National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×

Radio Frequency Identification Technologies

A Workshop Summary

Committee on Radio Frequency Identification Technologies

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
500 Fifth Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

Support for this project was provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number 0-309-09543-3 (Book)

International Standard Book Number 0-309-54778-4 (PDF)

Cover designed by Jennifer M. Bishop.

Additional copies of this report are available from: The
National Academies Press
500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285 Washington, DC 20055 (800) 624-6242 (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area) http://www.nap.edu

Copyright 2004 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×

COMMITTEE ON RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES

GAETANO BORRIELLO,

University of Washington,

Chair

DANA CUFF,

University of California, Los Angeles

CHRIS DIORIO,

University of Washington

BILL SCHILIT,

Intel Corporation

STEVEN SHAFER,

Microsoft Corporation

PAUL ZIPKIN,

Duke University

Staff

LYNETTE I. MILLETT, Senior Program Officer

DAVID PADGHAM, Research Associate (until May 7, 2004)

PHIL HILLIARD, Research Associate (until June 4, 2004)

JANICE SABUDA, Senior Program Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD

DAVID LIDDLE,

U.S. Venture Partners,

Co-chair

JEANNETTE M. WING,

Carnegie Mellon University,

Co-chair

ERIC BENHAMOU,

Benhamou Global Ventures, LLC

DAVID D. CLARK,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

CSTB Member Emeritus

WILLIAM DALLY,

Stanford University

MARK E. DEAN,

IBM Systems Group

DEBORAH ESTRIN,

University of California, Los Angeles

JOAN FEIGENBAUM,

Yale University

HECTOR GARCIA-MOLINA,

Stanford University

KEVIN KAHN,

Intel Corporation

JAMES KAJIYA,

Microsoft Corporation

MICHAEL KATZ,

University of California, Berkeley

RANDY H. KATZ,

University of California, Berkeley

WENDY A. KELLOGG,

IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

SARA KIESLER,

Carnegie Mellon University

BUTLER W. LAMPSON,

Microsoft Corporation,

CSTB Member Emeritus

TERESA H. MENG,

Stanford University

TOM M. MITCHELL,

Carnegie Mellon University

DANIEL PIKE,

GCI Cable and Entertainment

ERIC SCHMIDT,

Google, Inc.

FRED B. SCHNEIDER,

Cornell University

WILLIAM STEAD,

Vanderbilt University

ANDREW J. VITERBI,

Viterbi Group, LLC

CHARLES BROWNSTEIN, Director

KRISTEN BATCH, Research Associate

JENNIFER M. BISHOP, Program Associate

JANET BRISCOE, Manager, Program Operations

JON EISENBERG, Senior Program Officer

RENEE HAWKINS, Financial Associate

MARGARET MARSH HUYNH, Senior Program Assistant

HERBERT S. LIN, Senior Scientist

LYNETTE I. MILLETT, Senior Program Officer

JANICE SABUDA, Senior Program Assistant

GLORIA WESTBROOK, Senior Program Assistant

BRANDYE WILLIAMS, Staff Assistant

For more information on CSTB, see its Web site at <http://www.cstb.org>, write to CSTB, National Research Council, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20001, call at (202) 334-2605, or e-mail CSTB at cstb@nas.edu.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×

This page intentionally left blank.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×

Preface

The day when each discrete manufactured object in our everyday environment comes with an embedded computer chip is arguably getting closer. Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is currently one of the most powerful forces moving us in that direction. RFID technology uses three main components: (1) a microchip with a radio antenna (often referred to as an RFID tag), (2) a device to send and receive a signal from such tags (called an RFID tag reader), and (3) the hardware and software environment that enables useful information to be derived from the interactions of tags and readers.

The technology has already shown promise in uses involving transportation (for example, SmarTrip and E-ZPass for parking fees or transit fares and highway tolls) and commerce (for example, Mobil's SpeedPass). A number of other uses for the technology are under development and in some cases deployed, including applications such as real-time inventory management and “smart” checkout in stores and libraries. Current technical issues with the technology include such matters as the size and production cost of individual tags, interference between readers and other devices in their spectrum range, and the effective range of tags and readers.

Many industry leaders look forward to the benefits and cost savings that RFID technology might bring to their operations. However, on the consumer and regulatory side, there are many concerns and unanswered questions about the technology—for example, what are the ramifications for personal privacy of embedding RFID tags in consumer products? Indeed, more than one company has had to change or rethink its plans for RFID technology because of the concerns of consumers and privacy advocates about how the technology would be used.

Currently, RFID technology seems to be at a crucial point—in the development of the technology itself, on the one hand, and in the development of the policies and standards that will affect its use and deployment, on the other. In addition, with the recent entrance into the RFID arena of two major participants—the U.S. Department of Defense and the nation’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart—the technology may be on its way to becoming ubiquitous in American society.

As a follow-on activity to the project that produced the report Embedded Everywhere: A Research Agenda for Networked Systems of Embedded Computers,1 the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) of the National Research Council (NRC) conducted a short workshop that explored RFID technology and related technical and policy issues. Workshop participants included representatives from industry, academia, government, and relevant non-governmental organizations.

1  

See National Research Council, 2001, Embedded, Everywhere: A Research Agenda for Networked Systems of Embedded Computers, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×

To conduct the workshop, the NRC appointed a steering committee—the Committee on Radio Frequency Identification Technologies—with expertise in the following areas: technical and engineering aspects of RFID and related technologies; the practical and business uses of these technologies; the implications of RFIDs for personal privacy, anonymity, and so on; and the policies, standards, and regulations surrounding RFIDs. The committee developed the workshop agenda, participated in the workshop, and composed this workshop summary report. The committee met in person twice (during and immediately after the workshop), as well as via teleconference. Committee members also did a great deal of work electronically via e-mail.

This report is the committee’s synthesis of key points made in presentations by the workshop panelists and in subsequent discussions. Although the summary is a report prepared on the basis of presentations and discussions at the workshop and among committee members, the comments do not necessarily reflect the views of the committee, nor are they findings or recommendations of the National Research Council.

The committee thanks the individuals who contributed to its work, including the workshop panelists (listed in the workshop agenda in Appendix A) and participants. The committee appreciates their willingness to address the questions posed to them and is grateful for their insights. The reviewers of the draft report provided insightful and constructive comments that contributed significantly to the clarity of the report.

Neither this report nor the workshop itself would have been possible without the dedicated and professional efforts of CSTB staff. David Padgham was involved in organizing the event and was instrumental in bringing the excellent collection of panelists together. The logistics of the event were flawless, thanks to Janice Sabuda. Phil Hilliard provided excellent notes on the workshop discussions. Dorothy Sawicki from the Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences’ editorial staff made significant editorial contributions to the final manuscript. Extra special thanks go to Lynette Millett, who developed the idea for this workshop and went beyond the call of duty in keeping overcommitted members of the steering committee on task. Without her, none of this would have been possible.

Gaetano Borriello, Chair

Committee on Radio Frequency Identification Technologies

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×

Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s (NRC’s) Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

Bruce Eckfeldt, Cyrus Innovation

Deborah Estrin, University of California, Los Angeles

Randy H. Katz, University of California, Berkeley

Ravi Pappu, ThingMagic

Gregory J. Pottie, University of California, Los Angeles

Sumit Roy, University of Washington

Fred B. Schneider, Cornell University

William Stead, Vanderbilt University

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Richard Rowberg, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×

This page intentionally left blank.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×

This page intentionally left blank.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×
Page R1
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×
Page R2
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×
Page R3
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×
Page R4
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×
Page R5
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×
Page R6
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×
Page R7
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×
Page R8
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×
Page R9
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×
Page R10
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×
Page R11
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2004. Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11189.
×
Page R12
Next: Overview »
Radio Frequency Identification Technologies: A Workshop Summary Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $29.00 Buy Ebook | $23.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is gaining rapid acceptance as a means to track a wide array of manufactured objects. Currently, RFID technologies have shown promise in transportation (e.g., smart fare cards) and commerce (e.g., inventory control) for a variety of uses and are likely to find many new applications in both military and civilian areas if and when current technical issues are resolved. There are a number of policy concerns (e.g., privacy), however, that will become more crucial as the technology spreads. This report presents a summary of a workshop, held by the NRC at the request of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, to explore many of the key technical and policy issues. Several important themes that are likely to govern expansion of RFID technology emerged from the workshop and are discussed.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!