The world we live in is one of invisible communication. Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is found everywhere, be it in unlocking the doors of hotels or in monitoring the stock of warehouses.
To start with, appreciate the fact that RFID is a name of convenience.
The most widely used types are split into a critical split:
a)
HF (High Frequency)
The king of short-range, close-range. It's the technology behind:
Contactless payments (Apple Pay, Google Wallet).
Transit cards and hotel key cards.
Passport data chips
Numerous inventory tags are within libraries or small retail stores. If
you want to learn more about RFID retail use and benefits, you must consult
with an expert.
b)
UHF (Ultra-High Frequency)
This is the workhorse of long-range, far-field. It's designed for:
Pallet and Supply chain monitoring.
Retail inventory (hard tags on clothes)
What Can Your Smartphone Do?
1)
Handling HF
NFC (Near Field Communication) is an inbuilt chip in modern smartphones.
In fact, NFC is a subset of the HF RFID standards. This implies that your phone
can:
Read and write to similar HF tags and chips.
Simulate a tag (behave like a transit card or payment card on your
phone).
Peer-to-peer sharing (such as Android Beam).
Practical Tip: On Android, this is easily accomplished by apps
such as "NFC Tools," where interoperability with iPhones is limited
and normally only supported through the Apple app specific to that type of data
(such as passports).
2)
Handling UHF
This is the big caveat. Your smartphone does not have an inbuilt UHF RFID
reader. The physics are also different - UHF needs a different antenna and
chipset due to the longer range (typically many meters) and the different
communication protocol. Inventory tracking RFID has already made its name in different fields; you can also try it out
for your personal or professional reasons.
Reading UHF tags requires a hardware external hardware device. These
typically come as handheld sleds or dongles that work with Bluetooth, and your
phone becomes a high-powered inventory scanner deployed in logistics and
retail. This is not a viable and economically viable option for the average
consumer.
Helpful Tips
a.
NFC = HF RFID Smartphone-Friendly. When it can
connect with a tap, 1 inch away, then more likely than not your phone can
connect to it.
b.
UHF = Long-Range & Industrial. When it is a
tag that is to be read over several feet (such as in a warehouse), your phone
will not read it without any special equipment.
c.
Not All "Scan" Apps Are Equal. Most of
the applications in the stores purport to scan RFID, but they only use the
camera to scan barcodes. The proper radio hardware is needed to read a true
RFID.
d.
iPhone vs. Android Android devices are typically
more free in accessing their NFC reader to interact with tags. iPhones tightly
control NFC capabilities within the Apple universe (Wallet, Keychain).
Your mobile phone is an HF RFID (NFC) and a fully working RFID reader, right out
of the box, well-suited to work in the tap world. In the enormous and
intangible realm of UHF RFID that drives the worldwide logistics, it is still a
bystander requiring no extra hardware of significance.
The next time you tap to pay, keep in mind that you are not only
conducting a transaction, you are also operating a complex RFID gadget that is
connecting the digital and the physical world, and all this, powered by the
device in your pocket.
It is possible that there is more to come in terms of integration, but
until that time, it is better to know the distinction between HF and UHF to
know precisely where your phone's superpowers start and finish.
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