Radio Frequency Identification or RFID is among the fast-growing technologies in the world today. RFID is an automatic way of remotely identifying objects using devices like transponders and RFID tags. The technology is an advancement of that was in use during World War II in the year 1940s. Currently, RFID is in use mainly in tracking the assets, monitoring wildlife, among many other applications that ensure efficiency, for instance, tracking the history of the products (Kaur, 2011) . With the use of RFID, enhancement of safety is also possible, and it is achievable through tagging all the guns in the country to a specific people who own them thus locking out the illegal use of firearms since the owner will be accountable.
One of the fascinating case studies concerning the history of RFID technology is that of World War II where Germans during the war use radio frequencies to identify their planes and those of their enemies. The primary challenge during this time with the use of Radio Frequency Identification was to determine planes that belong to the enemy and those belonging to the country and returning from the mission (Landt, 2005) . Germans ingeniously manage to discover a method of distinguishing their military planes from those of their enemies. The technique was simple, and it is just rolling the aircraft as they return to base. Rolling of military planes would change the reflection of the radio signal, therefore, alerting the radar crew that the oncoming plan belongs to the German and not the allied aircraft. This method was crude and could compromise the security because, if the enemies could unravel this secret, they could use the technique and kill all the Germans military.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Development of a more reliable identification was necessary leading to the adoption of the transmitters on each plane. Germans manage to put each of their military plane transmitters that will help in communicating with the radar. The transmitter enables the radar crew to identify oncoming plane through sending a radio wave that will help read the onboard transmitter thus identifying them accurately and more reliably. The advancement in the technology enabled the military crew to distinguish the enemy's planes from their own thus enhancing the security and safety of their military. In the 1950s through 60s, the technology continues advancing where companies for instance in the United States makes adopt the use of radio waves in supermarkets in preventing the theft where signal identify if the item has been paid for or not. The case study is interesting because it shows the birth of RFID that was mainly for military purposes but currently the technology is essential in most of the sectors in the current world.
It is important to know that the advancement the RFID technology has enabled the modern society in accomplishing storage services and automatic stocktaking. The approach is the adoption of that was in use during World War II in the identification of the aircraft. It is also interesting to know how 1-bit tag on products or items operates. When one purchases an item or object having the tag in retail shops or supermarkets, one switches the bit off upon the payment of the product. However, if the person leaves without paying for the product, the tag is active, and readers at the door can detect the tag and sound the alarm. It is therefore essential to understand the history of RFID because it helps in deepening the understanding of how the technology operates allowing for further advancements on its use.
In conclusion, the use of RFID is among the leading technologies in the current world. During World War II, the technology was essential in helping the military people to identify the military aircraft during the war. However, the technology advances to other sectors where currently it is dominating the business industry in tracking assets and properties as well as enabling various transactions.
References
Kaur, M. S. (2011). RFID technology principles, advantages, limitations & its applications. International Journal of Computer and Electrical Engineering, 3(1) , 151.
Landt, J. (2005). The history of RFID. IEEE potentials, 24(4) , 8-11.
