by Adi Tedjasaputra

After recently announcing the plan to raise the price of fuel, the Indonesian government spearheaded by Downstream Oil and Gas Regulator (BPH Migas) has confirmed the roll out plan of a Fuel Smart Card programme in September. After securing Rp 300 billion ($32.6 million) from the state budget approved by the Finance Ministry and endorsement from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, BPH Migas has announced a tender for the procurement process.

The tender for the procurement process, which is expected to last for 45 days, has started last Wednesday, as reported by Media Indonesia when quoting the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Purnomo Yusgiantoro. The winner of the tender will have 80 days to implement the programme, so the Fuel Smart Card programme can run from September 2008.

The Fuel Smart Card programme that aims to limit the consumption of subsidized fuel has been mulled over since last year and delayed, but it was only recently when the oil price shot up, threatened the economic growth and state budget spending, the Indonesian government decided to move forward with the programme.

In the programme, a smart card in a size of credit card and printed with a bar code will be attached to a location on a vehicle, depending whether it is a public bus, motorcycle or private car. Before filling up the tank, a fuel station officer should scan the smart card with a reader. A successful reading of the smart card will result in the vehicle registration number and its fuel quota data to be displayed on a monitor installed at the station. Based on the reading, the vehicle's owner can only buy fuel according to the remaining quota.

Similar to the parking pilot project programme executed by the Jakarta City Administration in 2003 and the Fuel Smart Card programme in Tehran, Iran, the Indonesian Fuel Smart Card programme, which is currently on trial, still relies heavily on the readiness of stakeholders involved. The Jakarta City Administration abandoned the parking pilot project after the project was swamped by operational problems in 2003, while the introduction of Fuel Smart Card programme in Tehran sparked violence last year. In both cases, the stakeholders were not ready to accept the introduced systems.

Fortunately, the Indonesian government still has a chance to learn from the past and make a better decision in the Fuel Smart Card programme. There is still a room for improvement on the programme that can ease the transition from the current system and prepare all stakeholders involved to achieve the best results.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.


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Labels: card, fuel, indonesia, project, rfid, smart, smartcard, tender

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by Adi Tedjasaputra

Self-serve Parking Payment is the latest buzz on the streets of Jakarta, Indonesia. Promoted by the Jakarta City Administration and the Jakarta City Parking Agency, a new electronic payment system is still currently under review. The new system is expected to enable motorists pay for parking fees with the use of Smart Cards.

"The new system will require Smart Cards. People will just swipe their card through a machine on the street to pay parking fees," said the agency's Deputy Head, Udar Pristono as quoted by The Jakarta Post last week.

Smart Card was first introduced as a technology that requires a contact area to transfer electrical power and communicate with Smart Card Reader. In the evolution of Smart Card, Contactless Smart Card was introduced. Using inductive coupling technology, Contactless Smart Card can transfer energy from a Smart Card Reader and activate the chip in a Smart Card without the need of physical contact.

déjà vu
/day&ulzh;aa voo/
· noun a feeling of having already experienced the present situation.
— ORIGIN French, ‘already seen’.
Compact Oxford English Dictionary

For the patrons of some streets in Jakarta, Smart Cards are not new. In 2003, the Jakarta City Administration appointed PT Adiwira Sembada as the sole contractor to run a parking pilot programme in several streets in Jakarta, while a Singapore-based company, Epecom Technology & Distribution Pte Ltd, formerly known as Gimexore Private Limited, provided full system integration for the pilot programme. In addition, INSIDE Contactless, which is headquartered in France, supplied Smart Card chip PicoTag and contactless springboard modules Hand'IT for handheld readers.

Swamped by operational problems, the pilot programme using Smart Cards known as "Kartu Kontan" was eventually declared as a total failure. The Jakarta City Administration officially terminated the operational collaboration between the Jakarta City Parking Agency and PT Adiwira Sembada in November 2003 after about six months of pilot programme launching. The equipments that cost about $2,000 per unit were rendered useless.

This year, with a new concept of "two parking operators, one parking system", the Jakarta City Administration will likely to appoint two private parking operators. The two operators, one of them is PT Adiwira Sembada, were recommended by the Jakarta City Council to manage parking in Jakarta streets, as reported by The Jakarta Post in January.

The new self-serve parking payment system operated by the two parking operators is expected to increase revenue of the Jakarta City Administration from parking fees. For the operation of the new parking management units, the Jakarta City Administration has initially allocated Rp 40 billion ($4.3 million) budget.

The writer is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.


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Labels: card, indonesia, jakarta, parking, payment, rfid, smart, smartcard, technology

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by Eunice Sari

The RFID Asia Summit 2008 (http://summit.rfid-Asia.info) held on 12-13 March 2008 in Jakarta, Indonesia, organized by RFID Asia (www.rfidAsia.org), the Prominent RFID Community in Asia, is the prestigious international event to address the potentials and challenges of RFID technology and harness the economic opportunities in various vertical industries in Indonesia and Asia Pacific region.

As the only event in Asia Pacific dedicated for RFID experts and leaders in charge for the development of businesses in the emerging markets, RFID Asia Summit 2008 has presented a line-up of international renowned speakers from Asia Pacific and USA. The event has successfully impressed the international delegates from Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East with intellectually thought-provoking and inspiring conference tracks, exhibitions, demonstrations, business networking and meeting sessions.

The RFID Asia Summit 2008 was officially inaugurated by the Founder of RFID Asia, Adi Tedjasaputra. In his opening remarks, he pointed out how the tremendous advancement in RFID technology and market growth in Asia Pacific has started to add values in different emerging markets. Furthermore, he also detailed the unique role of RFID Asia in contributing to the advancement of RFID technology and market growth in Asia Pacific, while producing a shared practice and collective intelligence as RFID Asia community members engage in a collective process of learning and sharing. Regarding the event itself, he explained how RFID Asia Summit 2008 was crafted to provide delegates with a unique experience and results.

After the opening remarks, Stephen Dolan, the Director of Sybase Australia & New Zealand unveiled how to integrate business logic and processes with RFID and sensor technologies, including mobile devices. One of the most interesting parts in his presentation is his view on the death of RFID Middleware – the software connecting RFID readers with enterprise applications. Enriched with real-life examples and industrial case studies, he concluded his presentation with several key recommendations to integrate sensor data into Enterprise Applications.

The next speaker, Dr. Toni Anwar, the Coordinator Software Systems Engineering of TGGS Thailand introduced the basics of RFID technology and applications with examples in building automation system and smart parking. He closed his presentation with some future RFID trends and the requirements for further development in RFID.

Opening the theme of Near Field Communication (NFC) in RFID Asia Summit 2008, Goh Say Yeow, EVP Sales and Managing Director Asia Pacific of INSIDE presented the market trends and development of contactless payment. From the current contactless payment, he explained the role of NFC technology as an enabler for contactless card and card reader emulation using NFC-enabled mobile phones. Furthermore, he also detailed three NFC use cases that will have impact for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), i.e. pairing/connectivity, proximity service and transactions. Most importantly, he also highlighted that convenience will be the real value proposition of NFC that will drive consumer adoption.

Going further with NFC technology, Jonathon Gould, VP Asia Pacific of ViVOtech reviewed different generations of electronic payment system with contactless payment becoming the latest trend. He further mentioned several cases and trials involving NFC technology for mobile payment and marketing.

After a sumptuous and active networking luncheon, Chua Thian Yee, CEO of CASSIS, focused on the NFC technology used for mobile payment, reviewing the consumer landscape, the fundamentals of NFC technology and several mobile payment cases.

Heru Wahyudi, Sales and Marketing Manager, representing PT. Solusi Periferal and Intermec presented different kind of industrial RFID applications, with some remarks that are open for further discussions, such as: the possibility of having real benefits from RFID implementation without complete process re-engineering, internal benefit with self-implemented RFID and collaboration with suppliers and customers to produce more value.

In late afternoon, Dr. Urachada Ketprom of NECTEC Thailand has captured the attention of RFID Asia Summit 2008 delegates with her well-prepared presentation on animal and food traceability. Her presentation was further enriched with the latest updates on RFID projects, such as chicken farm management, animal transport checkpoint, swine farm management, microchip-implanted pets and shrimp traceability.

Exhibition is one of the highlights in the RFID Asia Summit 2008. International delegates have visited and engaged actively with the exhibitors to explore business opportunities and get the latest information on RFID products and services available in the market . The expressions of contentment were received from both the exhibitors and delegates.

Opening the RFID Demonstration Rally (tm), the RFID Group Research at School of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) shared the latest information on RFID technology research and development, as well as the university-industry collaboration that has taken place. The presentation was immediately followed by product demonstration from Intermec/PT Solusi Periferal and Sicurezza, including a short video clip presentation by ViVOtech.

Closing the International Conference on Auto-ID, RFID, Smart Card and Mobile Technology, Adi Tedjasaputra summarized the full day activities and announced the networking events and One-to-One Business Meeting in the next morning following the conference.

The writer is an ICT Consultant and Researcher with various affiliations to academic and industry organizations. Her current research interest includes ICT4D, m-Learning, e-Learning, Web 2.0, healthcare, wireless and mobile technology.


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Labels: contactless, indonesia, mobile, nfc, rfid, smartcard, technology

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RFID Asia, recognized as the first and largest global RFID Community in Asia Pacific region, will host the prestigious RFID Asia Summit 2008 on March 12, 2008 at InterContinental Midplaza Jakarta, Indonesia. RFID Asia Summit 2008 aims to address the potentials and challenges of RFID technology and harness the economic opportunities in various vertical industries in Indonesia and Asia Pacific region. As the only event in Asia Pacific dedicated for leaders and RFID experts in charge for the development of businesses in the emerging markets, RFID Asia Summit 2008 is also endeavored to boost business interests in RFID technology within the region.

The latest research from International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group shows that more than 80 million of 230 million Indonesians have mobile phone subscriptions. With the estimated spending of more than US$ 2.9 billion in 2007 for telecommunication networks and more for the next few years, Indonesia is expected to become the third largest mobile market in Asia by 2010.

Accompanying the growth of mobile market in Indonesia, services such as Mobile Wallet and Digital Money have demanded the RFID industry in Indonesia to grow beyond the traditional markets of access control and security. In addition, the spending priority of the Indonesian Government on infrastructure projects in telecommunication, power, utilities and transportation sectors during 2008 and the next few years has also driven the increasing demand of RFID technology in diverse vertical industries.

For catering the demand for invaluable insights on the latest Auto-ID, RFID, Smart Card and Mobile technology, trends and markets in Indonesia and other emerging Asia Pacific markets, RFID Asia Summit 2008 will present a line-up of international renowned speakers who will lead intellectually thought-provoking and inspiring conference tracks, RFID demonstrations and business networking sessions.

“I hope this summit will share with the participants the implementation experience and to do the project right the first time,” said one of the international conference speakers, Chua Thian Yee – CEO of CASSIS International, a leading end-to-end security solution and service provider of smart card innovation, technology and services headquartered in Singapore.

The line-up of esteemed speakers include Goh Say Yeow – the Executive Vice President Sales and Managing Director Asia of INSIDE Contactless, Chua Thian Yee - the CEO of CASSIS International, Dr. Toni Anwar – the Coordinator for Software Systems Engineering Programme of Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering and other international renowned speakers, leaders and RFID experts from Asia Pacific region.

Adi Tedjasaputra - the Founder of RFID Asia said, “RFID Asia Summit 2008 is a must-attend event for leaders and RFID experts in Asia Pacific region.”

For more information about the RFID Asia Summit 2008, please visit The Official Website of RFID Asia Summit 2008.

About Indonesia

Indonesia accounts as one of the fastest and vibrantly growing economy in the South East Asia with more than 6% annual economic growth. As one of the next major emerging economies with strong economic growth and commodity trade, Indonesia - the world´s largest archipelagos boasts a growing demand for RFID technology solutions in telecommunication, banking & finance, transportation, logistics, healthcare, oil & gas, mining, building automation, manufacturing, agriculture and security industries. In conjunction with the official Indonesian Government's programme of Visit Indonesia 2008, RFID Asia Summit 2008 will attract both international and local business leaders and RFID experts in the Asia Pacific region.

About RFID Asia

RFID Asia is the Independent Knowledge Centre that helps RFID vendors and end-users making the best investment, leverage competitiveness and market share through Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. As the prominent RFID community in Asia, RFID Asia is the bridge connecting different stakeholders with interest in RFID technology. As an independent venture, RFID Asia helps RFID vendors and end-users alike to achieve their goals. For more information about RFID Asia, please visit www.rfidAsia.org


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Labels: asia, auto-id, conference, indonesia, mobile, rfid, smartcard, summit

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by Eunice Sari and Adi Tedjasaputra

Since the introduction of T-Cash or Telkomsel Cash last month, RFID technology has received a high-profile acceptance in Indonesia. With the use of RFID technology in T-Cash, the demand of RFID Cards and Smart Labels in Indonesia is expected to increase sharply in the upcoming years. The RFID adoption path in Indonesia has become clearer in recent years, but the question of how the RFID adoption will influence the way Indonesians live and affect the other industries in Indonesia still remains unanswered.

T-Cash or Telkomsel Cash is a mobile commerce service provided by Telkomsel, one of the mobile telecommunication service operators in Indonesia. The mobile commerce service enables a user to conduct commercial transactions using either mobile phone or RFID card.

During the launch of T-Cash, which was attended by the Minister of State Owned Enterprises - Sofyan A. Djalil, the President Director of Telkomsel – Kiskenda Suriahardja said "The service is launched as an effort to support the mission of Bank Indonesia and provide a non-cash means of payment which is efficient, fast, effective and secure."

Transaction with T-Cash system relies on Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital Network Number (MSISDN) – a unique number identifying mobile subscriber, which still requires subscriber to verbally tell merchant at the point of sale (POS) to process any transaction. The use of Smart Labels and RFID cards in any transaction is expected to provide automatic identification of MSISDN by merchant terminals in the near future.

At this stage, the established mobile commerce ecosystem includes Telkomsel as Integrator and also Service Provider; Bank Indonesia as regulator; Indomaret and Modern Foto as Merchants; Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Bank Mandiri as the Financial Service Providers; Department of National Education as academic content provider; and Finnet as switching provider.

Eunice Sari is an ICT Consultant and Researcher with various affiliations to academic and industry organizations. Her current research interest includes ICT4D, m-Learning, e-Learning, Web 2.0, healthcare, wireless and mobile technology. Adi Tedjasaputra is the Founder of RFID Asia - The Prominent RFID Community in Asia.


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Labels: 2.0, card, indonesia, m-commerce, m-payment, mobile, nfc, payment, rfid, t-cash, technology

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by Adi Tedjasaputra

Revealed at the Seminar on Investment Opportunities in Indonesia yesterday in Singapore, the plan of introducing a Smart Card system for Singaporeans travelling to Riau Islands of Indonesia is expected to improve the current travelling procedures and boost the trade within the region.

The Indonesia's Governor of Riau Island, Ismeth Abdullah, quoted by Singapore's Today Newspaper, said: "This means Singaporeans can travel anywhere in the Riau Islands without using a passport."

The announcement was not something new for the residence of Batam Island, which is part of the Riau Islands. According to the statement from I Gede Widiartha, Batam Immigration Office Head, to Batam Pos in February 2007, the use of Smart Card in the island has started since 1994. He further said that Singapore and Malaysia actually learnt from Indonesia (Batam), before they implemented Smart Card around year 2000. It is an irony, however, that Batam is still currently unable to manufacture its own Smart Card, while Singapore and Malaysia have been able to produce a unit of Smart Card within minutes.

While the contactless Smart Card technology begs to be different from the RFID technology, in reality the contactless Smart Card technology used for biometric passports and ID cards is indeed RFID technology.

Frost & Sullivan pointed out in its recent press release that RFID and contactless Smart Cards are seeing healthy growth levels in the Asia Pacific region, but noted a concern about the lack of understanding in the similarities and differences between the RFID and contactless Smart Card technologies. The company further introduces its new program RFID vs Contactless Smart Card, presumably taken from the title of the article published by RFID Asia on August 25, 2006 that underlines the need to understand RFID technology, while embracing and tackling the RFID challenges and concerns, instead of taking aggressive-defensive stand.


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Labels: card, indonesia, malaysia, rfid, singapore, technology

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The Asia Pacific region comprises a market for RFID products and services predicted to reach at least $2 billion by 2010. RFID Asia to help RFID vendors tapping the market through its new RFID kiosk in Indonesia.

(PT. RFID Centre Asia, Jakarta, March 12, 2007) – PT. RFID Centre Asia, the organization that coordinates RFID Asia – the prominent RFID Community in Asia, is opening the first RFID kiosk in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The new RFID kiosk will be one-stop RFID store to help companies across various industry verticals, government agencies, research organisations and universities in the region to select, try out and buy a range of RFID products and services from various RFID vendors. The kiosk will link up RFID vendors and consumers alike to conduct trading and training on RFID products and services.

"This RFID kiosk is a win-win solution for both RFID vendors and consumers", said Adi Tedjasaputra, Founder of RFID Asia. "The new store will provide a good opportunity for RFID vendors to show and sell their RFID products and services in the centre of South-East Asia's biggest economy and RFID end-users will have one-stop access to select, try out and buy the best RFID products and services for their needs."

Anticipating the rapid growth of RFID technology adoption in the Asia Pacific region, the store will play a dominant role in promoting RFID standards, innovation and business in the region. RFID vendors interested to show and sell their RFID products and services in the kiosk shall contact RFID Asia for further information.

About PT. RFID Centre Asia
PT. RFID Centre Asia is the organization that coordinates RFID Asia – the prominent RFID Community in Asia. As a global organization with more than a thousand members in Asia Pacific, RFID Asia aims to be the Independent Knowledge Centre in Asia by facilitating RFID community forum and RFID partnership platform in Asia, build, disseminate and nurture knowledge around RFID technology and promote RFID standards, innovation and business.

Contact
Adi Tedjasaputra
PT. RFID Centre Asia
Singapore Representative Office
9 Temasek Blvd
#31-02 Suntec Tower Two
Singapore 038989
E-mail. adi.tedjasaputra@rfidAsia.org
Web. http://www.rfidAsia.org


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Labels: business, indonesia, partnership, rfid, singapore, technology

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by Adi Tedjasaputra

This is the time of the year when we start reading and listening to RFID technology yearly forecasts and slogans such as 1.71 billion tags will be sold, the total RFID market will be $4.96 billion, RFID will change everyday life, RFID is here to stay, 5-cent RFID tag has arrived, etc. The similar things we heard last year, or probably for the past several years, from those who try to sell reports and events in a quiet month.

Don't get me wrong – I applaud the work of credible people and organisations to disseminate knowledge around RFID technology and promote RFID business - but we need to understand that any change or transformation in the real world is evolutionary. There is no such thing as RFID revolution or RFID magic.

Forecasts are probably good to give a sense of direction and motivation, but the real change or transformation lies in wise actions. RFID players who are not aware of this reality have tasted some loss or about to find out the harsh reality of the RFID industry. VeriChip has had a slow sales and its stock has been struggling since its initial public offering. U.S. Homeland Security is abandoning the plans for using RFID tags. EPCglobal Gen 2 UHF tag has failed to meet its 5-cent tag vision. Wal-Mart is yet to succeed in reducing labour and inventory costs using RFID technology.

RFID technology is now at the Slope of Enlightenment in the sense of Gartner's Hype Cycle. RFID community has just started the process of understanding the benefits of practical RFID applications. There is a huge need to bridge RFID knowledge gap and find the right partners for the right RFID projects and applications, particularly in Asia. The emerging markets in Asia, such as Indonesia, have started to show some active signs and enthusiasms.

In the beginning of the new year, I would like to use the opportunity to thank all the RFID Asia Community Members for your continuous support and active participation.

Have a Wireless and Prosperous Lunar New Year.


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Labels: business, epcglobal, indonesia, rfid, security, tag, technology

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by Adi Tedjasaputra

Biometric passports have recently been touted as cutting-edge technology able to prevent travel document forgery using a secure authentication process. These passports carry digital data about the physical characteristics of their respective holders, such as face shape and fingerprints. These physical characteristics, and their combinations, are the parameters or the determining factors in an authentication process known as biometric authentication.

Before the biometric authentication process can be performed, a recording process that transforms human physical characteristics into digital biometric data, or a biometric signature, is required to set an authentication reference. These digital data are usually encrypted and stored in a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip embedded or inserted into each biometric passport.

During the biometric passport authentication process, a passport-reading machine will read the biometric data stored in the RFID chip. After a successful contactless access, the data retrieved from the chip will then be authenticated against the initial, presumably genuine, biometric data stored in a database. In addition, a physical authentication process can also be integrated to increase the trustworthiness of the authentication process.

Most countries in the world are currently implementing or planning to adopt biometric passports for security purposes, including Indonesia.

As the world's fourth-most populous nation with more than 200 million people, Indonesia has decided to venture into the world of biometrics. Since February 2006, the country has been issuing what the government calls new biometric passports. According to the article, Justice ministry clarifies biometric passport prices, published by The Jakarta Post on July 21, 2006, the government says the biometric system, which scans fingerprints and photographic data into a bar code, has helped it detect 1,800 attempted passport frauds since its introduction in February 2006.

In addition, a press release issued by the sole contractor for the Biometric Indonesian Passport project, Digital Identification Solutions AG of Germany, dated July 12, 2006, from Stuttgart, claims that on average the new biometric passport system processes thousands of on-line passport applications daily and issues the passports in full color, and with numerous security features, on the spot where people apply for the passports.

"Being a German national, I sometimes would love to have my own government provide such user-friendly service to the public". says the CEO of the company in the press release.

Does this sound like an overstatement? I believe so.

However, I agree that the Biometric Indonesian Passport project is indeed one-of-a-kind in the world.

While developed countries are implementing or planning biometric passports with RFID chips embedded or inserted into them, the biometric Indonesian passports resort to bar code technology (the Post, July 21, 2006), which defeats the purpose of anti-counterfeit measures. Basically, it is easier to clone bar codes than the encrypted identification stored in an RFID chip.

Besides the security issue, it is also essential to guarantee that certain information in biometric passports is kept from unauthorized parties and specific privileges granted or assigned to the right people, which is almost impossible with the application of bar code technology. The biometric Indonesian passport system designer apparently forgets that secure authentication is the fundamental assumption for privacy protection and authorization.

In addition, the use of bar code technology also means that there is no unique identification system due to the limitation of the bar code numbering system. Bar code technology was originally designed only to identify a class of generic products, not a unique item, compared to RFID technology, which can support a unique identification system despite the numbering system being used.

Biometric (+RFID) passports and ID cards are definitely better, not having the basic security issues posed by bar code technology.

Nevertheless, the recent demonstration of biometric (+RFID) passport data cloning performed by a security consultant at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas could indicate that security risks in the use of biometric (+RFID) passports and ID cards still exist. However, the consultant could not change the information stored in the chip due to cryptographic protection.

In reality, there is no 100 percent security guarantee in this networked world. When you become part of a "network" voluntarily or involuntarily, there is always a chance that your security will be compromised. One sensible action you can take is to assess your state of security continuously, take several appropriate security measures and prepare recovery plans in the event of a security breach (RFID Security Threats: Your Cat is Probably Safe ... for Now, RFID Asia).

During a government forum on national IDs and e-passports for Indonesia held last June in Jakarta, the director for international cooperation at the Directorate General of Immigration unveiled a plan to decentralize the issuing of biometric Indonesian passports throughout Indonesian embassies.

Until now, there has been no country in the world planning or implementing a decentralization plan similar to the one proposed by the Indonesian government. It is certainly not about technological barriers. It is simply based on common sense and the assumption that the security risks of such decentralization outweigh the benefits of such a system in terms of efficiency. There is simply no country in the world that is willing to put its nationals and citizens on the front line of security risks and threats.

This article is featured at The Jakarta Post, Opinion and Editorial - August 15, 2006

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Labels: biometric, card, indonesia, privacy, project, rfid, security, technology

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The PDF version of this article is downloadable at:
http://rfid-asia.info/rfid_antenna_design_innovation.pdf

Adi Tedjasaputra
RFID Asia Founder


RFID system design has never been about plug-and-play. As a matter of fact, according to the recent survey conducted by Larstan Business Reports, “deployment” and “complexity” were the specific reasons cited by the respondents with a total of 13.2% compared to the “cost” at 16.6% (3).

Reader Antenna Design is a component that contributes to the complexity because reader antennae may vary greatly in size and dimension, depending on their particular applications requirements. As the conduit for data communication between chip-based RFID tag and reader, the design and placement of antennae are crucial in determining the coverage zone, range and data communication reliability.

Basically, the data transmission between tag and reader antennae is based on inductive coupling, in which the reader antenna generates a magnetic field that couples with the antenna on the tag.

During the generation of a magnetic field, there is a chance that the propagated electromagnetic waves arrive at a tag in different phases due to different paths taken by the waves. Attenuation resulted from the combined waves at the tag is known as the multipath interference problem. The increasing distance between reader and tag will increase the probability of multipath interference occurrence in a non-controlled environment, which often happens in Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band applications.


Verification and Evaluation

The recent press release from OMRON Corporation claims that its embedded antenna technology can reduce multipath interference by using the reader to control the antenna propagation directivity, and thus improving the RFID tag reading performance (1).

The wishful thinking of gaining improvement in tag-reader data communication reliability for various RFID applications through this technology should be balanced with some thorough and objective verification and evaluation. Otherwise, the vision of improvement will only become another hype that impedes the acceleration of RFID technology innovation and adoption.


References

(1) OMRON Corporation (2006). OMRON Develops World's First Antenna Technology That Boosts UHF RFID Tag Read Performance. OMRON Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.

(2) OMRON Corporation (2006). ScanAntenna Whitepaper. OMRON Corporation, Tokyo, Japan.

(3) Persinos, J. (2006). RFID: The Future is Now!. Larstan Business Reports, Potomac, MD, USA.

(4) Tedjasaputra, A. and Sari E. (2006). RFID Solutions for Business. TRANSLATE-EASY, Jakarta, Indonesia.


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Labels: antenna, business, indonesia, japan, reader, rfid, tag, technology

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The promise of EPCglobal RFID standardisation and regulatory efforts to reduce the cost and complexity of RFID system integration is still far from reality, especially in Asia.

As an exclusive industry-driven group, EPCglobal Inc has an interest to push its own proprietary standard as a global standard for the benefit of its members. Despite of its emerging role in defining the roadmap for RFID standardisation in the Asian continent, the organisation has not yet succeeded to lobby the Chinese Government for adopting the EPCglobal's UHF Electronic Product Code (EPC) standards as its national standard. There is no official account on the EPCglobal's standardisation hardship in China, but it is widely known among the Chinese RFID players that the EPCglobal's standardisation effort in China has been a failure.

On the other hand, RFID Asia has received an information that the Indonesian Government has been successfully lobbied by the EPCglobal/GS1 Indonesia to allocate a frequency spectrum according to Electronic Product Code (EPC) specified frequencies. It is expected that the frequency regulation in Indonesia will become official by the middle of this year. There is no official report on the amount of monetary value spent by the organisation to achieve this goal.


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Labels: china, epcglobal, indonesia, rfid, technology

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