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Currrent
Usage
Talking Prescriptions - 13.56 MHz tags are being placed on prescriptions
for Visually Impaired Veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs
Outpatient pharmacies are now supplying the tags with label information
stored inside that can be read by a battery powered, talking prescription
reader. This reader speaks information such as: Drug Name; Instruction;
Warnings; etc.
Low-frequency
RFID tags are commonly used for animal identification. Pets can
be implanted with small chips so that they may be returned to their
owners if lost. Beer kegs are also tracked with LF RFID. Two RFID
frequencies are used in the United States: 125 kHz (the original
standard) and 134.2 kHz (the international standard).
High-frequency
RFID tags are used in library book or bookstore tracking, pallet
tracking, building access control, airline baggage tracking, and
apparel item tracking. High-frequency tags are widely used in identification
badges, replacing earlier magnetic stripe cards. These badges need
only be held within a certain distance of the reader to authenticate
the holder. The American Express Blue credit card now includes a
high-frequency RFID tag, a feature American Express calls ExpressPay.
UHF
RFID tags are commonly used commercially in pallet and container
tracking, and truck and trailer tracking in shipping yards.
Microwave
RFID tags are used in long range access control for vehicles.
RFID
tags are used for electronic toll collection at toll booths with
Georgia's Cruise Card, California's FasTrak, Illinois' I-Pass, the
expanding eastern state's E-ZPass system, Florida's SunPass, The
"Cross-Israel Highway" (Highway 6), Philippines South
Luzon Expressway E-Pass, Central Highway (Autopista Central) in
Chile and all highways in France (Liber-T system). The tags are
read remotely as vehicles pass through the booths, and tag information
is used to debit the toll from a prepaid account. The system helps
to speed traffic through toll plazas.
Sensors
such as seismic sensors may be read using RFID transceivers, greatly
simplifying remote data collection.
Location
sensing of RFID with milimeter accuracy is possible by adding a
low cost photosensor. The real time location sensing (RTLS) supports
many complex geometric queries.
In
January 2003, Michelin began testing RFID transponders embedded
into tires. After a testing period that is expected to last 18 months,
the manufacturer will offer RFID enabled tires to car makers. Their
primary purpose is tire-tracking in compliance with the United States
Transportation, Recall, Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation
Act (TREAD Act).
Some
smart cards embedded with RFID chips are used as electronic cash,
e.g. SmarTrip in Washington, DC, USA, EasyCard in Taiwan, Suica
in Japan, T-Money in South Korea, Octopus Card in Hong Kong, and
the Netherlands and Oyster Card on the London Underground in the
United Kingdom to pay fares in mass transit systems and/or retails.
Starting
with the 2004 model year, a Smart Key/Smart Start option became
available to the Toyota Prius. Since then, Toyota has been introducing
the feature on various models around the world under both the Toyota
and Lexus brands, including the Toyota Avalon (2005 model year),
Toyota Camry (2007 model year), and the Lexus GS (2006 model year).
The key uses an active RFID circuit which allows the car to acknowledge
the key's presence within approximately 3 feet of the sensor. The
driver can open the doors and start the car while the key remains
in a purse or pocket.
In
August 2004, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
(ODRH) approved a $415,000 contract to evaluate the personnel tracking
technology of Alanco Technologies. Inmates will wear wristwatch-sized
transmitters that can detect if prisoners have been trying to remove
them and send an alert to prison computers. This project is not
the first such rollout of tracking chips in US prisons. Facilities
in Michigan, California and Illinois already employ the technology.
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