Hey guys, my name is Timothy Pribyl. I'm a Sales Account Manager here at atlasRFIDstore.
Today, I wanted to explain a little bit about what RFID is and walk
through the process of writing an RFID tag. Radio Frequency Identification is a
technology that allows almost any object to be wirelessly identified using data
transmitted through radio waves. This technology allows you to identify and
track individual items as well as multiple items simultaneously without a
direct line-of-sight. Here are a few quick facts about RFID:
RFID does not require a direct line-of-sight; RFID tags are able to be
rewritten and reused; RFID tags can be extremely durable against impact and
environmental factors; RFID readers can read hundreds of tags within a couple
seconds; RFID tag data is encrypted and can be locked for extra security; RFID
tags can hold more data than other types of tags or labels; RFID tags can have
information printed on them, like instructions, barcodes, or company names;
RFID systems can be integrated with other internal systems or processes. Most
RFID systems are made up of the same basic components: a reader, an antenna,
RFID tags, cabling, and sometimes additional items or accessories. If it is
a mobile handheld, like we will be using today, only a handheld reader and an RFID
tag will be needed. Now that I have explained what RFID is, let's talk about
reading and writing RFID tags. Today, I will be using the Grokker UHF RFID reader
and a SMARTRAC RFID tag. I have set up my reader by downloading the app from
the App Store and logging in. Now, let's see if we can read our tag. On the main
screen, select Basic RFID. Once the tag has been read,
select the EPC number that appears on your screen. Then, select change EPC. A
screen will pop up with the existing EPC, and you can use your smart phone's keypad
to change the EPC number to whatever you prefer in the character limit. You'll
notice that the EPC was successfully written. Next, we will read our tag with
the new EPC. Software programs can be created or purchased to help with your
application. One example is with this reader and its app, which is available
for download on the App Store. With this app, you can associate an RFID tag with a
name or picture to help you locate that specific tag. Here's an example of how to
do that. Select Add Tag at the bottom of the screen, then select Start With Blank
Item. You can add an image by selecting Add Image and add a name by selecting
Name. Once it has been read, the tag's
associated information is stored in a database on the app. Now, if we step away
from the tag and want to locate it again, select Locate Tag and select the tag
that we just programmed. Using this app, image, and name-association with an
individual tag allows you to locate the exact tag you are looking for without
searching through multiple EPCs. Thanks for taking the time to watch our video
explaining about RFID and the process of writing RFID tags. For more information
on all things RFID, check out our blog or our RFID resources page, and as always, if
you have any questions at all, send us an email or give us a call.