SECURITY SYSTEM, RFID, SMART CARD, ACCESS CARD, EMPLOYEE CARDS, SECURITY AND BILLING TAGS, DELHI - INDIA
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RFID,
About ( ContactLess or Wire Less
Technology) |
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At Softechline, we are providing wide range of
security solutions for all industry in India and world.
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RFID FAQ |
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RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a
ContactLess communications technology used in applications to identify and receive
information about humans, animals and objects on the move.
An RFID system contains basically three components:
1) Transponder
2) Reader/Interrogator
3) Software.
These three elements combined enable the translation of information to a
user-friendly format. The transponder, or tag, is placed on the object
itself. As this object moves into the reader´s area of interrogation, the
reader is activated and begins signaling via electromagnetic waves (radio
frequency waves).
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Products |
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The transponder subsequently transmits its unique ID information to the
reader, which in turn converts it, through the software technology, into
useful information. This information is not restricted to the location of
the object, and can include specific detailed information concerning the
object itself.
Compared to other AIDC (Automatic Identification and Data Collection)
technologies, the RFID technology application is far superior on several
levels.
Not only is it resistant to dust, dirt, water, vibrations and other tough
conditions, it does not require line-of-sight reading as other technologies
do.
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RFID F A Q
What is ContactLess technology and how does it
work?
Contactless technology is a generic term for technologies
that use electromagnetic waves to automatically identify people and objects. By
storing information in a contactless chip, the data is transmitted from a reader
thanks to a coiled antenna. The reader converts the electromagnetic waves
returned from the RFID tag into a form that can then be passed on to computers
that can make use of it
| What are the components of a contactless
system? |
A contactless system is composed of several components:
Antenna (Aerial) The antenna is the part of
the system that radiates the RF field and receives data back from the
transponder.
Chips: a chip is an integrated circuit
connected to the antenna and embedded in a packaging. The chips are powered
remotely by the field emitted by the reader.
Reader: it is the interface between the
computer system and the chip. The reader communicates with the contactless chips
by emitting electromagnetic waves and transmits this information to the computer
system.
| What are the most common applications for
contactless technology? |
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Contactless technology products are used in various
applications, like access control, mass transit, identity, payment,
logistic.
| Is there a difference between contactless
technology and RFID? |
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Inside Contactless makes a difference between contactless
technology and RFID.
Contactless technology is the generic term to define our technology. RFID is
used to define applications aimed to identify objects along different processes
like production, distribution or inventories. The identification of objects can
help organizations to prevent the development of counterfeit or grey markets.
| What are the main advantages of the
contactless technology? |
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Advantages over the contact smart card technology
The contactless technology presents some advantages over the contact one
- As the communication between the reader and the chips uses
electromagnetic waves and there is not physical contact, the contactless
readers cost maintenance is much lower as their reliability is improved.
- Contactless smart cards last longer because their reading can take place
without removing them from their carrying place and does not require any
contact.
- Contactless has been proven very convenient for the users.
Advantages over the bar codes technology
We consider that RFID is not necessarily "better" than bar
codes. However the contactless technology presents some key advantages over the
bar codes one.
The contactless chips do not need any line of sight to be read by the
readers improving the process. For instance, the chips can even be read when
they are stored in boxes without opening them. At the opposite, bar codes need
to be oriented to be identified by the scanner.
- Anti-collision management
Unlike bar codes, several RFID chips can be read by the same reader
simultaneously (up to 50 chips per second). The anti-collision management
enables faster products inventories or people identification.
- Withstand harsh environmental conditions
RFID chips can be embedded in some packaging withstanding harsh
environmental conditions like high temperatures, water, shocks. On the
contrary when the bar codes label is soiled, ripped or withstands under harsh
conditions, the reading can not be performed anymore.
- Information storage and Read/Write capability
The amount of information which can be stored onto the RFID
chip is much more important than the amount stored on the bar codes. Onto the
RFID chip, information related to the product or owner (name, picture,
fingerprint) can be easily saved and modified several times.
| Are contactless smart cards as secured as
contact smart cards? |
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Contactless technology is only a communication channel.
Transactions are made over the air for contactless instead of wires for contact.
Memory protection, keys and authentication process are all the same
| What are the different frequencies in use? |
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RFID systems use many different frequencies, but generally
the most common are:
Low frequency: 125 KHz
High frequency: 13.56 MHz
Ultra-high frequency (UHF): 850-900 MHz
Microwave 2.45 GHz
| What are the advantages of the 13.56 MHz
frequency? |
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INSIDE has chosen the 13.56 MHZ because it presents many
advantages
Over the 125 KHz frequency
- The data communication between the reader and the chip is much faster
- The 13.56 MHz enables a more important data storage on the chip
- The 125 KHz does not offer security option for data protection
Over UHF
- At the opposite of the 13.56 MHz, no global standard has been adopted.
UHF frequencies have been differently adopted as follows: Europe uses 868
MHz and US uses 915MHz. Japan has just allocated a portion of the UHF
spectrum (950-956 MHz) for RFID.
- The UHF communication speed between chips and readers is lower (~
100kbits/s) than the 13.56 one (up to 847 kbps) and no security option can
be activated to protect the data stored onto the UHF chip.
- The UHF frequency is mostly used for logistics applications. At the
opposite the 13.56 MHz can be used in many different applications from
access control and identification to logistics.
| What are the different sorts of chips? |
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Several kinds of contactless chip exist:
the active chips and the passive chips
the memory chips (wired logic) and the microprocessor
the Read Only and Read/Write chips
What is an active chip?
An Active Chip is partly or completely battery-powered.and has
an operating range of several meters. However they are not cost-effevtive due to
the price of the integrated battery.
What is a passive chip?
A passive chip does not contain any internal power source. The passive
chip receives its power from the electromagnetic field generated by the reader
antenna. The passive chips have a shorter communication distance but are
low-cost.
What are a memory chip and a microprocessor chip?
A memory chip is defined to run some predefined
functions. Most of the time, a memory chip uses a simple cryptographic method to
protect the stored data.
A microprocessor chip can be seen as a complete
small computer composed of core unit and volatile and non-volatile memory. It
also has its own operating system enabling the execution and loading of
applications. Microprocessors chips are mainly dedicated to high security and
high complexity applications looking for flexibility and open implementation
schemes like banking, transport, identity.
What are a read only and read/write chips?
A read only chip enables only the reading of
information from the reader
A read/write chip enables the writing and
reading of information during the time it is presented to a reader/writer.
INSIDE Contactless chips are have all read and write
capabilities.
| What is a multi-application card? |
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A multi-application card can be used for several
applications. These different applications are stored on the same chip and run
separately. INSIDE's PicoPass™ chip enables the
storage of up to 16 applications such as access control, payment.
| What are the different forms of packaging? |
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The contactless chips can be embedded in several forms of
packaging:
ISO Smart cards (ISO format: like a credit card)
Non ISO Smart cards: key fobs
Modules
ISO Inlays and non ISO inlays
Smart labels
Paper tickets
| What are hybrid and dual-interface cards? |
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The hybrid and dual-interface cards are multi-function
because they employ more than one technology on the same card.
A hybrid card is a contactless smart card with additional
contact smart cards but without internal connections between the two chips.
A dual-interface card is composed of one chip with contact
and contactless interfaces. The same data and functions are accessed by both
interfaces.
| What are the standards used? |
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Several standards are in use to enable contactless
communication between the chip and the reader operating at 13.56MHz :
ISO 14443A
ISO 14443B
ISO 15693
ISO 18000
| How much information can be stored onto the
chips, and what kind of info? |
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An important amount of information can be stored onto the
chip. INSIDE's products like PicoPass™ have a memory
capacity of up to 32 kbit allowing the storage of information relative to the
cardholder or the product tagged. For instance the chip can contain the name,
the address, high quality picture and fingerprints of the cardholder.
| Is there a risk of stealing information? |
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Information stored on both smart cards or contactless ones
can be stolen or intercepted. However manufacturers have developed cryptographic
security to prevent anyone to steal the information during the data exchange.
Besides the security system can be enhanced by asking the owner to identify
himself with a password, a pin or a biometric template.
| Contactless smart cards and biometrics? |
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One can store biometrics data onto a contactless smart card.
For instance the fingerprint or picture of the cardholder can be stored onto the
card.
| What is the anti-collision management? |
The anti-collision management is a reading system enabling to
detect more than one transponder in the reader field simultaneously without
producing an error report or blocking transaction.
The anti-collision system is pretty useful for applications requiring the
reading of several chips simultaneously like products inventory. INSIDE's
products enable the reading of up to 50 chips per second.
For instance, the time spent to perform a garments inventory at the distribution
center or the point of sale can be reduced tremendously by using contactless
chips and readers.
The eNFC feature allows devices to behave both as a reader
and as a card. An eNFC device can receive commands from any standard proximity
contactless reader and send back responses in the same way as a contactless
smart card would.
Using this feature a consumer electronics device can interact with the millions
of readers already installed worldwide, to exchange data or to perform secure
transactions, using different access protocols, including ISO 14443 A & B, ISO
15693, as well as FeliCa™ protocols.
