GIGA-TMS Cites Wonders of UHF RFID

Ultrahigh frequency (UHF) RFID, which allows the reading of multiple objects from a longer distance, is the “future of RFID,” said Brian Ma, Sales Representative at Taiwan-based GIGA-TMS.

“In the United States, all the Wal-Mart supply chain partners are putting UHF RFID on their products,” he said.

UHF RFID can read tags from anywhere between 1 cm and 10-15 meters, he said. This is much longer than the 1.5 meters allowed by low-frequency (LF) RFID and high-frequency (HF) RFID.

In fact, GIGA-TMS has used UHF RFID to create the world’s first and only solution for tracking citizens taking public shuttle buses. In the past, paper logs were used to keep track of passengers as they got on, a system that drew criticism because most of the passengers were senior citizens or people with disabilities who had a hard time writing legibly.

With GIGA-TMS’s UHF RFID solution, passengers carrying RFID-enabled citizen cards are “read” by an antenna placed on the side of the door. This way, the driver can have an easier time keeping track of who is on the bus.

A major flaw of UHF RFID, however, is its susceptibility to metal and water, which absorb energy transmitted by the reader. Users seeking to optimize an implementation therefore need to have a good understanding of UHF RFID and communicate with installers on what they really want to achieve.

“When you do a project, it’s important that you see a goal that you want to accomplish, and set out conditions for the project. Then I can guarantee you 100 percent reading,” Ma said.