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Lessons Learned from RFID Field Test
muddy_mudskipper writes "From John Young's cryptome.org website, is a newly posted pdf copy of the "Lessons Learned from RFID Field Test" as compiled by the Field Test Program Manager of the Auto ID Center. It is interesting to note the photographs of the different passive RFID antennas that could be used in product packaging - some small enough to fit into a soap box. Also curious is how many sector antennas have to pepper the test center in order to approach 100% RFID readability. 'In March 2001 a team comprised of Auto-ID Center sponsors (technology & end users) was assembled to plan and implement a Field Test aimed at taking the Auto-ID EPC technology from the laboratory to the real world environment with the objective of proving the power and effectiveness of the EPC and to blaze a trail for future adoption' "
RAID strikes again!
We've been doing RFID for a couple years now at www dot buyrfid dot com, (www.buyrfid.com), and I can tell you, most of the fears about privacy are not valid.
The best non-battery tags can be read at 20 feet, and all the class 1 tags must have and support a kill command.
CASPIAN is founded by Katherine Albrecht, a privacy spook (with an agenda to become famous) that has long fought against barcodes and supermarket discount shopping cards.
The reason she has changed her target to focus on RFID is because... not one really listened to her when she whined about supermarket discount cards, by focusing on RFID she'll get more media attention (as she is now).
The problem with these tags are that they are very fragile. They are fine when properly placed on a DVD, but if they are removed and replaced ro probably if the were wrapped around something other than flat, they stop working. The reader will only read them from a few inches away.
You haven't been taking your medication, have you?
Listen carefully. *Any* RFID tag can be neutralized , when subjected to a strong enough field. Take your tires down to your neighborhood welder & have him strike a few arcs next to them.
The "feds" can't find Whitey Bulger, they're not tracking you through your tires. Your cell phone is much easier.
Hey, when I go out I always place my speedpass under my tin foil hat!
Who are you? The new #2 Who is #1? You are #617565. I am not a number, I am a free man! Muhahaha.
You're probably not going to get away cheaply, I work with RFID tags on a regular basis. You know those identity cards everyone carries at work now, most of them are RFID cards (tags). An easy way to tell is, if you swipe the card near a small box that goes beep to go through doors, that is an RFID tag you are swiping. The technology is cheap enough, if you don't care about range. But if you want to get beyond about a foot, you're looking at some real money. Though that is on the reader side, the cards themselves are not overly expensive, and there are tags specifiaclly made for inventory tracking, which can be stuck on to just about anything (1 inch adhesive disk).
Now, putting it on a metal tool, well that's going to screw your range, and be damn sure that its not close to a power supply, or forget it. If I put a reader next to one of the 12v power supplies we use here, I have to smack the reader with the card to get it to read, and even then it doesn't always recognize the card. Put the reader on a metal surface and its only slightly better. You have to remember, your working with radio waves, they tend to be affected by things like metal and EM fields. Also, if the tags are too close to each other, they tend not to read.
Try this sometime, if you get a chance: Borrow a few of the ID badges from your co-workers, stack them together and present them to a reader, the reader will fail to read any of them.
In all, I don't think you'd be happy with RFID tags for tracking your tools. The range would suck, it would be a bit costly, and the system would probably be flaky due to all the metal involved.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Laziness is the father.