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RFID Standards
University of HoustonBauer College of BusinessSpring 2007
Presentation Source: Bear and Stearns, 2003; RFID Journal; Auto-ID Inc.; CompTIA
What is standard?
Definition: A generic, all-encompassing term used to
describe documents that provide a specified set of mandatory or discretionary rules, requirements, or conditions concerned with performance, design, operation, or measurements of quality to accomplish a specific task
Source: www.llnl.gov/es_and_h/hsm/doc_5.01/doc5-01.html
Why do we need Standards?
Better interoperability Lower costs Lower costs:
Purchasing (economies of scale) Maintenance
Prior absence of universal standards hindered RFID adoption
The Essence of RFID Standards
The primary issue in RFID standardization is the “air interface” protocol, which outlines the mechanism through which tags and readers communicate wirelessly.
History of RFID Standards
In the beginning:
2) The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
3) The European Article Numbering/Uniform Code Council (EAN.UCC)
4) The Auto-ID Center
ISO (www.iso.org)
The ISO establishes global standards based on a consensus among interested parties
All RFID systems must follow ISO rules
No local ordinance should contradict ISO standards
ISO Standards
Animal Identification ISO 11784, ISO 11785, ISO 14223 Code Structure: Number of bits, information Technical concept: transmission method for data and reader specs for activating
transponder; differentiates between full/half duplex and sequential systems Air interface
Contactless Smart Cards ISO 10536, ISO 14443, ISO 15693 Card Type: Close coupling, proximity coupling, vicinity coupling Physical characteristics, dimensions, coupling areas, electronic signals, reset,
transmission protocols, power, initialization and anticollision ISO 10373: Test methods – load modulation, calibration, power supply
Data Carriers for Tools and Clamping Devices ISO 69873: dimensions for contactless data carriers and their mounting space,
retention knobs etc
ISO Standards
Container Identification ISO 10374, ISO 6346 – Optical identification Active, Microwave transponders Unmodulated carrier signal 850-950 MHz and 2400-2500 MHz Backscatter modulation using FSK
Anti-theft system for goods Detection gates, inspection and testing, false alarm rate, deactivation
devices
Item Management ISO 18000 series – parameters for air interface communication at
different frequencies, application requirement profiles
Scope of Standards
Frequency Ranges 13.56 MHz 860-960 MHz 2.45 GHz 5.8 GHz
Air Interface Standards
Data Objects and Identifiers
History of RFID Standards
The EAN.UCC and the Auto-ID Center announced a deal in which the UCC will license the EPC technology developed by the Auto-ID Center, providing the UCC with exclusive rights to the technology (EPC) (Bear and Stearns, 2003)
Auto-ID + EAN.UCC = EPCglobal
EPCglobal submitted its Generation 2 standard to ISO
21/07/2006 - The EPCglobal UHF Generation 2 protocol for radio frequency identification (RFID) has been endorsed by the International Standards Organisation (ISO), paving the way for its use throughout the global supply chain. (http://www.foodproductiondaily-sa.com/news/ng.asp?n=69309-epcglobal-rfid-supply-chain)
History of RFID Standards
EPCglobal’s Gen 2 standard is the first global protocol
How did they do it? EPCglobal is a commercial enterprise EPCglobal had the objective of becoming a universal
standardization body with respect to Auto-ID (RFID) EPCglobal was quick in introducing its standards EPCglobal cooperated with companies
EPCglobal web site: www.epcglobalinc.org
Some Initial Standards by Auto-ID (EPCglobal)
EPC Standards
Electronic Product Code (EPC) Class 0 Class 1 Class 2
Savant Systems Object Name Service (ONS) Physical Markup Language (PML) Reader protocol
EPC
EPC (Electronic Product Code) is a new standard for identifying products
Barcodes may migrate to EPC as well, since Auto-ID (EPCglobal) has adopted the basic structures of the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)
EPC
Header
EPC Manager (Manufacturer)
Object Class
Serial Number
EPC EPC can be 64 or 96 bits; 96-bit EPC is expected to
become more common
4 bits are used to identify each symbol (letter of number)
The 96-bit EPC provides unique identifiers for: 268 million companies Each manufacturer can have 16 million classes and 68
billion serial numbers in each class
Unlike UPC, EPC uniquely identifies each product
Savant
Savant is a middleware specification developed by the Auto-ID Center
Savant acts as a “nervous system” of an RFID network
After readers pick up EPC codes, Savant manages and moves the data
Savant
Uses distributed architecture and is organized into a hierarchy of individual savants that manages the process of gathering and distributing data
Tasks savant can do: Data smoothing Reader coordination Data forwarding Data storage Task Management
Object Name Service (ONS)
Provides a global lookup service to translate an EPC into one or more Internet Uniform Reference Locators (URLs) where further information on the object may be found
These URLs often identify an EPC Information Service, though ONS may also be used to associate EPCs with web sites and other Internet resources relevant to an object
ONS provides both static and dynamic services: Static ONS typically provides URLs for information maintained by an
object’s manufacturer Dynamic ONS services record a sequence of custodians as an
object moves through a supply chain
ONS is built using the same technology as DNS, the Domain Name Service of the Internet
Source: Auto-ID/EPCglobal
Physical Markup Language (PML)
A collection of common, standardized XML vocabularies to represent and distribute information related to EPC Network enabled objects
PML standardizes the content of messages exchanged within the EPC network
It is a part of the Auto-ID Center’s effort to develop standardized interfaces and protocols for the communication with and within the Auto-ID infrastructure
The core part of the physical mark-up-language (PML Core) provides a standardized format for the exchange of the data captured by the sensors (readers) in the Auto-ID infrastructure
Reader Protocol
The Reader Protocol specifies the interaction between a device capable of reading (and possibly writing) tags, and application software
EPC Gen 2 Protocol
EPC Gen 2 is a UHF protocol
EPC Gen 2 Protocol is likely to become a global standard
Gen 2 protocol was designed to optimize performance in different regulatory environments around the world
EPC Gen 2 Protocol – Operating Mode
EPC Gen 2 Protocol is allows readers to operate in 3 different modes Single-reader mode Multi-reader mode Dense-reader mode
Dense mode is designed to prevent readers from interfering with one another
Dense mode uses a backscatter method called “Miller subcarrier”
EPC Gen 2 Protocol - Memory
Gen 2 tags are field programmable
Gen 2 tags have 4 memory areas: 3 required:
EPC Password Tag identification
1 optional
Memory areas can be locked temporary or permanently
EPC Gen 2 Protocol – Q Algorithm
Q Algorithm allows readers to query tags even if two tags have the same EPC or do not contain EPC at all
The query mechanism is based on random number generation
The reader does not have to transmit EPC, preventing eavesdropping
Sessions
Each Gen 2 tags can have 4 separate sessions for communicating
Sessions is a means for preventing interference (e.g. caused by different readers)