Walmart’s 2003 RFID mandate: the push that pushed too far
In 2003 Walmart ordered its top 100 suppliers to tag every pallet and case with RFID by January 2005, and the mandate faltered under tag costs, immature hardware and supplier…
RFID Tag Memory: EPC, TID, User Banks Explained
Every EPC Gen2 tag carries four memory banks, and a kill password stored in one of them can silence the tag forever. Understanding Reserved, EPC, TID and User memory determines…
How RFID Anti-Collision Works: Reading Hundreds of Tags at Once
Hundreds of tags all wake and respond at once when a reader energises its field, and every reply collides. Anti-collision protocols, from Slotted Aloha to EPC Gen2's adaptive Q-algorithm, are…
RFID Standards and Protocols: EPC Gen2, ISO 18000, and Beyond
EPC Gen2, formally ISO 18000-63, is the reason a tag from one manufacturer answers a reader from another anywhere in the world. A guided tour of the standards stack behind…
Choosing RFID Software: Build vs Buy vs Configure
Custom RFID software typically takes six to eighteen months to build, and five-year ownership costs run three to five times the initial estimate. Off-the-shelf platforms deliver value in days but…
Impinj R700 Firmware 10.4 Adds Wi-Fi Dongle Support, REST API CORS Control and Four New R700v2 Regions
Impinj has issued firmware version 10.4 for its R700 series RAIN RFID readers. On paper it is a modest point release, but it clears two of the more tedious obstacles…
Anatomy of an RFID Tag: Chip, Antenna, Substrate
Every RFID tag, no matter how small or specialised, is built from just three core parts: a chip, an antenna, and a substrate. Understanding how these components work together is…
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