RFID Data: Potential Uses for RFID Data

From US Army Logistics Management College, Colonel Robert F. Carpenter, USAR, writes ...

... "RFID data also are being used to track unit movement cargo. RFID tag read-and-write capability has been added to the Transportation Coordinators Automated Information for Movement System (TCAIMS II). In the future, if a portable TCAIMS II is adopted, it also will have the capability to read and write RFID tags. An RF write capability is fully integrated into TCAIMS II and already is being fielded. RFID equipment is included in the basis of issue plan. TCAIMS II also should have the capability to read a barcode and generate an RFID tag when necessary. The current use of RFID in DOD discussed above is based on active RFID technology. In active RFID, the tag has its own power source (a battery). In the commercial world, passive RFID technology is used to track items both in transit (very limited use) and in warehousing operations (much more robust use). In passive RFID, the tag is powered by RF energy transferred from the reader to the tag. To better exploit this technology and reduce its cost, major corporations have created the Auto ID Center with research and development facilities at five leading universities in the United States, Australia, England, Japan, and Switzerland." ...