Barcodes vs Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Computers

Baggage tags equipped with radio-frequency identification will soon be available at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that uses radio waves to automatically identify various tagged objects.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a wireless tracking method that uses tags and readers to track objects.
Transponder, receiver, and transmitter are the three components of an RFID system.
The RFID reader continually sends radio waves of a specific frequency in the RFID system.
If the object to which the RFID tag is attached is within the range of the radio waves, it provides feedback to the RFID reader, which then identifies the object based on the feedback.
There are three types of RFID tags:
- Passive tags: There is no power supply for passive tags. They acquire their power from the readers’ incoming radio waves.
- Semi-passive tags: They comprise an internal circuit with a power source, but rely on the radio waves received from the reader to transmit the response.
- Active tags: Their internal circuit is powered by a power source. It also utilises its own power supply to send the response to the reader.
The Low Frequency, High Frequency, and Ultra-High Frequency bands are used by RFID systems.

Barcode

A barcode is a printed series of parallel bars or lines of varying width used for entering data into a computer system.
The bars are black on a white background and vary in width and quantity depending on the application.
The bars represent the binary digits zero and one, which represent the digits zero to nine processed by a digital computer.
These barcodes are scanned using special optical scanners known as barcode readers.
The majority of these codes use only two different widths of bars, however some use four.
Example: QR code

Difference between Barcode And RFID

Barcode	RFID
Barcodes use light to read the black-and-white pattern printed on the sticky tag.	RFID uses radio waves to communicate data from RFID chips to readers
When printed on paper or sticky labels, barcodes are more susceptible to wear and breakage, which can affect their readability.	RFID tags are sometimes placed in plastic labels or into the object itself, making them more durable than barcodes.
They can only process a single tag, that too manually.	RFID scanners can process dozens of tags in a single second.
barcodes are simple and easy to copy or counterfeit.	RFID is more complicated and difficult to replicate or counterfeit.
Barcodes need to be in the line of sight.	RFID tags need not be.