What is RFID?

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that uses radio waves as means of identification. The most common way to use RFID is to store a serial number that identifies a person or an object, and perhaps a few other pieces of information, on a microchip that is attached to an antenna. The chip and the antenna together are called an RFID transponder or an RFID tag. The antenna enables the chip to transmit the identification information to a reader that converts the radio waves reflected back from the RFID tag into digital information. This information can then be passed on to computers that can make use of it.