Regulations, Standards and Protocols

RFID systems are Radio Systems The function of other radio systems must not be disrupted Restriction on the range of available frequencies –ISM (Industrial-Scientific-Medical) frequency ranges –All frequencies below 135 kHz ISM frequencies: 13.56MHz, MHz, 40.68MHz, MHz, 890MHz, 915MHz, 2.45GHz, 5.8 GHz, GHz Source: RFID HandbookRFID Handbook

Standards RFID standards deal with: – the air interface protocol (the way tags and readers communicate) –data content (the way data is organized or formatted) –conformance (ways to test that products meet the standard) –applications (how standards are used on shipping labels, for example).

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) ISO has created standards for tracking animals with RFID –ISO defines how data is structured on the tag. –ISO defines the air interface protocol. –ISO defines the “Advance Transponders” standard ISO has created a standard for the air interface protocol for RFID tags used in payment systems and contactless smart cards (ISO 14443) and in vicinity cards (ISO 15693). It also has established standards for testing the conformance of RFID tags and readers to a standard (ISO 18047), and for testing the performance of RFID tags and readers (ISO 18046). source: RFID JournalRFID Journal

Air-Interface Protocols High-frequency (HF) RFID air-interface protocols have a single operating frequency (13.56 MHz) but none are compatible. These protocols include ISO 14443A, ISO 14443B, ISO 15693, ISO Mode 2 and EPCglobal HF Class 1. Each has its own data structures, requires infrastructures that are incompatible –different memory map –different timing This results in a proprietary platform rather than a standards-based model. Source: RFID JournalRFID Journal Some ISO Standards

History of UHF Standards The ISO created standards for tracking goods through the international supply chain with RFID. Auto-ID Center, which developed Electronic Product Code technologies, created its own air interface protocol for tracking goods through the international supply chain. The Auto-ID Center developed its own protocol and licensed it to EPCglobal on the condition that it be available royalty-free. In 2004, EPCglobal began developing a second- generation protocol Gen 2, which would not be backward compatible with earlier Class 1 or Class 0. EPCglobal's Gen 2 standard could be submitted to ISO under , but it's not clear when that will happen or how quickly it will be approved Source: RFID JournalRFID Journal

UHF Gen 2 RFID's only worldwide standard With UHF Gen 2, reader and tag manufacturers have products that operate at all regional UHF frequencies using the same communications protocol. Features secure memory modules and the ability to permanently kill a tag. The whole story