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Science & Tech., Economy
Mahesh

05/06/22 10:32 AM IST

Barcodes differ from radio-frequency identification tags

In News 
  • Baggage tags equipped with radio-frequency identification (RFID) will soon be available at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, marking a first of its kind for the country.
RFID
  • 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 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.
Types of RFID 
  • Passive tags, semi-passive tags, and active tags are the three types of RFID tags that are commercially available.
  • Active RFIDs use their own power source, mostly batteries.
  • Passive RFIDs are activated through the reader using the electromagnetic energy it transmits.
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, which come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
  • The majority of these codes use only two different widths of bars, however some use four.
  • The numbers that make up a barcode are also printed at the bottom. One of the most well-known examples of a barcode is the QR code.
RFID V/s Barcodes 
  • RFID uses radio waves to communicate that do not require line of sight in order to obtain the data; barcodes use light to read the black-and-white pattern printed on the sticky tag.
  • An RFID tag can communicate with a powered reader even when the tag is not powered.
  • When printed on paper or sticky labels, barcodes are more susceptible to wear and breakage, which can affect their readability. RFID tags are more durable than barcodes.
  • In contrast to barcode scanners, RFID scanners can process dozens of tags in a single second.
  • Barcodes are simple and easy to copy or counterfeit, whereas RFID is more complicated and difficult to replicate or counterfeit.
  • RFID tags are expensive compared to barcodes.


Source- Indian Express 

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