WHAT IS RFID?

INTRODUCTION

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is an automatic detection method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. The technology requires some extent of cooperation of an RFID reader and an RFID tag.

An RFID tag is an object that can be applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.

Most RFID tags contain at least two parts. One is an integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and demodulating a radio frequency (RF) signal, and other specialized functions. The second is an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal.

There are generally two types of RFID tags: active RFID tags, which contain a battery, and passive RFID tags, which have no battery.This project uses passive tags. Read-only tags are typically passive and are programmed with a unique set of data (usually 32 to 128 bits) that cannot be modified.

Future chip less RFID allows for discrete identification of tags without an integrated circuit, thereby allowing tags to be printed directly onto assets at a lower cost than traditional tags. Currently (2008) none of the chip less concepts has become operational.

Today, RFID is used in enterprise supply chain management to improve the efficiency of inventory tracking and management.

APPLICATIONS OF RFID ?

1. Access Control System

2. Attendance Recording System

3. Bank Locker System

4. Vehical Parking System

5.  Parts Identification

6. Person Identification

Of all this, we have implemented the  RFID based Access Control

       An embedded system can be defined as a computing device that does a specific focused job. Appliances such as the air-conditioner, VCD player, DVD player, printer, fax machine, mobile phone etc. are examples of embedded systems. Each of these appliances will have a processor and special hardware to meet the specific requirement of the application along with the embedded software that is executed by the processor for meeting that specific requirement. The embedded software is also called “firm ware”. The desktop/laptop computer is a general purpose computer. You can use it for a variety of applications such as playing games, word processing, accounting, software development and so on. In contrast, the software in the embedded systems is always fixed listed below:

 Embedded systems do a very specific task, they cannot be programmed to do different things. Embedded systems have very limited resources, particularly the memory. Generally, they do not have secondary storage devices such as the CDROM or the floppy disk. Embedded systems have to work against some deadlines. A specific job has to be completed within a specific time. In some embedded systems, called real-time systems, the deadlines are stringent. Missing a deadline may cause a catastrophe-loss of life or damage to property. Embedded systems are constrained for power. As many embedded systems operate through a battery, the power consumption has to be very low.

· Some embedded systems have to operate in extreme environmental conditions such as very high temperatures and humidity.

Application Areas

Nearly 99 per cent of the processors manufactured end up in embedded systems. The embedded system market is one of the highest growth areas as these systems are used in very market segment- consumer electronics, office automation, industrial automation, biomedical engineering, wireless communication,

data communication, telecommunications, transportation, military and so on.

Consumer appliances:

At home we use a number of embedded systems which include digital camera, digital diary, DVD player, electronic toys, microwave oven, remote controls for TV and air-conditioner, VCO player, video game consoles, video recorders etc. Today’s high-tech car has about 20 embedded systems for transmission control, engine spark control, air-conditioning, navigation etc. Even wristwatches are now  

becoming embedded systems. The palmtops are powerful embedded systems using which we can carry out many general-purpose tasks such as playing games and word processing.

Office automation:

The office automation products using em embedded systems are copying machine, fax machine, key telephone, modem, printer, scanner etc.

Industrial automation:

Today a lot of industries use embedded systems for process control. These include pharmaceutical, cement, sugar, oil exploration, nuclear energy, electricity generation and transmission. The embedded systems for industrial use are designed to carry out specific tasks such as monitoring the temperature, pressure, humidity, voltage, current etc., and then take appropriate action based on the monitored levels to control other devices or to send information to a centralized monitoring station. In hazardous industrial environment, where human presence has to be avoided, robots are used, which are programmed to do specific jobs. The robots are now becoming very powerful and carry out many interesting and complicated tasks such as hardware assembly.

Medical electronics:

Almost every medical equipment in the hospital is an embedded system. These equipments include diagnostic aids such as ECG, EEG, blood pressure measuring devices, X-ray scanners; equipment used in blood analysis, radiation, colonscopy, endoscopy etc. Developments in medical electronics have paved way for more accurate diagnosis of diseases.

Computer networking:

Computer networking products such as bridges, routers, Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), X.25 and frame relay switches are embedded systems which implement the necessary data communication protocols. For example, a router interconnects two networks. The two networks may be running different protocol stacks. The router’s function is to obtain the data packets from incoming pores, analyze the packets and send them towards the destination after doing necessary protocol conversion. Most networking equipments, other than the end systems (desktop computers) we use to access the networks, are embedded systems

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Telecommunications:

In the field of telecommunications, the embedded systems can be categorized as subscriber terminals and network equipment. The subscriber terminals such as key telephones, ISDN phones, terminal adapters, web cameras are embedded systems. The network equipment includes multiplexers, multiple access systems, Packet Assemblers Dissemblers (PADs), sate11ite modems etc. IP phone, IP gateway, IP gatekeeper etc. are the latest embedded systems that provide very low-cost voice communication over the Internet.

Wireless technologies:

Advances in mobile communications are paving way for many interesting applications using embedded systems. The mobile phone is one of the marvels of the last decade of the 20’h century. It is a very powerful embedded system that provides voice communication while we are on the move. The Personal Digital Assistants and the palmtops can now be used to access multimedia services over  the Internet. Mobile communication infrastructure such as base station controllers, mobile switching centers are also powerful embedded systems.

Insemination:

Testing and measurement are the fundamental requirements in all scientific and engineering activities. The measuring equipment we use in laboratories to measure parameters such as weight, temperature, pressure, humidity, voltage, current etc. are all embedded systems. Test equipment such as oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, logic analyzer, protocol analyzer, radio communication test set etc. are embedded systems built around powerful processors. Thank to miniaturization, the test and measuring equipment are now  becoming portable facilitating easy testing and measurement in the field by field-personnel.

Security:

Security of persons and information has always been a major issue. We need to protect our homes and offices; and also the information we transmit and store. Developing embedded systems for security applications is one of the most lucrative businesses nowadays. Security devices at homes, offices, airports etc. for authentication and verification are embedded systems. Encryption devices are nearly 99 per cent of

the processors that are manufactured end up in~ embedded systems. Embedded systems find applications in . every industrial segment- consumer electronics, transportation, avionics, biomedical engineering, manufacturing, process control and industrial automation, data communication, telecommunication, defense, security etc. Used to encrypt the data/voice being transmitted on communication links such as telephone lines. Biometric systems using fingerprint and face recognition are now being extensively used for user authentication in banking applications as well as for access control in high security buildings.

Finance:

Financial dealing through cash and cheques are now slowly paving way for transactions using smart cards and ATM (Automatic Teller Machine, also expanded as Any Time Money) machines. Smart card, of the size of a credit card, has a small micro-controller and memory; and it interacts with the smart card reader! ATM machine and acts as an electronic wallet. Smart card technology has the capability of ushering in a cashless society. Well, the list goes on. It is no exaggeration to say that eyes wherever you go, you can see, or at least feel, the work of an embedded system!