RFID system can be broken down by the frequency band within which they operate: low frequency, high frequency, and ultra-high frequency. In many countries, RFID tags can be used to pay for mass transit fares on bus, trains, or subways, or to collect tolls on highways. A prepaid card is required to open or enter a facility or locker and is used to track and charge based on how long the bike is parked. An early experiment with RFID implants was conducted by British professor of cybernetics Kevin Warwick , who implanted a chip in his arm in 1998.
A physical RFID tag may be incorporated with browser-based software to increase its efficacy. This combination of RFID real-time locating system hardware and software provides a powerful data collection tool for facilities seeking to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs. Since CXJ RFID tags can be read through an item, there is no need to open a book cover or DVD case to scan an item, and a stack of books can be read simultaneously. Also, the tasks that RFID takes over are largely not the primary tasks of librarians. RFID for timing races began in the early 1990s with pigeon racing, introduced by the company Deister Electronics in Germany.
RFID taking a large burden off staff could also mean that fewer staff will be needed, resulting in some of them getting laid off, 58 but that has so far not happened in North America where recent surveys have not returned a single library that cut staff because of adding RFID. The tag information is communicated to the reader by reflecting the read request.
Because some RFID tags can be read from up to 100 meters (330 ft), there is some concern over whether sensitive information could be collected from an unwilling source. Similarly, Whitcliffe Mount School in Cleckheaton , England uses RFID to track pupils and staff in and out of the building via a specially designed card. Applications for optical RFID tags may be found in future supply chain scenarios.
In the Philippines, some schools already use RFID in IDs for borrowing books and also gates in those particular schools have RFID ID scanners for buying items at a school shop and canteen, library and also to sign in and sign out for student and teacher’s attendance. RFID system can provide race start and end timings for individuals in large races where it is impossible to get accurate stopwatch readings for every entrant. Passive and active RFID system is used in off-road events such as Orienteering , Enduro and Hare and Hounds racing. RFID tags are often a complement, but not a substitute, for UPC or EAN barcodes. Optical RFID (aka OPID) is an alternative to RFID that is based on optical readers.