Use Of Radio Frequency Identification Research Articles

A Graphic-based Data Mining Approach in RFID Sensor Networks

As the wide use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, such wireless sensor network has created enormous data in supply chain management, manufacturing sites, retailor sections, as well as health care domain. In order to discovery the invaluable information and knowledge from such massive RFID data, this paper introduces a data mining approach based on graphic theory to pick out the useful information and knowledge from logistics RFID data. This approach considers the complex relationship of different RFID data and uses graphic model to build up the logistics path. That means the logistics information stored in RFID data is converted by graphic diagram, which could be mined by the proposed approach over OLAP. The inquiry efficiency has been greatly improved through experimental results.

Survey on Lightweight Primitives and Protocols for RFID in Wireless Sensor Networks

The use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies is becoming widespread in all kind of wireless network-based applications. As expected, applications based on sensor networks, ad-hoc or mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) can be highly benefited from the adoption of RFID solutions. There is a strong need to employ lightweight cryptographic primitives for many security applications because of the tight cost and constrained resource requirement of sensor based networks. This paper mainly focuses on the security analysis of lightweight protocols and algorithms proposed for the security of RFID systems . A large number of research solutions have been proposed to implement lightweight cryptographic primitives and protocols in sensor and RFID integration based resource constraint networks. In this work, an overview of the currently discussed lightweight primitives and their attributes has been done. These primitives and protocols have been compared based on gate equivalents (GEs), power, technology, strengths, weaknesses and attacks. Further, an integration of primitives and protocols is compared with the possibilities of their applications in practical scenarios.

Feasibility results of an electromagnetic compatibility test protocol to evaluate medical devices to radio frequency identification exposure.

BackgroundThe use of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems in healthcare is increasing, and concerns for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) pose one of the biggest obstacles for widespread adoption. Numerous studies have demonstrated that RFID systems can interfere with medical devices; however, the majority of past studies relied on time-consuming and burdensome test schemes based on ad hoc test methods applied to individual RFID systems.MethodsThis paper presents the results of using an RFID simulator that allows for faster evaluation of RFID-medical device EMC against a library of RFID test signals at various field strengths.ResultsThe results of these tests demonstrate the feasibility and adequacy of simulator testing and can be used to support its incorporation into applicable consensus standards.ConclusionsThis work can aid the medical device community in better assessing the risks associated with medical device exposure to RFID.

Design of unique simulators to evaluate medical device susceptibility to radio frequency identification exposure

Background: The use of radiofrequency identification (RFID) in healthcare is increasing, but one of the biggest obstacles for widespread adoption is electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). Numerous studies have documented that RFID can interfere with medical devices. No recognized standard test methods currently exist to address medical device EMC from RFID emitters. This study identifies a potential protocol to test the effect of RFID exposure on medical devices. Methods: We developed four separate simulators which cover four distinct RFID frequency bands: Low frequency (LF): 125 kHz; High frequency (HF):13.56 MHz; Ultra high frequency (UHF): 915 MHz; and 2.4 GHz. The RFID Test Library includes actual RFID input signals and recommended field strength values for each simulator. The simulators consist of Helmholtz coils for LF and HF and use IEC 61000-4-3 exposure methods for UHF and 2.4 GHz. Discussion: The protocol presented in this paper represents oneway to test if your medical device could be affected from exposure to RFID readers. The antennas chosen are used to produce repeatable tests. The input signals and field strengths are chosen to represent a wide variety of actual RFID reader technologies. Summary: The protocol needs to be tested with actual medical devices to understand the effects of the varying RFID test signals and to determine if the RFID Test Library is adequately defined. These tests are currently being conducted independently by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and MET Laboratories. Suggested maximum field levels are calculated and presented as a reasonable worst case exposure. It is the intent that after test validation this protocol will be submitted to the Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility (AIM) for publication.

Contained nomadic information environments: Technology, organization, and environment influences on adoption of hospital RFID patient tracking

This paper reports on a case study of adoption of a contained nomadic information environment, exemplified by the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to keep track of hospital patients. The technology, organization, and environment (TOE) framework is applied to gain insights concerning contextual influences on the adoption of patient tracking RFID, including some RFID-specific issues. The results of this study provide insights to health care organizations embarking on RFID. The resultant model is a step towards developing a theory of adoption of contained nomadic information environments, of which RFID is one instance.

Beef identification in industrial slaughterhouses using machine vision techniques

Accurate individual animal identification provides the producers with useful information to take management decisions about an individual animal or about the complete herd. This identification task is also important to ensure the integrity of the food chain. Consequently, many consumers are turning their attention to issues of quality in animal food production methods. This work describes an implemented solution for individual beef identification, taking in the time from cattle shipment arrival at the slaughterhouse until the animals are slaughtered and cut up. Our beef identification approach is image-based and the pursued goals are the correct automatic extraction and matching between some numeric information extracted from the beef ear-tag and the corresponding one from the Bovine Identification Document (BID). The achieved correct identification results by our method are near 90%, by considering the practical working conditions of slaughterhouses (i.e. problems with dirt and bad illumination conditions). Moreover, the presence of multiple machinery in industrial slaughterhouses make it difficult the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) beef tags due to the high risks of interferences between RFID and the other technologies in the workplace. The solution presented is hardware/software since it includes a specialized hardware system that was also developed. Our approach considers the current EU legislation for beef traceability and it reduces the economic cost of individual beef identification with respect to RFID transponders. The system implemented has been in use satisfactorily for more than three years in one of the largest industrial slaughterhouses in Spain.

Adoption of radio-frequency identification to establish traceability in Taiwanese eel exported to the Japanese market

Eel culture and export to the Japanese market is an important industry in Taiwan; however, the average amount produced by each farm is small. Eels from different farms might be mixed before export, making it difficult to determine which farm is responsible for eels containing drug residues. Therefore, the Taiwanese government uses a two-stage procedure of inspection and accreditation for validating the use of good practice in aquaculture farming. Nevertheless, it is still difficult to trace any farm that has produced eels containing drug residues. Radio-frequency identification has the potential to establish traceability in eel products. Here we suggest that Japanese eel importers should insist on the use of radio-frequency identification by Taiwanese eel exporters to enable verification of the safety of eel products being exported to the Japanese market.

Improving RFID adoption in Taiwan's healthcare industry based on a DEMATEL technique with a hybrid MCDM model

The use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has progressed tremendously in recent years. In the healthcare industry, the decision to adopt RFID technology is a problem requiring a multi-criteria decision analysis that involves both qualitative and quantitative factors. The evaluation of this decision may be based on imprecise information or uncertain data. Furthermore, there can be significant dependence and feedbacks between the different criteria and alternatives. However, most conventional decision models cannot capture these complex interrelationships. As a result, in this study we develop a general evaluation framework for industry evaluation, improvement and adoption of RFID. We use a hybrid Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method known as DDANPV that combines DEMATEL (decision making trial and evaluation laboratory), DANP (DEMATEL-based ANP), and VIKOR to evaluate the factors that influence the adoption of RFID. Specifically, we study the adoption of RFID in Taiwan's healthcare industry. We find that technology integration is the most influential criterion and the strongest driver in the adoption of RFID of Taiwan's healthcare industry.

Use of adhesives to attach devices to invertebrates: implications for depredation by ship rats (Rattus rattus)

A method of marking wildlife for mark–recapture studies should be long lasting, dependable and discreet. The use of radio frequency identification in studies of hard-shelled gastropods is a promising technique for recognition of individuals. Passive integrated transponders (PIT tags) can be attached to snails with easy-to-use adhesives (glues). However, anecdotal evidence suggests that the use of adhesives may attract predatory rats to tagged snails. In this study, we presented ship rats with empty Powelliphanta traversi tararuaensis land snails with PIT tags attached using three different adhesives. We measured the number and duration of any behavioural interactions associated with foraging directed towards different adhesives. We found that rats interacted more with shells that had Loctite® adhesive, and recommend that this glue should be used with caution in a field setting, as it may predispose marked snails to depredation by rats. Selleys Liquid Nails® appears to be the best adhesive choice for field-based studies.

Adoption of Wireless Sensors in Supply Chains: A Process View Analysis of a Pharmaceutical Cold Chain

Real-time and continuous monitoring of high value goods can considerably improve the reliability and effectiveness of supply chains. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) offer technical capabilities for continuous sense and respond capabilities. WSN offer complementary advantages over the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in supply chains. Still, WSN have not been massively adopted. While some success stories on the use of RFID in supply chains have appeared, little research is available that studies the slow adoption of WSN. This paper presents results of a qualitative case study of the ongoing adoption of WSN in a Pharmaceutical Cold Chain to prevent loss of high value shipments. Based on interviews with various actors in the supply chain, benefits and barriers that impact the adoption process are identified. Using a process view and inter-organizational adoption model, the complex relationships between adoption factors are analyzed. The results show that WSN can effectively improve process quality and reduce waste in the cold chain. However, careful attention needs to be paid to managing the various interconnected factors that may support or hinder adoption. The study demonstrates that a process view contributes to understanding the adoption process. Moreover, an inter-organizational view to the adoption process is needed to successfully introduce WSN in the Pharmaceutical Cold Chain.

“Solutions for RFID Smart Tagged Card Security Vulnerabilities”

The use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is seeing increasing use in all areas of industry. Companies and government agencies have implemented RFID solutions to make their inventory control systems more efficient. In the healthcare industry the technology is being used to saves patient lives by preventing medical misidentification, and mistreatment, to monitor medical equipment assets, and to track the administration of medication. In spite of all the benefits that RFID can provide to industry, there are glaring security concerns that come with its use. The paper will identify the security risks inherent in RFID technology and propose a framework to make smart tagged cards more secure using active tags and prevent the ability to clone tags or sniff data between the tag and reader. The proposed framework is specific to the tag and reader communication layer.

Adhoc electromagnetic compatibility testing of non-implantable medical devices and radio frequency identification

BackgroundThe use of radiofrequency identification (RFID) in healthcare is increasing and concerns for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) pose one of the biggest obstacles for widespread adoption. Numerous studies have documented that RFID can interfere with medical devices. The majority of past studies have concentrated on implantable medical devices such as implantable pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). This study examined EMC between RFID systems and non-implantable medical devices.MethodsMedical devices were exposed to 19 different RFID readers and one RFID active tag. The RFID systems used covered 5 different frequency bands: 125–134 kHz (low frequency (LF)); 13.56 MHz (high frequency (HF)); 433 MHz; 915 MHz (ultra high frequency (UHF])) and 2.4 GHz. We tested three syringe pumps, three infusion pumps, four automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), and one ventilator. The testing procedure is modified from American National Standards Institute (ANSI) C63.18, Recommended Practice for an On-Site, Ad Hoc Test Method for Estimating Radiated Electromagnetic Immunity of Medical Devices to Specific Radio-Frequency Transmitters.ResultsFor syringe pumps, we observed electromagnetic interference (EMI) during 13 of 60 experiments (22%) at a maximum distance of 59 cm. For infusion pumps, we observed EMI during 10 of 60 experiments (17%) at a maximum distance of 136 cm. For AEDs, we observed EMI during 18 of 75 experiments (24%) at a maximum distance of 51 cm. The majority of the EMI observed was classified as probably clinically significant or left the device inoperable. No EMI was observed for all medical devices tested during exposure to 433 MHz (two readers, one active tag) or 2.4 GHz RFID (two readers).ConclusionTesting confirms that RFID has the ability to interfere with critical medical equipment. Hospital staff should be aware of the potential for medical device EMI caused by RFID systems and should be encouraged to perform on-site RF immunity tests prior to RFID system deployment or prior to placing new medical devices in an RFID environment. The methods presented in this paper are time-consuming and burdensome and suggest the need for standard test methods for assessing the immunity of medical devices to RFID systems.

Disassembly planning and sequencing for end-of-life products with RFID enriched information

When a product reaches its end of lifecycle, components of the product can be reused, recycled, or disposed, depending on their conditions and recovery value. In order to make an optimal disassembly plan to efficiently retrieve the reusable and recyclable items inside a product, knowing the true condition of each component is essential. Practically, the recovery value of a used product is often estimated roughly via visual inspection, and the inaccurate estimates would lead to suboptimal disassembly plans. This paper proposes the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to support disassembly decisions for end-of-life products. RFID can track pertinent data throughout a product’s lifecycle. With the enriched information, a fuzzy-based disassembly planning and sequencing model is proposed to maximize net profit. First, a Bayesian method translates the RFID data into a quality index of the components. Then, a fuzzy logic model, solved by genetic algorithm, synthesizes input variables (i.e., product usage, component usage, and component condition) into a solution of optimal disassembly sequence that maximizes profit considering recovery value and disassembly cost. This paper verifies the merits of using RFID to improve disassembly decisions that help reuse and recycle end-of-life products to reduce environmental impact.

Single RFID Tag Ownership Transfer Protocols

Security/privacy issues are of paramount importance for widespread acceptance and use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags. Over the last few years, researchers have addressed this issue through lightweight cryptographic means. While a majority of existing RFID security/privacy protocols address authentication issues, the ability to change as well as share ownership of these tagged objects is equally important. We consider a few RFID ownership transfer variations and propose protocols that are lightweight and secure. We consider ownership transfer scenarios for single tag-single owner with and without a trusted third party (TTP). We provide security analysis to evaluate the accuracy, confidentiality, and forward security of the proposed protocols from a cryptography perspective.

Corrosion detection using low-frequency RFID technology

In this paper we present the novel use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology as a sensor for corrosion detection. An RFID system consists of two components: the reader and the tag/transponder. The tag is placed on a test sample surface and then measurements are made using the reader coil at a certain height above the tag. The RFID corrosion sensor operates according to the principles of electromagnetic induction. The sample set consists of coated and uncoated mild steel plates, which have rectangular regions that have been exposed to the environment for different durations (1, 3 and 6 months) to create different levels of corrosion. The results show that the RFID corrosion sensor is able to distinguish all the different levels of corrosion. Furthermore, the measurements from the corroded region are consistently different from coating thickness and conductivity/permeability variations across the sample surface.

Security Improvement of an RFID Security Protocol of ISO/IEC WD 29167-6

The use of radio frequency identification (RFID) has become widespread in a range of applications. International standards of RFID technology are actively being developed for securing RFID communications. Recently, ISO/IEC WD 29167-6 proposed three security protocols, namely Protocol 1, 2 and 3. In this letter, we show that Protocol 1 - mutual authentication and secure communication in security mode - is vulnerable to a man-in-the-middle attack. We also propose a countermeasure against the attack.

FINDERS: A Featherlight Information Network With Delay-Endurable RFID Support

In this paper, we investigate the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) gear for wireless sensor network construction, aiming to find events of interest and gather aggregate information. In particular, we develop a featherlight information network with delay-endurable RFID support (FINDERS), composed of passive RFID tags that are ultralight, durable, and flexible, without power supply for long-lasting applications. FINDERS faces unprecedented challenges in communication and networking due to its sporadic wireless links, unique asymmetric communication paradigm, intermittent computation capability, and extremely small memory of tags. Several effective techniques are proposed to address these challenges, arriving at an efficient communication protocol for FINDERS. A prototype system is developed, and test-bed experiments are carried out with 38 participants and for 9 days, yielding interesting experimental results that offer valuable insights into RFID-based delay-tolerant networks and provide useful practical guidance for the setup of FINDERS systems.

Reverse Logistics: RFID the key to optimality

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to find ways to reduce uncertainties in Reverse logistic supply chain (RLSC) through the use of Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. Design/methodology/approach: This paper reviews literature and builds model to relate RFID with uncertainties in order to optimize Reverse Logistics. Findings: RFID is really efficient to determine and detect quantity, variety and cycle times of returns; however it's not as convenient to determine quality of the returns. The collected information from RFID can be used to standardize the RLSC. Research limitations: Though it’s several and unique advantages some limitations of RFID have been identified in quality and processing sequence, collecting points and different standards, and in global usage. Originality/value: Previous studies in the area of Reverse Logistics and RFID don’t cover all impacts of this technology on RLSC. This review paper has investigated these impacts and offers a model for optimizing the Reverse Logistics Supply Chain.

Reverse Logistics: RFID the key to optimality

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to find ways to reduce uncertainties in Reverse logistic supply chain (RLSC) through the use of Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. Design/methodology/approach: This paper reviews literature and builds model to relate RFID with uncertainties in order to optimize Reverse Logistics. Findings: RFID is really efficient to determine and detect quantity, variety and cycle times of returns; however it's not as convenient to determine quality of the returns. The collected information from RFID can be used to standardize the RLSC. Research limitations: Though it’s several and unique advantages some limitations of RFID have been identified in quality and processing sequence, collecting points and different standards, and in global usage. Originality/value: Previous studies in the area of Reverse Logistics and RFID don’t cover all impacts of this technology on RLSC. This review paper has investigated these impacts and offers a model for optimizing the Reverse Logistics Supply Chain.

An RFID application in large job shop remanufacturing operations

In this study, we evaluate the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology for improving remanufacturing efficiency. We report the results of discrete-event simulation model that analyzes how RFID creates value within the remanufacturing operation. We find that the simulated gains from using RFID are quite modest, and propose alternative justifications for the major benefits seen in practice. We then provide a framework for deciding on the adoption of active RFID technology such as real-time location system (RTLS) for easy identification of components in the remanufacturing process and the adoption of passive RFID for permanently tagging components of remanufacturable products.