Introducing a RFID tag with privacy protecting features.
RFID is gaining popularity and more firms are moving towards setting up RFID technology to help better the functioning of their day-to-day activities. There is an ongoing debate questioning how secure ones private data would be on a RFID tag. The contention is that since RF readers read RFID tags, theoretically it should be possible to read the same tag from a distance. If that were true then a lot of personal data on the tag would be compromised.
Industry experts have been working overtime to com up with an answer to this privacy related issue which if not solved will greatly hamper the acceptance of this technology. Towards this end IBM has developed a prototype tag with an ability to disable its ability to broadcast item information.
The clipped Tags as they are called come with perforations like a sheet of postage stamps do. So when required the tag is torn along the perforations to rip off the antenna portion making the tag readable only from very close. The tags are planned for use at a department store to protect the privacy regarding the items bought. Typically, an item-level RFID tag stores a single Electronic Product Code (EPC). An EPC is a 96-bit identification number that indicates a manufacturer's code and product code, along with an unique serial number of an item. Using the EPC, it is possible to trace the full history of the item including where an item was shipped from, how long it sat on store shelves and price history.
To ensure a higher degree of privacy, the EPC standards body EPCglobal built a Kill command into the new Gen2 communications protocol for UHF tags. The Kill command will result in deactivating the tag permanently. While this will definitely assure a greater degree of privacy once a customer is past the till, it is going to create a huge problem when it comes to returning an item with a 30 day money back policy.
IBM has filed a patent application for the Clipped Tag but what future uses it will put it to and who all will it be licensed to remains to be seen
Industry experts have been working overtime to com up with an answer to this privacy related issue which if not solved will greatly hamper the acceptance of this technology. Towards this end IBM has developed a prototype tag with an ability to disable its ability to broadcast item information.
The clipped Tags as they are called come with perforations like a sheet of postage stamps do. So when required the tag is torn along the perforations to rip off the antenna portion making the tag readable only from very close. The tags are planned for use at a department store to protect the privacy regarding the items bought. Typically, an item-level RFID tag stores a single Electronic Product Code (EPC). An EPC is a 96-bit identification number that indicates a manufacturer's code and product code, along with an unique serial number of an item. Using the EPC, it is possible to trace the full history of the item including where an item was shipped from, how long it sat on store shelves and price history.
To ensure a higher degree of privacy, the EPC standards body EPCglobal built a Kill command into the new Gen2 communications protocol for UHF tags. The Kill command will result in deactivating the tag permanently. While this will definitely assure a greater degree of privacy once a customer is past the till, it is going to create a huge problem when it comes to returning an item with a 30 day money back policy.
IBM has filed a patent application for the Clipped Tag but what future uses it will put it to and who all will it be licensed to remains to be seen
posted by Ramesh @ 10:48 AM
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