ( a ) electronic RFID sensor and ( b ) electromagnetic RFID sensor architecture.

3.1. Electronic RFID Sensors Tags

Electronic sensor tags have the peculiarity of separating the sensing functions from the communication functions [ 11 ]. The transmitted information is digitally encoded, and thus the sensed information is essentially insensible to the environment. In particular, some bits of the ID code can be used to transmit the value of the sensed parameter. The sensor can be integrated inside the chip, or interfaced though an external microcontroller, thus obtaining an augmented tag architecture. In both cases, the energy efficiency of the tag is a key issue for achieving an acceptable reading range. When the reading range is not enough, a battery is included within the tag in the so-called battery assisted tags. In these cases, the tag acts like a transponder, and thus it sends the information to the reader only if interrogated. When the tag has to continuously broadcast the sensor information, an active configuration has to be used.

3.1.1. Active Sensor Tags

In active RFID tags equipped with sensing capabilities, a sensor is integrated into the tag, and the tag IC communicates with the sensor in order to get the information on the monitored quantity, and thus to include it into the backscattered bit sequence. The sensing activity is therefore performed in DC with a dedicated electronic component. The integration of the sensors within the chip circuit requires the design of dedicated chips with specific sensing features. Being equipped with a battery, active tags provide a much longer read range than passive tags. Active RFID systems generally work at 433 MHz or 2.45 GHz [ 12 ], but 433 MHz is usually preferred by companies because of the longer wavelengths, which result in being more suitable for materials like metal and water. Typically, active RFID tags are powered by a battery that will last between 3–5 years. Active RFID tags can be employed both as transponders and beacons. Beacons have a read range of hundreds of meters but, in order to limit battery consumption, their transmitting power can be set to reach a read range of around 100 m. Active RFID tags can cost from $20 to $100+ depending on the tag specifications and on its capability to withstand harsh conditions [ 12 ]. Active RFID tags can be equipped with motion and temperature sensors. Recently, novel configurations of 2.4 GHz and 5.7 GHz active tags are available, which can be configured to activate when moved, record temperature, humidity or other environment parameters, and transmit signals periodically. The most typical sensing applications of active tags are as follows [ 13 ]:

• - Real-time locating systems (RTLS): it is possible to determine the location of active tags with correct antenna placement.
• - Patient tracking: the movements of patients can be monitored within a certain area with a wrist band tag.
• - Temperature sensing: active tags can be used to sense temperature variation in time with alarms set if a certain threshold is overtaken.
• - Motion sensing: the tag can be set up to transmit a signal when moved or a signal until movement stops. This is used to control the movement of high value assets and for avoiding intrusions.

3.1.2. Battery Assisted Sensor Tags

The battery assisted passive (BAP) class is comprised of RFID tags with an embedded battery. When the reader interrogates the BAP tag, the embedded battery is turned on, as well as the RFID tag IC and other sensors or actuators within the tag [ 14 ]. BAP RFID tags’ read range is clearly greater than passive ones, but is shorter than active tags. The operative life of these tags is limited by the battery, which is usually not replaceable. As an example, the Monza X-2K RFID chip manufactured by Impinj Inc. (Seattle, WA, USA) [ 15 ] provides a performance boost via a ‘battery-assisted passive mode’ [ 4 ], when both read sensitivity (−17 dBm) and write sensitivity (−12 dBm) of the chip increase up to −24 dBm when a DC voltage is provided [ 4 ]. Figure 5 illustrates a scheme of RFID tags relying on battery-assisted sensors. To limit the use of the battery, thus increasing the battery-life, energy harvesting solutions have been proposed and integrated into both active and battery-assisted RFID tags [ 16 ]. Technologies relying on thermoelectric effects, photovoltaic effects, or piezoelectric effects have been adopted for harvesting energy from the surrounding environment. Conversion of biomechanical energy into electricity has also been proposed in [ 17 ].

RFID tags with battery-assisted sensors.

3.1.3. Battery-Less Sensors (Passive)

Solutions that provide sensors integrated within the chip have been recently proposed [ 10 , 18 ]. A sensor is embedded and communicates with the IC to deliver information on the monitored quantity, which has to be encoded into the backscattered signal. Electronic RFID sensors can exploit the HF or UHF frequency range. An example of a reader for HF sensors is represented by smartphones exploiting the near field communication (NFC) paradigm. For UHF tags, which cover a longer communication range, the amount of power rectified by the tag must be sufficient to power up both the chip and the embedded sensor. In this case, the value of the voltage that is available at the chip [ 10 ] is pivotal for the reading range extension [ 19 ]. Obviously, the sensor must be able to be miniaturized in order to be embedded into the chip, and few examples are currently available in the literature dealing with temperature, light, and pressure monitoring. However, the passive RFID tag chip is so sensitive to power consumption that it is difficult to embed sensors and an analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) maintaining a reasonable operating range [ 20 ]. Even an ADC with a power consumption of several µW [ 21 ] will reduce the operating distance of the tag dramatically.

A new augmented RFID tag, the WISP (wireless identification and sensing platform), has been developed by the Intel Research Centre [ 22 ]. WISP operates as a standard tag, but offers the possibility to be connected to an external sensor by using a programmable microcontroller unit. However, the flexibility offered by the WISP solution is paid for with an increased price. Battery-less configurations have recently been developed in which the microcontroller requires a few milliwatts [ 4 ]. Moreover, they offer the possibility of gathering the energy required to drive the data acquisition from the interrogation signal, as in the case of conventional passive tags. Another option is represented by piezoelectric energy scavengers transforming micro-oscillations into electrical energy, which are the most powerful and versatile ones, although the power requirements may reduce the real data rate.

3.2. Electromagnetic RFID Sensors Tags

The effective permittivity of an object can be inferred by using any conventional RFID tag attached to it. In fact, quantities such as the input impedance or gain of the RFID tag, as in the case of any antenna, are altered by the surrounding environment. The RFID backscattered signal is affected by any change of the tagged object, since this is shifted into a correspondent change in the tag’s antenna parameters. Therefore, the antenna itself becomes the sensor, even though it is completely sensor-less [ 23 ].

Electromagnetic tags rely on the modification of the tag response due to an occasional modification of the antenna. The antenna behavior can be modified essentially for two reasons: a change in the electrical conductivity of the antenna, or a part of it; or because of a change of the dielectric permittivity of the medium surrounding the antenna, or a part of it. In the first case, the sensor is classified as resistive, and in the second case, the sensor can be classified as capacitive. Notably, in both cases, the transduction mechanism is influencing radio frequency waves and thus the sensors are referred to as electromagnetic.

A possible layout of the RFID sensor is shown Figure 6 a, where a dipole antenna is connected in series with a sensing unit and the RFID chip [ 24 ]. A simplified equivalent circuit model of an electromagnetic RFID-based sensor tag is shown in Figure 6 b. The sensing material, e.g., carbon nanotubes, Kapton, or other substances, which change their properties as a function of an external stimulus, are placed in the sensing unit. The variations of the sensing unit properties impact on the matching between the antenna and the chip impedance, and thus they induce a change of the reflected power. Depending on the value of the sensed parameter, the impedance mismatch between the antenna port and the microchip is enough to enable (or not) the microchip to harvest the necessary power and respond to the reader with its own digital identification code (IDn) [ 23 ].

( a ) Equivalent circuit model of an electromagnetic RFID sensor. ( b ) Possible layout of the sensor. Working principle of frequency domain RFID sensors based on ( c ) capacitive or ( d ) resistive transduction mechanisms.

The two main mechanisms for detecting a variation in the sensor response are a frequency shift (Δf) of a resonant peak or a magnitude change (Δα) in the reflection coefficient, as depicted in Figure 6 c,d. The frequency shift method is not compatible with RFID chip-enabled technology, since the resonant frequency shift of the antenna leads the information content far away from the operating frequency (868 MHz or 915 MHz). Therefore, magnitude change configuration is the most popular approach for RFID-based sensors.

An alternative sensor topology consists of equipping the tag with a real sensor (motion, temperature, pressure, or other), which could be either connected in a region of the tag’s antenna or distributed over the antenna surface as a paint. The variation in the impedance loading caused by the change of the environment will produce a change of the tag’s radar cross-section and, hence, a backscattered power modulation, as in the case of sensor-less tags [ 23 ].

3.2.1. Self-Tuned Chips

In the case of electromagnetic RFID sensor tags, the antenna accomplishes two different functions, namely the communication and the sensing tasks. However, they cannot be pursued independently or maximized at the same time, since the sensing is performed at the expense of the communication function. In fact, the tag must suffer a certain level of mismatch in order to indirectly provide information about the variation of the measurements. The reason for this is that the sensing information is strictly related to the detuning level of the RFID tag, and hence the communication and sensing capabilities have conflicting requirements. A recent solution to this problem has been offered by self-tuning microchips [ 25 , 26 , 27 ] that can cope with the undesired tag detuning without harming the sensing function [ 28 ]. The equivalent circuit of an RFID tag with self-tuning capability is illustrated in Figure 7 a. The working principle can be explained by considering that the RFID tag is placed on an item that drastically alters its antenna impedance with respect to the free space case. This means that the original antenna is detuned, and the impedance Z A = R A + jX A , which was designed to properly match the impedance of the chip, Z C , may be far from the optimal condition Z C = (Z A )*, and therefore the communication may be severely compromised.

( a ) Equivalent circuit of an RFID tag equipped with a self-tuning chip and ( b ) an example of the exploitation of the autotuning feature for indirect sensing.

The integrated circuit of a self-tuning RFID tag is able to guarantee a proper level of matching thanks to its ability to autonomously adjust the chip’s impedance to the current antenna impedance. This goal is achieved for the chip via a set of capacitors that can be selectively activated. More specifically, the chip reactance spans from a minimum value of C min , where all the other N selectable capacitors, C S , are switched out, up to the maximum value of C max = C min + N C S that is attained when all the capacitors are activated. The configuration status of all the capacitors in the switching network is automatically selected to assure the maximum power transfer from the antenna to the microchip. This means that the microchip neutralizes the undesired changes of the RFID antenna impedance with the aim of reaching the closest condition to perfect matching.

The adaptive matching feature exhibited by this kind of RFID tag can also be advantageously exploited for sensing purposes. In fact, the self-tunable chip sends to the RFID reader the information written in its memory, as well as the state of the selectable capacitors. This string of bits is related to the detuning undergone by the RFID tag, and indirectly provides information on the environmental change in which the tag is operating. It is then possible to infer the value of a physical parameter that affects the tag from the state of the automatic tuning network. Figure 7 b illustrates an applicative scenario in which an RFID tag is applied to a container in which the level of water (h WATER ) can change over time. Every time the tag is interrogated, it also provides the status of the internal matching network that allows it to be matched and running in the complex operational environment. The encoded sequence of the capacitors selected in the tunable matching network at time t 1 is embedded in the backscattered signal. When the water level is changed at time t 2 , the tunable matching network is set to the new status of the capacitors, since the effect of the environment has changed. The change of the matching network settings that has been encoded in the backscattered signal allows for indirectly estimating the level of the water. Obviously, the limited number of capacitors in the switching network, and also their range of values, have an impact on the resolution of the monitored physical parameter [ 29 ].

3.2.2. Harmonic Tags

An alternative implementation of RFID sensors is based on the so-called harmonic or secondary radar [ 30 ]. In this configuration, the tag receives the interrogation at a certain frequency, and it scatters back at a harmonic frequency. A typical implementation of harmonic tags employs the second harmonic frequency (2f 0 ).

The reason for using harmonic tag configuration relies on the possibility of obtaining a better immunity of the tag response in the presence of clutter. Indeed, it can be reasonably assumed that most of the objects surrounding that tag do not possess nonlinear properties, which may cause the reflection of harmonic frequencies.

An harmonic transponder is usually synthesized through a Schottky diode and an antenna [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. The Schottky diode should be able to perform the frequency multiplication as efficiently as possible to 2f 0 . The antenna allows for radiating the upconverted frequency signal. One issue is that the antenna matching should be guaranteed both at the fundamental and the second harmonic frequencies. This aspect makes the transponder design more complex if compared to standard RFID tags. An additional challenge is that the tags need to comply with existing frequency regulations.

4. Chipless Sensors

Chipless RFID sensor tags, like the electromagnetic RFID sensors, exploit the changes in antenna behavior that is dependent on the change in the physical environmental parameter that has to be measured [ 33 ]. However, differently from classical electromagnetic RFID sensors, the tag does not include a chip. It is basically a simple passive antenna or resonator. An electromagnetic wave impinging onto the chipless tag is mostly backscattered at the resonance frequency of the resonator, which acts as a spatial filter. Therefore, by observing the spectral response of the backscattered signal, a peak can be observed at the resonance frequency of the resonator, or resonant frequencies, in the case of multiple resonators. This technology appears to be promising for designing low-cost, green, and printable sensors [ 34 ]. The sensing capabilities are obtained through a frequency shift of the resonant peaks in the backscattered response generated by the change in external parameters surrounding the tag. The absence of a chip and a battery gives the opportunity to significantly decrease the cost of the sensor and to achieve a theoretically infinite lifetime. Given the absence of any electronic circuit, chipless RFID sensors are potentially suitable for harsh environments [ 33 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Clearly, one of the main limitations is that the reliable reading of the sensor can be guaranteed only under specific conditions. Chipless RFIDs rely on passive transduction mechanisms such as capacitance or surface resistance change, but even a mechanical perturbation of an RF resonatorallows for realizing cheap devices [ 36 , 38 , 39 ]. Printable electronic circuits can also be included in the chipless category. A summary of three main categories of chipless sensors is shown in Table 2 . The accuracy of chipless tags is expected to be more limited with respect to chip-equipped sensors, but their study is justified by their extreme fabrication simplicity, which would allow for integrating these sensors inside conventional packaging at a minimal cost. Some examples of chipless RFID sensors that are commercially available are summarized in Table 3 . As it is apparent, the employed technologies are quite broad-spectrum, spanning from the exploitation of the Barkhausen effect to radar imaging.

Chipless RFID sensor tags that are commercially available. From [ 42 ].

Comparison between main chipless RFID technologies.

4.1. Electromagnetic Chipless RFID Sensors

Two general types of chipless RFID tags can be identified: time domain (TD)-based and spectral (frequency) signature-based (frequency domain, FD). Time domain chipless sensors are comprised of a wideband antenna and a delay line. The tag receives and retransmits a modified version of the pulse transmitted by the reader. The time domain radar cross section (RCS) of the tag is comprised of a structural and an antenna component. The delay line is used to separate the antenna RCS peak from the structural one, which is the most intense. Depending on the load of the delay line, the antenna response of the tag can be modulated or delayed. Both these mechanisms can be used to design a chipless sensor. Amplitude modulation can be obtained by ending the delay line with a material able to change its surface resistance as a function of an external phenomenon. The sensed information can be also included in the time shift from the antenna peak [ 40 ]. Time domain-based chipless RFID tags manufactured with printed circuit board technology are large and are unable to encode a high number of bits [ 41 ].

The second class of chipless tags encodes data into the spectrum using resonant structures [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. Two configurations have emerged for FD chipless tags. The former is based on two orthogonally polarized antennas with a series of resonators in between [ 46 ], whereas the latter employs several resonators of different size [ 47 ]. In FD chipless sensors, the idea is to add a sensor function to the tag. This goal can be achieved by exploiting the permittivity variation of a chemical interactive material (CIM) that is placed on the tag antenna. The CIM can cause a frequency shift in the backscattered signal or a change in the amplitude response, as illustrated in Figure 6 . Different environmental parameters can be monitored by exploiting the interaction of the CIM with resonators. Temperature, pressure, humidity, and gas sensors have been proposed in [ 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. Inkjet printing can be also efficiently exploited for the fabrication of chipless sensors [ 52 , 53 , 54 ]. Several polymers and nanomaterials have been used to synthesize sensors because of their ability to change their properties as a function of environmental parameters such as humidity, temperature, and gasses, or due to mechanical stresses and pressure. These materials are named CIM as they are able to operate a transduction from a physical quantity to an electrically measured one. In Table 4 , some materials reported in the recent literature are categorized with their functionalization property. The table is based on [ 55 , 56 ]. A simplified scheme of the sensing mechanism based on chipless tags is shown in Figure 8 .

Chipless RFID sensor architecture and possible layout of a chipless RFID sensor.

Sensing polymers and nanomaterials.

The use of a small tag provides a weak backscattered signal, which can hardly be distinguished from the background response. Beyond the specific topology of the tag, the main limitation of chipless technology is that the tag detection requires a calibration procedure often based on background subtraction. For this reason, some strategies to increase the immunity of the tag response with respect to the environment have been investigated. Several solutions have been proposed in order to overcome this fundamental problem, such as adopting encoding/decoding schemes based on cross-polarization [ 57 , 58 ], circular polarization [ 59 ], differential polarization encoding [ 60 ], or synthetic aperture radar (SAR) based approaches [ 44 ]. To further improve the system reliability, the above strategies can be jointly adopted with time domain gating. Time domain gating allows for filtering out some undesired contributions, such as antenna coupling and multipath. However, the presence of large objects behind the tag is difficult to remove with time domain gating, since the time window should fulfill a couple of opposite requirements: the time window should be long enough to include all the time domain responses of the resonant tag, which is inversely related to the frequency bandwidth of the peak, but, at the same time, it should be truncated to remove the contribution of the objects close to the tag [ 60 ]. If the object is too close to the tag, the time gating may be not sufficient to completely remove the undesired contributions. The possibility of correctly reading the information encoded within the tag (detection probability) is strictly related to the RCS of the tag. The RCS of the tag is proportional to the square of the footprint of the label if all the particles radiate in phase [ 61 ]. In the case of periodic tags, the average value of RCS can be controlled by increasing or decreasing the number of unit cells, and thus the footprint of the tag [ 61 ]. Finally, it has to be mentioned that readers for chipless RFID require complex and specialized architectures based on their mode of operation, and competitive commercial products are currently available. Examples of reader prototypes include frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) or ultra-wideband (UWB) impulse radar-based devices [ 62 , 63 ].

4.2. Acoustic Chipless RFID Sensors: SAW Tags

A surface acoustic wave (SAW) tag [ 64 ] is comprised of a piezoelectric substrate, an inter-digital transducer (IDT), some metal reflectors, and antennas. When the RF reader interrogates the tag, the tag antenna collects the EM probing wave. The IDT then converts the electronic energy into mechanical energy through the inverse piezoelectric effect. The SAW undergoes a series of reflections that operate the encoding of the signal, and then these acoustic waves are reconverted by the IDT into an EM wave by piezoelectric effect. This signal is finally transmitted back to the reader by the antenna tag. The RF operation frequency is limited by the substrate size and by the photolithographic process. SAW devices are manufactured in the frequency range between 30 MHz and approximately 3 GHz.

SAW delay lines are based on the SAW propagation time delay, calculated as the ratio of acoustical length and SAW velocity ( L / v SAW ). In known sensor applications, L and v SAW , respectively, vary as a transducer effect determined by a temperature change, mechanical stress, and strain, and because of a mass loading from a thin surface layer. SAW sensors can measure physical, chemical, and biological parameters. As an example, a pressure sensor is reported in [ 65 ], where the monitored parameter is converted into a change in the sensor’s surface acoustic wave’s velocity. As shown in [ 66 ], by bending, stretching, and compressing the SAW substrate, sensors for torque, force, displacement, vibration, and acceleration can be synthesized [ 67 ]. The first SAW sensors were for temperature monitoring, and sensitive materials such as quartz (SiO2) were employed. In multi-sensor systems, different sensors are typically distinguished through frequency division multiplexing. However, space division multiple access (SDMA) and time division multiple access (TDMA) can also be employed [ 64 ]. Orthogonal frequency coding (OFC) has also been proposed for encoding the SAW sensor in multisensory environments [ 68 ].

4.3. Electronic Chipless RFID Sensors: Thin Film Transistors (TFT)

An attractive solution for designing chipless RFIDs would be to manufacture the antenna and electronics on the same substrate. Organic electronics could represent the solution that enables the production of complete ultra-low-cost RFID tags. Thin film transistor circuits (TFTCs) can be also employed in designing TD tags [ 69 ]. However, the current development stage of printed RFID tags is still not sufficient to enable real-world applications [ 70 ]. Despite the availability of printed organic transistors with carrier mobilities over 1 cm 2 V −1 s −1 and switching speed in the MHz range [ 71 ], silicon electronics strongly outperform printed electronics in terms of carrier mobilities and switching speeds, as shown in Table 5 . However, printed electronics still provide interesting characteristics related to manufacturing on soft substrates in large areas. Currently, transistor architectures have not been optimized for ICs because of the limited number of metal layers available [ 72 ].

Performance comparison and utilization of printed electronics and silicon ICs in flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) systems [ 73 ].

TFT-based RFID tags have been developed by companies or by research groups. Some developed tags can communicate only with specially designed RFID readers with custom protocols (like 8, 12, or 16-bit tags), whereas other designs are capable of communicating with commercial NFC readers, which, nowadays, are also integrated into cellphones. Clearly, if simplified protocols that take into account the technology limitations of TFTs are employed, the system requirements for the chip turn out to be less stringent. The three main challenges for designing TFT-based NFC tags are the data rates of 106 kbit s −1 , a 128-bit memory read-out, and a limited incident power at the tag, in the range of ~10 mW, from the smartphone [ 72 ].

Companies are putting great effort into finding a viable manufacturing process. PolyIC is the first company that demonstrated RFID tags produced by roll-to-roll printing. EVONIK develops unique oxide semiconductor materials, whereas IMEC and TNO recently made the OLAE chip with the largest memory (128 bits) and a rectifier working at ultrahigh frequencies. Other companies such as Dai Nippon Printing and OrganicID are working on printed electronics for realizing RFID. OrganicID’s proprietary technology, acquired by Weyerhauser, is supported by several U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications. This technology is used to generate a low-cost 13.56 MHz RFID tag for use in tracking items through manufacturing and shipping. However, the development of the technology is still in progress [ 74 ]. Despite significant efforts, printed circuits are still not on par with silicon ICs in terms of stability and performance. Hence, silicon ICs continue to dominate flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) implementations.

5. Applications

Radio frequency identification has gained wide public interest, since RFID can be a valid alternative to traditional barcode technology and provides additional features with respect to other alternatives. Printed bar codes are typically read by a laser-based optical scanner that requires a direct line-of-sight to detect and extract information. On the contrary, RFID can be read even when the tag is concealed for either aesthetic or security reasons. Moreover, the low cost could boost the use of RFID tags as pervasive environmental sensors on an unprecedented scale [ 75 ]. RFID sensing applications are comprised of monitoring physical parameters, automatic product tamper detection, harmful agent detection, and noninvasive monitoring. Some applications require reading passive tags from a distance of a few centimeters, while others need to read active tags at several hundred meters. Every application poses different constraints and requirements, so a feasibility field study must be performed in the operative environment to choose the best frequency and tags. An overview of the most relevant fields of applications for RFID sensors is summarized in Figure 9 .

RFID sensors: application fields and examples of practical applications.

5.1. Healthcare

The healthcare industry plays a pivotal role in many economies. For example, in the United States (U.S.), the budget is in the order of several trillions of dollars [ 76 ]. Analysts forecast that the number of older people in the U.S. will increase by 135% between 2000 and 2050, and that the “population aged 85 and over—probably the group needing health and long-term care services more than any other—should increase by 350%” [ 77 ]. This implies a significant rise in the budget that states should allocate for healthcare. A possible mitigation effect of this trend can be provided by the massive employment of RFID technology, as it allows for preventing errors, saving costs, increasing security, and providing improved quality of life for patients.

Cheap sensors (wearable, implanted, and environmental), integrated into the paradigm of the internet of things (IoT), have the potential to make real a personalized smart-health system, where the natural habitat of the person, their body, and the internet are collaborating to manage and increase overall medical knowledge. For example, by displacing wireless sensors inside the home, on clothes, and on personal items, it becomes possible to monitor the macroscopic behavior of the person, as well as to compile statistics, to identify precursors of dangerous behavioral anomalies, and finally to activate alarms or prompt for remote actions by appropriate assistance procedures. RFID systems may represent a strategic enabling component thanks to the energy autonomy of battery-less tags and their low cost, which make them compatible with extensive distribution and even disposable applications [ 78 ].

Assuming a large diffusion of cheap passive UHF RFID tags inside the environment, it is possible to infer information about human activity. For example, human body movements in close proximity to the tags may introduce scattering and shadowing effects, thus altering the communication link between a fixed reader and the tags [ 79 ]. Such changes in the signals received by a combination of wearable tags and ambient tags can be then used to monitor human activity. For example, the state of children and disabled and elderly people in domestic and hospital environments during the night can be monitored by installing a UHF RFID reader that continuously illuminates the bed and detects the presence of a patient in the bed, their body movements, accidental falls, or suspicious long periods of inactivity (which might be due to fainting, unconsciousness, or even death), as well as interactions with objects nearby (e.g., medicines or glasses). By also employing temperature or humidity RFID sensors, even fever evolution and urine loss could be taken under control.

Printed sensors utilize printed materials to transduce physical quantities such as temperature, light intensity, sound, force, or chemical reaction to electrical signals. In a printer thermistor, for example, the temperature variation leads to a change in the resistance of the printed active material. For these reasons, in the last decades a large number of research studies have been focused on the design of printed sensors for wearable health monitoring, which may allow for a continuous measurement of all vital signs such as blood pressure, pulse oxygenation, body temperature, and heart and respiration rates. The system is also suitable for providing reports and aggregated statistics, useful for the formulation of diagnosis and for the follow-up of therapies [ 78 ]. An example of monitoring system is shown in Figure 10 a.

( a ) Ambient intelligence system aimed at taking care of night sleep involving RFID tags placed over the body and in the surrounding environment. ( b ) Set-up for the classification of arm and leg gestures by passive RFID and examples of RFID backscattered patterns. Reproduced from [ 78 ], © 2014 IEEE.

Moreover, by monitoring the fluctuations of backscattered power from sensor-less passive tags placed over the body it is possible to collect information about the subject, such as standing or moving conditions, and, eventually, to estimate the frequency of periodic movements [ 80 , 81 ]. A measurement setup for gesture recognition based on multiple RFIDs is shown in Figure 10 b.

Intelligent labeling of food products to indicate and report their freshness and other conditions is one important possible application for RFID sensors. Indeed, the market demands new sensors for food quality and safety with battery-free operation and minimal sensor cost [ 48 , 82 ]. In these sensors, the electric field generated in the RFID sensor antenna is affected by the ambient environment, providing the opportunity for sensing. This environment may be in the form of a food sample within the electric field of the sensing region, or a sensing film deposited onto the sensor antenna. Examples of applications include the monitoring of milk freshness, fish freshness, and bacterial growth in a solution. Unlike other food freshness monitoring approaches that require a thin film battery for the operation of an RFID sensor and the fabrication of custom-made sensors, the passive RFID sensing approach combines the advantages of both battery-free and cost-effective sensor design, and offers response selectivity. For food spoilage or quality monitoring applications, most HF passive RFID sensors rely on measuring volatiles or analytes in food packaging, whereas LC resonator sensors are based on measuring changes in dielectric permittivity [ 83 , 84 ].

As food ripens and spoils, its chemical composition changes, resulting in changes in its dielectric properties. This changes the coupled capacitance, and, in turn, the resonant frequency of the sensor. These sensors are either attached to food packaging or placed on the surface of the food itself. The approach has been demonstrated using conformal adhesive LC resonators attached to the surface of a banana skin or cheese [ 85 ], as a 3D printed LC resonator integrated in a milk package cap [ 30 ], and as a planar LC resonator attached to the surface of a milk package ( Figure 11 ). The depth of interaction between the food and the sensor (the penetration depth) depends on the operating frequency of the sensor, electric conductivity, and the dielectric polarization loss of the food [ 48 ].

( a , b ) A wireless passive sensor demonstration of a “smart cap”, containing the 3D-printed LC-resonant circuit. The degradation of the liquid food inside the liquid package can cause changes in the dielectric constant and a shift in the resonance frequency of the LC circuity. ( c ) A wireless inductive reader is used to monitor the signals in real time. Reproduced from [ 86 ].

5.3. Agriculture

The development of RFID systems for smart agriculture applications has attracted considerable research efforts in recent years [ 87 ]. The precision agriculture system, through the exploitation of RFID technology, allows farmers to maximize the yield by increasing efficiencies, productivity, and profitability, while minimizing unintended impacts on wildlife and the environment [ 88 ]. In fact, the real time information acquired by RFID sensors provides helpful data for farmers to adjust crop strategies at any time by taking into account the environmental condition alteration. Among smart agriculture paradigms, leaf sensing represents a new technology, which is used for the detection of plants’ health, such as water status [ 89 , 90 ]. An example of a low-cost and low-power system for leaf sensing using a plant backscatter sensor tag is presented in [ 90 ]. A schematic representation of the moisture monitoring RFID system and its practical implementation is reported in Figure 12 . More in detail, a sensor measures the temperature differential between the leaf and the air, which is directly related to the plant water stress. A Morse code modulation was used for wireless communication with a low-cost receiver by backscattering RF signals from an 868 MHz carrier emitter. An example of an RFID soil moisture sensing system is reported in [ 91 ], which exploits two RFID tags on a pot with a low-pass filtered differential minimum response threshold (DMRT) to estimate the soil moisture level. The extensive measurement campaigns revealed high soil moisture detection accuracy, able to considerably improve the productivity. A passive UHF RFID tag for soil moisture and an environment temperature sensor for low cost agriculture applications was developed in [ 92 ]. The soil moisture sensor has been implemented by exploiting the capacitance variation of a passive inter digital capacitive, due to soil permittivity modification, while the environmental temperature was obtained by using an RFID chip with a temperature sensor.

Scheme of the RFID-based autonomous leaf-compatible temperature sensing system proposed in [ 89 ], © 2019 IEEE, and experimental setup. ( a ) working principle of the RFID system. ( b ) A picture of the realized system.

5.4. Automotive

RFID sensors for the automotive industry have exhibited a significant growth in the last few years, stimulated by the need for increasing the safety and reliability of vehicles, as well as to automate and improve its manufacturing and logistics processes. A recent example is given by the application of RFID technology for univocally identifying and localizing tires moving on conveyor lines [ 93 ]. The UHF RFID system is comprised of an RFID reading gate, located above a conveyor belt, that interacts with passive RFID tags hosted on the moving tires. RFID tag sensors can he zbe embedded in tires to provide information about the tires’ general condition, such as pressure and temperature. However, a big challenge for the adoption of RFID sensors in this case is represented by the ability to provide a robust and reliable implementation within the complex and harsh environment of a factory manufacturing tires. For example, the detuning effects of commercial RFID tags in tires is presented in [ 94 ]. Moreover, an example of flexible and stretchable RFID tag antennae for automotive tire applications are presented in [ 95 ]. The tag is manufactured with conductive textiles and embedded into polymer to improve its flexibility and bonding with the tire rubber. Other examples where RFID sensors can be useful for the automotive market are represented by a license plate RF identification system [ 96 ], intelligent parking [ 97 ], as well as child detection in vehicles [ 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 ] Some examples of RFID sensors applied in automotive applications are shown in Figure 13 .

Possible employment of as RFID system for preventing child abandonment inside cars ( a ), RFID on a license plate ( b ), RFID inside tires ( c ).

5.5. Structural Health Monitoring

There are several applications which require security measures provided by structural health monitoring (SHM), such as the monitoring of bridges, railways and pipelines. In these applications, deterioration of and damage to these structures might occur during their operational lifespan [ 103 ]. For this reason, periodic visual inspections are performed, but they are proven to be unreliable, particularly when the structures are hard to access. Consequently, several non-destructive testing and evaluation (NDT & E) approaches, such as ultrasonic [ 104 ], pulsed eddy current (PEC) [ 105 ], and eddy current pulsed thermography (ECPT), were developed for monitoring defects in structures with good resolution, sensitivity, and reliability. Cabled large-scale sensor networks are very suitable for real time acquisition applications, because of their good performance. On the other hand, the use of these networks for manual data collection is rarely justified by the costs, installation difficulties, and maintenance [ 106 ]. Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are cheaper and simpler to install by removing the electric wiring from traditional sensors. Spatial granularity is a crucial problem for possible upcoming applications. Battery-powered sensors are used for existing wireless sensing applications. Unfortunately, these sensors have reduced battery life and are more expensive than RFID sensors. Consequently, this restricts the granularity of their deployment and motivates low-cost, wireless, and passive sensor production for large-scale networks and applications for big data. Thanks to its low-cost, wireless, and “sensing-friendly” capabilities, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology can play a strategic role. The following paragraphs explain several examples of controlled parameters in structural health monitoring applications.

Strain detection : to detect deformation or structural change that occurs in our surrounding infrastructure, strain sensors (gauges) are needed. In order to produce an effective strain sensor, researchers are looking for a material that, in response to a small applied strain, can display a significant structural change [ 107 ].

Crack detection : the development of fatigue cracks accounts for more than 50% of mechanical failures. The conventional crack sensing methods make use of lead wiring for data extraction, which is inefficient and costly for the positioning and maintenance of large lengths [ 108 ]. In [ 109 ], through the mutual-coupling between two patch antennas, it has been demonstrated that the backscattered phase can work as a sensing variable at a sub-mm resolution. A scheme of the crack detection system implemented with a couple of RFID tags is shown in Figure 14 . In [ 110 ], a frequency signature-based chipless RFID is presented for metal crack detection and characterization operating in the ultra-wideband frequency.

Principle of ( a ) an RFID sensor tag couplet for the detection of cracks on concrete structures [ 109 ], © 2015 IEEE; ( b ) an RFID chipless RFID sensor system for crack detection and characterization on a metallic structure.

Corrosion detection : in the form of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in susceptible metal components, the interaction of a corrosive environment and tensile stress (e.g., directly applied stresses or in the form of residual stresses) will cause failure. A thin film of oxides occurs in the early stages of corrosion and induces changes in the conductivity, permittivity and permeability of the metallic surface [ 111 ].

Sensor RFIDs have also found applications on space platforms. Wire harnesses represent a considerable part of the overall mass; therefore, eliminating the wiring of the sensors is of the utmost importance for reducing the total mass of the vehicle, and thus the fabrication and launch costs. Moreover, a wireless system requires low-maintenance costs and offers an increase in reliability that is crucial, especially for long-term missions that can last years. An example of this is represented by the adoption of a RAIN RFID tag chip by the U.S. National Space Agency (NASA) [ 112 ]. The tag mounts a Monza X-8K Dura chip that can monitor temperature, CO2, and battery levels. A different approach for achieving the sensing function is provided by SAW RF tags [ 113 ]. In this case, two phase-matched SAW RF tags are coupled with a Van Atta antenna array. A combination of code diversity and time diversity has allowed for producing a set of 16 sensors that operate simultaneously in the field of view of the wireless sensor system. On the other hand, the Van Atta array provides a completely passive capability for tracking the probing direction and, at the same time, guarantees the beam-steering capability for properly retransmitting the encoded information. This configuration exhibits a remarkable read range, it can be employed for monitoring temperature and pressure, and it is robust enough to be deployed in a harsh environment. It is worth noting that, to reduce the weight of a satellite, the RFID reader itself is required to be compact in size and lightweight, as with the one proposed in [ 114 ] working within the 5725–5850 MHz frequency range.

5.7. Localization and Activity Monitoring

Even if, in these applications, RFIDs were not used as transducers for sensing purposes, RFID tags are still employed to extract useful information which exceeds the simple tracking of objects. RFID sensor networks are a promising approach for indoor activity monitoring [ 115 , 116 , 117 ]. A variety of experiments have been performed for tracking and tracing, indoors and outdoors. For example, in transportation systems, including buses, subways, and trains, the City of London implemented a system for outdoor data collection. The main goal was to use payments and access cards equipped with this connectivity technology to track users of the transport network. The level of usage, number of travelers, and public transport habits in the city, and knowledge of the stations, breakpoints, origin, and destination of network travel streams were calculated with the information collected. Indoor technologies have also been developed to consider citizens’ movement flows, such as museum visits. The collected data allowed for the identification of the visiting habits for the various areas and the identification of atypical behaviors [ 118 ].

Some of the mentioned drawbacks of a global positioning system (GPS) are addressed by RFID technology, as it does not require too much user cooperation, and reduces energy costs. However, its use for tracking does not provide precise positions, and the temporal position marks are restricted, like other wireless networks, by the locations of the signal reader antennas and the analysis of the readings’ received signal strength indicator (RSSI). The resolution of the trajectories followed by the users is less accurate than the resolution of a GPS. In addition, the outdoor aim of this technology is not comparable to GPS coverage.

On the other hand, phase-based RFID localization methods allow for a better localization accuracy, since they are more robust to multipath propagation than the RSSI-based approaches. As an example, phase-based techniques have been used to localize moving tagged items on conveyor belts [ 119 ], robots [ 120 , 121 ], and drones [ 122 ]. Examples of robots and drones equipped with RFID readers for localization purposes are reported in Figure 15 .

( a ) Robotic wheeled walker equipped with the Impinj Speedway Revolution R420 UHF-RFID reader, the reader antenna, and optical markers used for the measurement campaign in [ 120 ], © 2021 IEEE; ( b ) Colibrì I3-A drone by IDS, equipped with a GNSS module and the UHF-RFID reader and antenna used in [ 122 ], © 2019 IEEE.

5.8. Wearable and Implantable RFID Sensors

One challenge is the design of wearable antennas that have high immunity to interactions with the human body, which may notably change the radiation diagram and degrade antenna efficiency. In active and semi-active architectures, as in the case of body-centric communication systems, the overall radiation performance is enhanced by additional battery-assisted electronics. In the case of passive tags instead, where the energy to produce the response comes from a remote unit, the antenna design is much more challenging. Embroidery techniques have been experimented with to fully integrate RFID tags inside clothes. E-textiles, conductive threads, and embroidery techniques proved to be suitable for the design of garment-integrated tags [ 123 , 124 ]. In order to enable on-body wireless connectivity, this new technology will include multi-functional everyday clothing integrated with wearable antennas, sensors, and power harvesting devices. The conductivity of the embroidered tag antennas mainly depends on the orientation of the sewn lines in relation to the current flow direction in the antenna system. Moreover, the conductivity of the embroidered structure is also determined by the electrical properties of the conductive thread. The thread used has a silver weight of 55 g/10,000 m, which assures good conductivity. Moreover, the conductivity and performance of the embroidered tag antennas is affected by the spacing between the sewn lines. An example of embroidered tags is shown in Figure 16 a.

( a ) Embroidered dipoles with pattern I and pattern II. The application of UHF RFID technology for monitoring. Reproduced from [ 124 ], © 2013 IEEE. ( b ) The in-stent restenosis inside a carotid stent and a prototype of a STENTag. Reproduced from [ 78 ], © 2014 IEEE.

The maximum read range which is currently achievable with an RFID transmitter compliant with the regional power emission constraints is almost 5–6 m. Current link performances are already enough for tracking a person equipped with two tags over front/rear torso or over the arms within a regular size room [ 78 ].

In entertainment, healthcare, and medical applications, a wearable tag supplied with passive accelerometers can be applied on the arms for the tracking of human motion. In some common sleep disorders, such as restless leg syndrome and periodic limb movements, wearable tags with inertial switches have been shown to detect limb movements. Tags applied to the chest may also be useful to detect breath. Generally, wireless motion tracking systems may help to produce data to support diagnosis and track a patient’s behavior discreetly within a structure, and generate notifications about unusual activities, such as when the patient falls down or remains motionless for long periods [ 125 ].

RFID technology has been also demonstrated to be potentially useful for taking care of the human health-state internally by labeling body prostheses, sutures, stents, or orthopedic fixing. Each item could be monitored in real time or on demand by the IoT infrastructure for the ambitious goal of monitoring biophysical processes in evolution, such as tissue regrowth and prosthesis displacement. In this case, tags are inserted in the prosthesis, converting them into multi-functional devices capable of generating information in addition to providing the original medical functionality. In the design of implantable tags, the key challenge is to create a convenient communication link by using a reader power that complies with power emission regulation. Nowadays, the creation of an RFID connection with subcutaneous implants up to 0.1–0.5 m from the reader is now feasible, with promising applications for tracking some specific areas of the body, and vascular protheses. In order to automatically scan the health-state of a prosthesis without the direct involvement of the patient, a direct link to a reader-equipped door located at a distance of 0.5 m may be sufficient. On the other hand, deeper implants such as implants within the stomach remain a real challenge, even over the long term, for passive RFID systems under current power regulations [ 78 ].

A vascular stent implanted into an artery to restore natural blood flow after angioplasty is an example of near-subcutaneous protheses sufficient for RFID integration, as shown in Figure 16 b. As presented in [ 126 ], the RFID tag features have been strongly incorporated into the stent geometry itself to act as a self-sensor by exploiting the dependency of the input impedance of the tag and back-radiation on the dielectric properties of the tissues in the immediate vicinity of the so-obtained STENTag. This makes it possible to detect the process of in-stent restenosis (ISR), e.g., diffuse proliferation of neointima early after implantation, or new atherosclerotic plaque, even at a distance of time, which might cause new occlusion of the vessel.

6. Commercial RFID Sensors

RFID technology has become extremely popular in recent years for both localization and sensing applications. This technology is widely used within the IoT paradigm, where the demand for low-power and low-cost wireless devices is increasing. From this perspective, RFID sensors respond to different needs of the IoT, as they are power efficient, small and easy to use. The use of innovative materials and manufacturing techniques, combined with increasingly advanced data collection techniques make RFID sensors even more appealing for IoT applications where sensing capabilities are required. Moreover, each RFID sensor has its own identification number, which makes it unique, making the collection of data from the sensor unambiguous. Finally, compared to other sensing and identification techniques, RFIDs are extremely advantageous, as they can be used in harsh environments, do not require a line-of-sight connection, and allow real-time collection of data from multiple sensors simultaneously. For these reasons, RFID sensors have raised great interest, not only in the world of scientific research, but also from industries. In fact, there are many companies that have heavily invested in RFID technology, such as TI, NXP, and ON Semicondutors.

The main manufacturers of ready-to-use RFID sensors are reported in Table 6 , as well as some examples of RFID sensors that can be purchased on the market. Some commercial sensor tags configurations are reported in Table 7 . Very often, these solutions can integrate with other sensors through an I2C interface, as in the case of TI RF430FRL152H. An interesting solution is proposed by NXP with the NTAG ® SmartSensor. These are single-chip solutions that combine NFC connectivity with autonomous sensing, data processing, and logging via the I2C interface. The data collected by NTAG SmartSensor are uploaded into the cloud via NFC using a smartphone and a dedicated app. The NTAG SmartSensors are temperature-calibrated, which is an important feature for tracking temperature-sensitive products such as vaccines or wines. By using the I2C interface, the NTAG SmartSensor can also monitor conditions such as humidity, tilting, shocks, and vibrations. Another application of NXP NTAG is smart agriculture ( Figure 17 ). The NTAG ® SmartSensor Figure 17 a is placed in the plant, as shown in Figure 17 b. Another example of a commercial RFID sensor is HYGRO-FENIX-RM of Farsens (Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain), which is an electronic product code (EPC) class 1 generation 2 (C1G2) RFID tag based on Farsens’ battery-less sensor technology. The tag contains an ambient temperature sensor and a relative humidity sensor, which are compatible with commercial UHF RFID readers (EPC C1G2). The battery-less resistance meter can communicate over 5 m with a 2W ERP setup. Farsens also produces other passive sensor tags, such as the EVAL01-Kineo-RM, which is a UHF RFID battery-free orientation sensor tag. It features an LIS3DH 3-axis accelerometer from ST Microelectronics with a range between ±4 g and an accuracy of ±40 mg. Other passive sensors are proposed by Farsens to sense parameters such as RF field (EVAL02-Photon-R) and ambient light intensity (EVAL01-Spectre-RM).

NTAG ® SmartSensor for smart agriculture: ( a ) pictorial representation of the NTAG ® ; ( b ) application of the sensor in the plant.

Principal RFID sensors manufacturers. The websites have been accessed on 1 March 2021.

Examples of commercial RFID sensors.

It is also worth mentioning the use of RFID sensors for the moisture intrusion detection system for vehicle assembly lines. Water leakage has been one of the main problems in the auto industry for years. Indeed, water leaks might cause mold growth and damage to the expensive electronic components of motor vehicles, thus reducing the quality of the fabrication process. Traditional manual inspection methods rely on visual inspection. Consequently, this approach does not detect leaks located in inaccessible areas, or small leaks. ON Semiconductor, Inc. (Phoenix, AZ, U.S.A.) and RFMicron, Inc. (Austin, TX, USA) have solved this problem with a two-fold leak detection solution [ 127 ]. The first part utilizes thin and low-profile moisture sensors that are placed in the vehicle without affecting or displacing other components or trim pieces ( Figure 18 a). The second part is a system to read these sensors and then aggregate that sensor data to determine where leaks are located ( Figure 18 b). Battery-free wireless moisture sensors and a highly capable processing device mounted directly onto moving assembly lines are included in the RFM5126 water leak detection system. A wireless communication between the antennas mounted on a system portal and the sensors located on the vehicles is established. When the vehicles drive through the portal, the system collects the data from the sensors. In order to decide whether and where any leaks might be present, the device processes the sensors’ data. The identification of the water leaks allows for a reduction in repair costs and saves time, so that rework teams do not spend their time searching for leaks.

RFID sensors for the moisture intrusion detection system: ( a ) Moisture sensors placed directly on the vehicles’ metal chassis; ( b ) Interrogation setup.

7. RFID Readers

RFID systems can operate at different frequency bands: low-frequency (LF, 125–134 KHz), high-frequency (HF, 13.56 MHz), ultra-high-frequency (UHF, 866–928 MHz), and microwave (MW, 2.45 GHz and 5.8 GHz), as summarized in Table 8 . The specific operating frequency is chosen on the basis of the application requirements. For example, LF and HF are typically used for short-range applications (e.g., of a few centimeters), since the wireless power transmission is based on the inductive coupling between two coils. The magnetic field received by the tag coil induces a current which activates the chip. The chip impedance is then varied based on the EPC stored inside the chip. Such a load variation induces a modulation of the backscattered signal. The latter is then collected at the reader side and decoded. On the other hand, UHF RFID systems are typically used for long-range applications, since they are based on electromagnetic coupling and wave propagation. The backscattered electromagnetic signal is then received by the reader antenna and converted to an electrical signal. If the received power is higher than the reader sensitivity, then the interrogated tag can be properly detected, and the unique ID (EPC) can be stored.

RFID operating frequencies and standards.

A RFID reader is powered by a battery or from an external power source, and generates an interrogation signal centered at the specific operating frequency. The signal is then emitted by the RFID reader antenna after an electrical-to-electromagnetic conversion. The carrier is then received by tag antennas placed at a certain distance from the reader antenna. If the power received by the transponder is higher than the chip sensitivity, then the chip is powered up and sends the unique ID stored in it. Specifically, the interrogation signal is backscattered by the tag after a load modulation, which causes a little shift in the operating frequency, as schematically represented in Figure 19 .

Load modulation creates two sidebands around the transmission frequency f 0 of the reader. The actual information is carried in the sidebands of the two subcarrier sidebands, which are themselves created by the modulation of the subcarrier.

RFID readers can be classified into three main typologies:

Examples of commercial fixed RFID readers. The websites have been accessed on 1 March 2021.

Examples of commercial integrated RFID readers. The websites have been accessed on 1 March 2021.

Examples of commercial handheld RFID readers. The websites have been accessed on 1 March 2021.

It is worth mentioning that software defined radio (SDR) readers have been also designed and described in the scientific literature [ 129 , 130 ], but they are not commercially available yet.

Most commercial readers are not able to directly provide information on the data collected from the sensor tag. Typically, only a few parameters are provided on the graphical user interface, such as:

• RSSI (received signal strength indicator) of each detected tag, giving an estimation of the quality of the detection signal,
• Antenna port. Since fixed readers can support up to four external antennas, information on which antenna detected a tag is fundamental,
• Time stamps of the first and last reads of each tag ID.

All of this information can be automatically sent to a management system/software, or collected into a logfile (e.g., in .txt format) for post processing operations. Not all commercial RFID readers provide information on the phase of the received backscattered signal. This parameter is proportional to the distance between the reader antenna and the tag, and it can be used, for example, in phase-based localization systems and angle-of-arrival (AoA) estimations if multiple antennas are used at the reader side. Among other commercial readers that provide phase information, the Impinj Speedway Revolution R420 UHF-RFID reader can be mentioned.

Sometimes, software modifications and add-ons are needed at the reader side to read specific registers of the RFID chip, thus providing values from the sensors (e.g., temperature or humidity). For example, Farsens demo software patch is available online for testing battery-free sensor tags. However, a PC version of such software is only compatible with few UHF RFID readers, such as the Impinj Speedway (RX20), ThingMagic M6, Alien ALR-9900, Zebra FX9500, or Nordic ID Sampo S1/2.

On the other hand, chipless RFID readers are not yet available on the market. However, they have been proposed in the scientific literature, and some configurations are listed in Table 12 . In general, a chipless RFID reader is a type of radar that can be designed with either a frequency domain or a time domain approach [ 131 ]. The frequency domain strategy expects the transmission of a harmonic, which varies in frequency within the operative bandwidth of the tag. The reader architectures used in the literature are based on either the stepped-frequency continuous wave (SFCW) or FMCW concepts. Both configurations are equipped with a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) in transmission, whose center frequency is settled by a control unit [ 131 ]. A directional coupler at the VCO output is used as an input for the demodulator. A reader founded on the time domain methodology transmits a sub-nanosecond pulse toward the tag, and measures the backscattered signal from the tag. This technique is used in impulse radio UWB (IR-UWB) technology, where the reader is composed of a pulse generator and a time domain receiver. The transmitted pulse should be compliant with the UWB regulation masks. The power spectral density (PSD) over megahertz is calculated over a period of time much higher than 1 ns (1 ms for the FCC, 1 ms–1 μs for the ETSI) [ 131 ].

Performance and cost comparison of chipless RFID tag readers [ 132 ].

8. Conclusions

A comprehensive overview of RFID sensing technology has been presented. The advantages of RFID sensors with respect to classical battery-equipped sensor nodes are highlighted. Then, a detailed classification of RFID sensors is provided, and the different architectures are described and discussed. The main areas of application of RFID sensors have been presented. Finally, some commercial RFID sensing solutions are summarized, as well as the readers available on the market.

Acknowledgments

In this section, you can acknowledge any support given which is not covered by the author contribution or funding sections. This may include administrative and technical support, or donations in kind (e.g., materials used for experiments).

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, F.C.; writing—original draft preparation, F.C., S.G., M.B., A.M. and F.A.D.; review and editing, F.C., S.G., M.B., A.M., F.A.D. and G.M.; supervision, G.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This work was partially supported by the Italian Ministry of Education and Research (MIUR) in the framework of the CrossLab project (Departments of Excellence) and PRIN2017 GREEN TAGS “Chipless radio frequency identification (RFID) for GREEN TAGging and Sensing” (2017NT5W7Z).

Institutional Review Board Statement

Informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

IEEE Account

• Change Username/Password
• Update Address

Purchase Details

• Payment Options
• Order History
• View Purchased Documents

Profile Information

• Communications Preferences
• Profession and Education
• Technical Interests
• US & Canada: +1 800 678 4333
• Worldwide: +1 732 981 0060
• Contact & Support
• About IEEE Xplore
• Accessibility
• Terms of Use
• Nondiscrimination Policy
• Privacy & Opting Out of Cookies

A not-for-profit organization, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. © Copyright 2024 IEEE - All rights reserved. Use of this web site signifies your agreement to the terms and conditions.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Research Study on RFID and its Future Applications

2021, International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology

There has been a revolution in tracking and tracing of products and goods in the supply chain using passive radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. Recommendations to the suppliers have been released to various major retailers and government agencies after realizing the potential of RFID systems. This paper outlines some research done to identify a set of parameters which can help us in comparing the performance of Ultra High Frequency (UHF) passive RFID tags to be set as benchmarks. This paper is published on the notes of the above paragraph to provide a survey on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Primarily the RFID tags were developed to eventually replace barcodes in supply chains due to their advantages of being able to be read wirelessly and without line of sight, they contain more information than barcodes, and are obviously more robust. The RFID technology did not stop at item-level tagging. This paper tries to unfold the various studies and research done on the RFID beyond their just feature of being used as a tag. It tells us about the latest technology research that focuses on locating and tracking labeled objects that move using RFID. Passive radio frequency identification (RFID) systems are revolutionizing the way products and goods are tracked and traced in the supply chain. Radio frequency identification (RFID) and barcode technology are similar in some ways as they both are an automatic identification technology. Nowadays RFID is mostly involved in numerous tasks including managing supply chains, tracking livestock, preventing counterfeiting, controlling building access, and supporting automated checkout. This paper highlights the RFID technology, its working, its architecture and its applications. With the help of RFID the world is moving towards automation with reduced labor levels, enhanced visibility, and improved inventory management. This paper also underlines the different types of RFID tags. RFID is applicable in many fields like retail industry, agriculture, vehicle management, underwater applications, healthcare, smart homes and for security and safety purposes to name a few.. It enables distant identification unlike earlier bar-code technology it does not require a line of sight. This paper also addresses current RFID technology in terms of systems, components, and propagation, and provides a look forward towards its future applications.

Related Papers

IOSR Journal of Computer Engineering

HUSSAIN SALEEM

International Journal of Engineering Sciences & Research Technology

Ijesrt Journal

Radio frequency identification is a contactless technique that uses the radio waves to identify the object uniquely. RFID Tag and Reader are major two parts of the RFID System. Tags are used to store the information about the object and Readers read tag’s stored information when tag enters in the range of the Reader. This paper provides the information regarding the current scenario of the RFID Technology. Aside from the introduction of the working of RFID, discussion is made on major types of the RFID tags and Readers, comparison with Bar code as well as current application areas have been presented.

IAEME PUBLICATION

IAEME Publication

RFID is only one of numerous technologies grouped under the term Automatic Identification (Auto ID), such as bar code, magnetic inks, optical character recognition, voice recognition, touch memory, smart cards, biometrics etc. Auto ID technologies are a new way of controlling information and material flow, especially suitable for large productions [1][17] This paper gives a review of the current state of the art in the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. This is short prologue to the standards of the engineering; a survey is given on real classes of RFID labels and readers. The introduction of RFID systems in industrial manufacturing has already been taken up more than ten years ago. RFID is a smart and promising technology in various applications like asset tracking, animal tracking, in wall mart and in inventory management. This paper is a roadmap for new learners in RFID technology

Laszlo Monostori

The paper gives an overview of the current state of the art in the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Aside from a brief introduction to the principles of the technology, a sur- vey is given on major classes of RFID tags and readers, commonly used frequencies and identifier systems, current and envisaged fields of application, as well as advantages, con-

International Journal of Scientific Research in Science, Engineering and Technology IJSRSET

RFID is basically a Radio frequency identification which contributions in automatic identification of physical products by radio waves. Nowadays RFID is frequently used as a medium for several tasks including vehicle security system, handling supply chains, tracking product, supporting automated checkout. Most of the countries are using RFID technology in their private and public sectors. The usage of RFID is limited by safety concerns and delays in regulation. The paper provides a general idea of current stage of the art in the RFID technology. The paper also discusses on the current and imagined fields of application, as well as advantages and disadvantages of use.

neeraj mohan

Abstract—This paper gives an overview of the current state of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Aside from a brief introduction to the principles of the technology, major current and envisaged fields of application, as well as advantages, and limitations of use are ...

International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development

Anupam Saigal

Pervasive Computing, IEEE

Dhanraj Neelakandan

Paul Mueller

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

RELATED PAPERS

Pankaj M Madhani

Manoj Sharma

Jain-Shing Wu , Ming Shen Jian

Aastha Gupta

International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering (IJECE)

International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering (IJECE) , Ademoal Dr. Abdulkareem

Gasim Alandjani

Show-man vitorino silva

International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology IJSRST

Alexandre Dolgui

Javier Miranda López

Information Systems Frontiers

Jen-yao Chung

RFID applications in manufacturing

Michel Baudin

IEEE Pervasive Computing

stephen miles

IJESRT Journal

Navarasa Kumar Msk

Jari Porras , Tommi Kallonen

Adriana Alexandru , Eleonora Tudora

International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology (IJERT)

IJERT Journal

Trends in Supply Chain Design and Management

Gary Gaukler

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

• Intelligence
• Artificial Intelligence
• Data Intelligence
• Device Innovation
• Next Generation Digital Appliances
• Communications & Media
• Next Generation Communications
• Next Generation Display & Media
• Soc Architecture
• Security & Privacy
• Software Engineering

Publications

• R&D Centers
• Samsung Research America
• Samsung R&D Institute Canada
• Samsung R&D Institute United Kingdom
• Samsung R&D Institute Poland
• Samsung R&D Institute Ukraine
• Samsung R&D Institute Russia
• Samsung R&D Institute Israel
• Samsung R&D Institute Jordan
• Samsung R&D Institute India-Bangalore
• Samsung R&D Institute Philippines
• Samsung R&D Institute Indonesia
• Samsung R&D Institute Bangladesh
• Samsung R&D Institute China-Beijing
• Samsung R&D Institute China-Nanjing
• Samsung R&D Institute Japan
• Samsung R&D Institute Japan-Yokohama
• Samsung Research
• Meet Our Researchers
• Life at Samsung Research
• Vision & Mission

Bayesian Prompt Learning for Image-Language Model Generalization

Research areas, view publication.