Automotive Industry Trends

Challenges Ahead for RFID

Though it has the potential for greatness, there are challenges to be met before the benefits of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) can be fully realized. One of the technical issues is that of the ability of the readers and the chips to communicate with each other through all kinds of media. For instance, there is the danger that low-frequency chips in an environment of glass, rubber, or plastic can be detuned by the materials around them. Liquids and things that are mostly liquid, the human body for example, can also block accurate transmission of the code from the chip to the reader. These limitations will likely be overcome as new iterations of chip technology evolve; in fact, Avery has developed a passive UHF tag for metal that foils the tendency for the signal to be reflected. But for those industries that are implementing RFID now, chip limitations must be considered, as well as the ability for the systems they adopt to handle the inevitable changes in chip technology in the near future.

Another consideration is the cost of the tags that carry the chips. It is true that the cost per tag has plummeted as RFID has begun to gain ground. Some analysts predict that many industries will remain hesitant until the price of a tag drops to 5 cents. Right now, an 8 cent tag is available, but the 5 cent mark still seems out of reach. In the wake of mandates from large and powerful organizations requiring their suppliers to use RFID, economies of scale will likely drive the cost down to a level of comfort for those who have not yet implemented the technology. It is also possible that new chip technologies will lower their costs. Developers are experimenting with organic chips that, when they are unveiled, could replace silicon and spectacularly lower per chip prices.

One of the biggest questions facing companies that would like to implement RFID is that of interoperability and the standards that will govern it. Definite progress is being made with the publication of ISO 18000 for RFID Air Interface and other standards and specifications that will eventually create a coherent environment for RFID operation. Internationally, however, the picture is less clear. Other countries have reserved a varied array of frequencies for RFID use, so when chips come to this country some mechanism of interpretation may be necessary. General Motors-China is holding off on its plans to implement this technology while it waits for the government there to decide on an in-country standard. It is uncertain when a decision will be made.

Another roadblock is the highly sensitive issue of privacy. Companies using RFID technology are aware that consumers are deeply suspicious of spy-like aspects of tracking mechanisms. Buyers fear that information about their purchases and their whereabouts will be used in ways that violate their privacy. Many issues remain cloudy. For example, now that some very powerful chips can be tracked from up to a mile away, how will consumers be free of them once they get their purchases home? Could someone track the comings and goings of another person’s car if there is a chip in the tire? The public will demand reassurance about these kinds of questions. But those assurances are unclear even within the companies using RFID. It has been proposed that chips can be and will be “decommissioned” at the check-out counter, but when asked for verification of this measure, a company representative could only answer that it was his understanding that they will be. Only genuine and demonstrable guarantees will satisfy a public that is already anxious about privacy rights.

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