RFID and smart card comparison

Two years ago, a report entitled The Security Economy published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) stated: With the wireless communication technology of the 1930s The development of radar technology during World War II and the concept of RFID in the middle and late forties were discussed for the first time.

Wikipedia tells that in 1946, Léon Theremin invented an espionage tool for the Soviet government. This tool can forward incident radio waves with audio information. The working principle is that sound waves cause thin film vibrations, which change the shape of the resonator slightly, and thus adjust the reflected radio frequency. Although this is a passive covert device, rather than an identification tag, it is still regarded as the first recognized device and technology prior to RFID.

The 50's is an exploratory period for RFID technology, and RFID-related technologies have emerged, such as long-range radar identification systems, systems that distinguish between enemy aircraft and ourselves (IFF). In the following decade, RFID technology has achieved further development. Notable examples include the US Department of Agriculture's use of RFID technology to track herds.

In the 1970s, the first real commercial use of RFID was realized, and it began to be used commercially in the 1980s. During this period, a number of small companies guided the commercial trend. The real ancestor of modern RFID technology was a patent invented by the American Mario Cardullo in 1973 (who invented the RFID tag and proposed the concept of mobile communication satellite) - a passive radio transceiver with storage function. Originally implemented as a reflected power passive device in 1971 for the New York Port Authority and other potential users. It consists of a radio transceiver with 16-bit storage capabilities and can be used as a charging device. The Cardullo patent covers the use of wireless radios with sound and light as the transmission medium.

In 1969, the application areas described by the earliest investors in the business plan included transportation, banking, security, and medical care. Today, reflected-power or resonant backscatter RFID tags, both passive and active, were introduced at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in 1973. It is a portable system that operates in the 915 MHz band with a 12-bit tag. In 1983, the first patent related to the technology's letter abbreviation RFID was awarded to Charles Walton.

Neff investigated that the first RFID product in the 1980s began to enter the field of access control, and began to occupy some of the contact access technology application market in the mid-1990s. This is an important turning point in the development of RFID technology. "The first generation of RFID products are low-frequency, inductive readers that can only read cards. Some first-generation readers have a reader circuit and a separate antenna. The antenna is connected to the internal reader. Circuit."

The only part visible to the user is the antenna's package. Sometimes the package is too big and not beautiful. Neff remembers that the cards were thick and bonded or welded together by ultrasonic waves. In this seemingly clumsy, clamshell-like stuff, RFID chips and antennas are packaged.

The circuit is mounted inside, the antenna is installed outside, and the communication between the antenna and the reader is not easy to crack or eavesdrop, so this solution is very safe. Compared to some simple modular products (card readers and antennas are packaged inside), the cracking process also needs to understand RFID technology.

"Because RFID tags use longer lives and are more convenient, eventually the Ugly Duckling became a swan, and RFID caught up with the 'companion' smart card," Geiszler said metaphorically. RFID technology has also been sought to enhance storage and computing capabilities, combined with smart card technology and along with industry standard chip technology.

"Contactless smart card systems can often replace systems based on other technologies (typically barcodes). Some legacy systems still use outdated technologies, however, in many applications (such as access control and retail), users want to be somehow The application configures a technology, while another different application uses a different technology, but does not want to carry two cards.In order to meet this "one card" demand, manufacturers create two or more technologies Cards, such as magnetic barcodes, low-frequency, read-only sensors, contact smart cards, contactless smart cards, bar codes, and other technologies.