Intellitag500 RFID Technology Overview

t Upon completion of this lesson, you will ä Have the background information on the RFID technology in general ä Have the basic understanding of the Intellitag 500 operation. Objective

Outline t Introduction to RFID ä Historical Overview ä RFID System and Theory of Operation t Intellitag500 Operation ä System Components ä Theory of Operation

Historical Overview t In Scientist from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico formed Amtech (Animal Management Technology) Corporation t These scientists invented RFID technology funded by two divisions of the Federal government. ä Department of Energy - application was to track nuclear materials ä Department of Agriculture - application was to track cattle and monitor their health, specifically avoiding shipping fever.

Historical Overview In 1998, Amtech Transportation Systems Group was purchased by UNOVA to operate as a division of Intermec Technologies Corporation. In 1999, the RFID SBU was formed to develop and market the IBM technology acquired by UNOVA. Intellitag ® 500 series products are the first RFID products and API (application programming interface) to be compliant with the the new ANSI NCITS product standard designed for item management applications that will be recommended for international standardization.

Amtech’s strong RFID history t Headquartered in Dallas, Texas t ISO 9001 certified manufacturing and engineering facility t Leader in international standards t Strong Amtech brand name identity t More than 100 patents t Core competencies in RFID development and systems integration

RFID experience t Global leader in wireless data technologies for intelligent transportation systems markets t Designs, manufactures, installs, integrates, and supports reliable, accurate, and innovative solutions t 8 million tags and 16,000 readers distributed worldwide

ASD Market Segments t Electronic Toll and Traffic Management (ETTM) t Rail and Intermodal t Commercial, Private, and Government Fleets t Parking, Security, Aviation, and Transit (PSAT) t Supply Chain

Historical Overview t New Advancements ä Low Cost Tags ä Tag Size and Producibility ä Tag Longevity (Passive) ä New Functionality (Anti-collision, LAN-based) t Advancements in RFID technology enable new applications: ä Supply Chain Management ä Retail Operations ä Manufacturing ä Health Care

RFID System t Host ä A host may be a PC, workstation, mainframe, or portable data terminal (PDT) where the RFID controlling application resides. t Reader and/or RF Module ä The term, reader, is used for an integrated package containing both the reader and RF module. In some cases, it may even include an antenna, and in another case, the RF module will be a discrete system component. Overall, these pieces combine to perform the necessary functions such as encoding/decoding, communications interface control, I/O sensing and control, and generation, transmission, and reception processing of RF signals.

RFID System (cont.) t Antenna (s) and cables ä In some cases, a reader can contain multiple antennae. The antenna types will vary depending on the specific application. t Tags ä Tags come in many different sizes. Operationally, tags are either Read-only, RF Read/Write, or RF and wire Read/Write. A tag with data that can not be altered through RF is referred to as Read-only. An RF Read/Write tag allows writing of data to a its memory via the RF link. An RF and wire Read/Write tag allows writing of information to its memory via a wire interface, as well as through the RF link. In addition, these tags may be beam-powered or battery-powered.

Frequency Comparison

RFID Theory of Operation

RFID Operation

Introduction to Intellitag 500 t System Specific Features t Theory of Operation ä Tag State Transitions ä Identification Flow Chart Example ä Simulation ä Transaction Timing t Regulatory Issues

System Features t Tags are currently beam-powered. Available in multiple frequencies and form factors. t Efficient tag sorting algorithm allows for identifying multiple tags in the field t Identify/Read/Write over RF link t Tag overall memory of 128 bytes (1024 bits) t Tag Read Range ä 3-5 meters at 915 MHz ä 1-2 meters at 2450 MHz (US) t Simple Antenna Installation t Multiple reader products t Custom and Third Party application development

System Features (cont.) t Air Interface supports 30 to 40 kbits per second data rate t Spread spectrum, frequency hopping readers ä 915 MHz systems - 64 hop channels, 400 kHz spacing ä 2450 MHz - 79 hop channels, 1 MHz spacing ä custom frequency hop select for those countries requiring non-standard frequency set t Open, non-proprietary wireless interface communication provides high-speed RF data transactions - IEEE

Intellitag500 Typical Tag States Ready ID Data Exchange

Intellitag500 Tag State Transitions

Intellitag500 Tag State Overview t Tags go to the Ready state upon entering the RF field. t From Ready state, Tags go to the ID state after a valid Group Select command is received from the reader. t Tags Identified, are forced to go to Data Exchange state so they will no longer be involved in the identification process. t Tags can transition directly from Ready to Data Exchange if Tag ID is known or not required

Identify Flow Chart Simplified

Tag Identification Example

Tag Identification Example (cont.)

Identification Process Simulation Run Simulation

Tag to Reader Timing t Identify one tag (16 bytes) - 50 ms t Read (8 bytes) - 15 ms t Write (one byte with verification of the write transaction) - 30 ms t Note: These times are given as reference only and will vary depending on the overall system architecture, firmware version and layers of processing involved. Very Conservative Estimates!

Tag Memory Architecture * Intermec is coordinating the use of Bytes to take advantage of Industry Standardization (ISO, ANSI). Please contact your Intermec technical representative for details.

Regulatory Issues t Readers are tested for verification as digital devices and “type” accepted as a frequency-hopping, spread-spectrum radio under FCC Part 15. The end user will not be required to have any FCC site licenses for the readers t Type approval means components sold as a system. t Changes to configuration may void certification, and require re-certification t IEEE C95.1 Emissions Safety Standard ä Intrinsically Safe for human exposure ä Compliance via radome and/or labeling

Review t Intellitag 500 Overview ä Resulted from several years of R&D ä Significant advancements in cost, size, functionality ä Supports multiple tag identification/read/write processes ä Tag has 128 byte (1024 bit) memory ä Tag data rate is 30 to 40 kbits per second ä 915 and 2450 MHz operation ä ANSI NCITS Standard ä Simple Antenna Installation ä Standard configuration of system does not require site license (FCC Part 15)