Past, Present and Future of RFID

RFID has a history which began with radar in the 1920s and 1930s. Later, transistors made it possible to include lots of chips on a single circuit leading to the tags in use today. The components and functionality of RFID, both active and passive systems, will be explained. The current push for RFID was instituted by Wal-Mart. But, everything has not proceeded according to plan. Presently, there are many instances where the return-on-investment for using RFID is just not there. The presenter will discuss a number of conditions that must exist for RFID to have a healthy future.