SCADA, Telematics & GPS Technologies

A proposal by the Department of Homeland Security attempts to address one potential security problem with RFID-chipped passports, but leaves more obvious problems hanging fire.

In an effort to detect attempts to clone the data stored on RFID chips used on US Passport Cards, DHS on Wednesday announced that it is recommending that manufacturers supplying these RFID chips include a “unique identifier number,” or Tag Identifier (TID).

The TID would be used to ascertain when a chip’s data has been cloned, as one would do to create a fake passport. If two passports with the same identifier number turned up at the border, one of them could be deduced as fake. That number would actually be the second unique number in the chip, since all a passport’s RFID chip stores is a unique number that is indexed in a database. (Currently the chips hold one unique number and one generic manufacturer code; that generic code is the one that would be replaced with a TID.)

It’s an identification model that works reasonably well with mobile phones and automobiles, but an identity document is a different creature. Conceivably, the ID number might help to determine whether, for instance, a hacker intercepting the snail mail has waved a reader near a State Department envelope and picked off the data without having to open the envelope — with “contactless” technology, the envelope would not have to be opened. But the model may not help with other security issues RFID researchers, privacy activists, and anti-terrorism experts have flagged. (more…)

[nmarquardt] has put up an interesting instructable that covers building RFID tags. Most of them are constructed using adhesive copper tape on cardstock. The first version just has a cap and a low power LED to prove that the antenna is receiving power. The next iteration uses tilt switches so the tag is only active in certain orientations. The conclusion shows several different variations: different antenna lengths, conductive paint, light activated and more.

Fishery researchers in Thailand plan to adopt an RFID-enabled system to track the broodstock – the fish kept isolated for breeding purposes – of several fish species key to the country’s export business. With the system, researchers can track the development of the broodstock and supervise crossbreeding programs to improve the species.

Researchers at the Department of Fisheries Science at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Lad-krabang are embedding RFID chips in three aquatic species, the Giant Prawn, Nile Tilapia and Walking Catfish. The three species are crucial to Thailand’s economy, with an export value of about 2 billion bahts a year.

Since last year, the team has embedded RFID chips into more than a thousand of the three aquatic species. Researchers are working to determine the least disruptive way to insert the tags into the tiny juvenile creatures. To keep the system simple, the tags will only include a serial number to identify the individual. Other information, such as the animal’s breed, its growth and diet, will be maintained in a database.

“We will track an animal’s growth on a monthly basis, to monitor its overall development. The software will help us analyze the data. If we find that the animal is not growing well, we will implement cross breeding to improve the species,” said project leader Rungtawan Panakulchaiwit.

The project has received funding from the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre, as well as support from two private RFID companies, Silicon Craft Technology and IE Technology. After the pilot program is completed, the research center plans to promote the technology to private aquatic-animal farms across the country to help improve their farm management.

Source: RFID News

Photo: Rekhan

The Regional Transport Authority of Hyderabad, India, has announced plans to monitor its driving test tracks with an RFID-enabled system designed to automate testing for driver licenses.

The new system will be tested in a pilot program at one of the RTA’s three test tracks. The Nagole track will be equipped with a set of RFID readers buried 15 inches beneath the road surface. Applicants for licenses will drive vehicles outfitted with antennas, and the system will track variations in movement, speed limit and wrong turns within parameters preset by the RTA. Test scores, and the prospective driver’s ability, will be judged in a graph format.

The system takes human judgment out of the test administering, after accusations had been made that driving school agents and motor vehicle inspectors were manipulating test results. As additional insurance, thumb impressions would be recorded on the driving license to avoid manipulations

“No discretion is given to a motor vehicle inspector or others,” transport commissioner Raymond Peter said. “Once we see how it works, we will computerize the rest of the tracks. The system will be in place after the monsoon.”

Source: RFID News

RFID producer Intelleflex Corp. has announced a joint solution with Minds Inc., a information systems provider for the road construction and agriculture industries, to create a system that would automate tracking of crop harvesting.

The solution combines GPS, RFID and wireless communications technologies to provide real-time visibility into the time-sensitive operations of field harvesting. Using this solution, growers and harvesters can track the exact location, timing and efficiency of harvesters, as well as the arrival, loading and departure time of crop transport vehicles.

“In the crunch of harvest time, people are focused on the task at hand (i.e. the harvesting of crops), and not the tracking, recording and communications of operational data. As a result, there is often a lack of the information required to ensure the most efficient operation,” said Pierre Vidaillac, president of Minds Inc.

In the new system, GPS units and RFID readers are mounted on harvesters to track their whereabouts in the field as well as the arrival, loading and departure times of transport vehicles. The information is then transmitted wirelessly for immediate access over the web and mobile phones.

Intelleflex and Minds Inc. have previously collaborated on a similar system which tracking hot mix asphalt for the road construction industry.

Source: RFID News

A research group in Europe has taken a major step towards the goal of developing printable electronics that can be used for creating RFID tags. Researchers in the EU-funded CONTACT project have demonstrated that with suitable inks and printers, organic liquid crystal displays and other optical electronic devices can be printed out precisely.

The project researchers hope to follow this proof-of-principle by developing a gravure printing press, called Labratester 2. The press will be able to print hundreds of thousands of organic thin film transistor arrays or other devices precisely and efficiently.

The end goal of the project is to establish the ability to print electronic components directly onto organic materials such as paper, fabrics, or plastic. This would allow the quick and relatively cheap printing of RFID tags, as well as everyday devices such as flexible watch displays, and could eventually lead to applications from the realm of science fiction, like electronic paper or eyeglasses with embedded displays.

Participants in the CONTACT project include Switzerland-based Schläefli Machines, the Technical University of Ilmenau, Belgium’s IMEC, and Imperial College London.

Source: RFID News

Thailand’s Hom Mali project is testing the use of RFID applications in its rice production supply chain. The Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) has created a prototype system which tracks the flow of rice in the Roi-Kaen Sarn cluster area of the country.

The system tracks the flow of rice from the Khon Kaen Bank of Agricultural Cooperatives, where the rice is grown, to the cooperatives’ community mill. Rice trucks will be tagged at the time of loading and then scanned when it reaches the mill, to confirm the receipt of the rice and its point of origin. The tags will include additional information such as weight loads and truck numbers. For the pilot project, 500 tags will be used.

SIPA representatives hope the pilot project, which is expected to conclude in September, will develop into a system that enables local farmers to better compete in the global market. In an effort to further boost the regional economy, the project also encourages local software companies to adopt domestic supply-chain management software instead of importing it from abroad.

The system’s prototype will also be tested on other local agricultural products such as tapioca.

Source: RFID News

While other reader offerings rely on tag manufacturers to provide security for RFID tags, SkyeTek supplies RFID readers that implement security onto generic tags, providing cost savings as well as investment protection by enabling customers to switch tags without penalty.

This newer approach to tag security enables original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and product designers to control their own security requirements. In addition, with reader-driven security on generic tags, manufacturers can take advantage of encryption without the cost of a proprietary tag.

Some tag manufacturers provide no tag security at all, and the ones that do sell those tags at a premium. As part of a security solution, SkyeTek supports several proprietary encryption algorithms that are tailored to provide security for specific markets such as ticketing.

In addition, for those seeking to expand the security of their existing solutions, SkyeTek readers can overlay security on top of existing proprietary tags, the company claims. SkyeTek supports standards-based security algorithms, including TDEA and AES ciphers and SHA-2 hashes, which can be applied in addition to proprietary methods.

Reader-driven security is useful in areas such as product authentication and consumables authentication, as it allows for anti-cloning and anti-tampering. For example, a reader can enforce tag usage constraints by enforcing expiration dates and limiting the number of times a tag can be read. To prevent counterfeiting and cloning, applying a hash algorithm tied to the tag ID prevents the contents of the tag memory from being cloned or replicated on an unauthorized tag. Most proprietary security-enabled RFID tags are not immune to cloning.

SkyeTek’s standards-based approach enables secure support for generic tags, saving customers up to 70% over systems using proprietary security. SkyeTek’s security uses the same standards-based encryption that is used in e-commerce and that has been adopted by the government and military.

More information is available at SkyTek’s website.

Certain types of radio frequency identification tags can cause electromagnetic interference with medical equipment, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The report cautions facilities to check for interference from an RFID system before deploying it.

The study examined the impact of 125-kHz and 868-MHz frequencies on medical equipment. The 125-kHz is the technology used in proximity cards while the 868-MHz is a long-range RFID tag. Contactless smart cards, which use the 13.56 MHz, were not mentioned in the report.

In 123 tests, RFID induced 34 incidents of interference: 22 were classified as hazardous, two as significant, and ten as light. The 868-MHz RFID signal induced a higher number of incidents, 26 incidents in 41 EMI tests. Compared with the 125-kHz RFID signal which cause eight incidents in 41 tests. The median distance between the RFID reader and the medical device in all EMI incidents was 30 centimeters.

Read a summary of the report here.

The last thing a hospital employee wants to do is run around searching for a piece of equipment needed for a patient or an upcoming surgery. If the device can’t be found, often, hospitals rent the equipment even though it same device may be sitting somewhere in the hospital, such as a storage room or another area long vacated by the patient, unused. These rentals can cut into a hospital’s bottom line.

But using the same scenario, what if you could go to the nearest computer, call up the device number and get notification, within six feet, of where that device is? That’s the purpose behind RFID in a hospital environment. Yes, it’s the same technology used by major retailers or wholesalers to track products or shipments but health care facilities are also using it to save money.

Awarepoint, San Diego, Calif., was founded six-years ago to track assets and people in real time at acute care hospitals, says its CEO, Jason Howe. Like RFID, Awarepoint’s primary product, real time location service, has its own acronym, RTLS, which goes beyond location. “You also need to monitor and get history as well,” says Howe.

The company’s name is derived from this: “Find a point and you’re aware of everything,” says Howe. While Awarepoint is an active RFID company, he compares RTLS to an indoor positioning system. In fact, Awarepoint got its start by tracking kids at theme parks. RTLS grew from that when it was realized that such a system could work well in hospitals, which “have a lot of unique issues,” says Howe.

He describes what he calls five criteria that need to be in place to make RTLS advantageous for hospitals.

First, you need facility-wide coverage. “You have to cover every square inch of your medical facility,” says Howe. He likens this to GPS. If you drive outside a zone that may not be covered, there’s a problem.

Second, it has to be accurate enough to be able to pinpoint the item’s location. Is it in a hallway, outside of the hallway or in a room? “You have to have enough accuracy to tell you where things are,” he says.

Three, it has to be an easy to install. “You can’t afford to pull wires and cables everywhere. And you can’t shut down patient rooms or the operating rooms. You can’t interfere with any systems,” Howe says.

Lastly, you have to be interoperable with other systems in the hospital. “You have to be able to leverage those systems. There needs to be some way of integrating this system. It can’t be its own proprietary system.” (more…)