Radio tags

Connecting everything around us

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) came up with a new idea of connecting everything around us in the same way that websites are connected to the Internet at a recent world conference.

In the report 'The internet of things', the Union said that this is the best way to improve the internet. UN members also agreed to this concept saying, "This is the best way to get from the internet to the public". The foundation of this new "internet between things" is a tiny and simple device, which is known as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Radio Tags.

If we fix radio tags for everything around us, a connection between those will be built. If we link that connection to the internet, the internet could be connected with trees, animals, houses and with everything around us. This is not the ordinary internet we see everyday. It is more powerful and armed with new technology.

A person who tries to understand this power should first understand the uses and the power of the radio tags. In the list of uses of radio tags, priority is given to shops. Using bar-codes to identify things is an old method. Instead of these, developed countries use radio tags.

When you have a radio tag system, you don't have to read all the codes one by one, as you do in bar-codes. When you move closer to the counter with your goods, all the codes are being read by the computer, and when you reach the cashier, he/she has finished preparing the bill as well.

Now multinational companies are also using radio tags for their products; Walmart in America, one of the biggest multinational companies in the world, uses radio tags for its racks.

If someone had taken an unusually large amount of stuff from a rack, this system will automatically inform security officials. In the same way, when the goods are sold out, this system will automatically update the main computer to amend the store list, with the help of the radio tags.

You can even use radio tags to identify pets. Here, a radio tag with data and a special number is fixed to the neck gear of the pet. The owner has the antenna which can identify where the pet is. If the pet is missing, it can be easily tracked with the help of this tag.

Engineers keep an eye on cracks in bridges and buildings using radio tags. The St. Francisco Bridge in USA has thousands of radio tags fixed to it.

Special medical equipment in hospitals also have attached radio tags. They help the staff find the equipment in an emergency through the computer network.In October 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in USA gave permission to fix radio tags inside the human body.

This radio tag with a microchip is placed in a glass tube with a diameter of three millimetres and a length of 13 mm. This will be replaced in the body after making a small cut on the skin.

This radio tag contains important information about a person's medical history. If such a person met with an accident, medical staff will get the opportunity to learn about his/her medical history and provide life-saving treatment accordingly.

This chip is known as Verichip and 18 people who wear this are working in the Mexican Attorney General's Office. This chip works as an identification when entering the room where secret data is kept.

So, if everyone can maintain connections with everything around them with the help of radio tags, it will make life much easier. This is what ITU has been talking about at the conference.

They believe that if everyone is connected to the internet, everyone can communicate with the environment in the same quality and the same style. Because of these uses, manufacturing of radio tags had gone up. In 2010, it is expected to be 30 times as in 2005.

To be continued.
Janani Amarasekara