RFID: A Guide to Radio Frequency Identification

This broad overview and guide to RFID technology and its application provides the initial "homework" for the reader interested in better understanding RFID technology and tools. It is written to provide an introduction for business leaders, supply chain improvement advocates, and technologists to help them adopt RFID tools for their unique applications, and provide the basic information for better understanding of RFID.

RFID—A Guide to Radio Frequency Identification describes and addresses the following:

• How RFID works, how it is used, and who is using it
• The history of RFID technology, the current state of the art, and where RFID is expected to be taken in the future
• The role of middleware software to route data between the RFID network and the information technology (IT) systems within an organization
• The use of RFID technology in both commercial and government applications
• The role and value of RFID industry standards and the current regulatory compliance environment
• The issues faced by the public and industry regarding the wide-scale deployment of RFID technology

With the global sales of active RFID systems forecast to grow from $500 million in 2006 to $6.78 billion in 2016, there's more need than ever for a comprehensive guide to RFID that gives practical answers to complex questions about how RFID works, how it's currently being used, and how it may be applied in the future.

RFID—A Guide to Radio Frequency Identification is a one-stop resource for current information on commercial and government applications of RFID technology, with insightful focus on such specific uses as supply chain management, retail and consumer packaging, transportation and distribution of products, pharmaceutical applications, and security and access control.

About the Authors

V. Daniel Hunt is the president of Technology Research Corporation, located in Fairfax Station, Virginia. He is an internationally known management consultant and an emerging technology analyst. Mr. Hunt has 33 years of management and advanced technology experience as part of the professional staffs of Technology Research Corporation, TRW Inc., the Johns Hopkins University/ Applied Physics Laboratory, and the Bendix Corporation.

He has served as a senior consultant on projects for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Advanced Research Project Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and for many private firms such as James Martin and Company, Betac Corporation, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, Hitachi, Pacific Gas and Electric, Electric Power Research Institute, Science Applications International Corporation, Accenture/Arthur Andersen Consulting, and the Dole Foundation.

Mr. Hunt is the author of 20 management and technology professional books. His books include Process Mapping, Quality in America, Reengineering, Understanding Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Expert System Sourcebook, Mechatronics, and the Gasohol Handbook.

Albert Puglia is an attorney and the senior public safety–privacy issue analyst at Technology Research Corporation.

Since 1997, Mr. Puglia has provided support to the strategic planning and technology management initiatives of the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. He is knowledgeable of current federal, DoD, and state RFID technology initiatives and has worked closely with various public safety agencies in developing and deploying advanced technology.

Mr. Puglia is a former federal law enforcement official, having served in several federal law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and various federal Offices of the Inspector General. His assignments and background in these federal agencies were varied and included operational senior management, organizational assessment, strategic planning, and information systems planning. Mr. Puglia has been recognized for his law enforcement and management leadership and is the recipient of numerous awards and recognition, including the prestigious U.S. Meritorious Service Award.

Mr. Puglia received his B.A. in business administration from Merrimack College, North Andover, Massachusetts, and his M.A. in criminal justice from American University, Washington, D.C.

Mike Puglia served as an RFID and advanced wireless engineering technology analyst and writer at Technology Research Corporation. Mr. Puglia has supported Technology Research Corporation technology analysis contracts for various federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the area of RFID for public safety applications and emerging technology initiatives.

After graduating from the University of Delaware with a B.S. in electrical engineering and a B.S. in computer engineering, Mr. Puglia worked as an operations engineer at a satellite telecom startup in Annapolis, Maryland. Later he was an RF engineer at Cingular Wireless in San Diego, California, where he designed wireless phone and data networks and developed empirical models for radio wave propagation in urban and suburban environments.

In 2002, Mr. Puglia moved to Asia, where he spent the next two years teaching English in Tokyo and Shanghai and traveling throughout East Asia. During this period, he developed a keen interest in economics, particularly in finance. He is currently completing the Masters of Financial Engineering Program at the University of California at Berkeley. After completing the program, Mr. Puglia will to return to Japan to pursue a career in investment banking.