RFID Readers

An RFID reader sends commands and information to an RFID tag and receives information from the tag. A reader consists of a transceiver, antenna, controller, and computer interface. Readers communicate with tags using either inductive coupling or backscatter coupling. Both techniques rely on the tag modifying the electromagnetic field to send encoded information back to the reader. Besides handling radio communications, the reader is responsible for performing data verification and passing tag data to a database.

• List the primary components of an RFID system • List the primary components of an RFID reader • Describe a typical reader-to-tag interaction • Describe inductive coupling • Describe backscatter coupling • Describe the effect of antenna polarization • Describe how readers deal with tag collision • Explain how data is encoded between a reader and a tag