RFID tags ditch the antenna

A research team at the Centre for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), at North Dakota State University, has developed an antenna-less radio frequency identification (RFID) tag designed to track metal and liquids, RFID News reports.

The patent-pending technology aims to alleviate traditional problems associated with tracking metal objects or containers filled with liquid.

Typically, when an RFID tag is to be attached to metal cargo, the antenna is placed on a spacer to keep its electromagnetic field from being affected by the metal. In a rough-and-tumble shipping environment, such protruding tags can be damaged or ripped off, Gizmag states.

Azonano says that, according to research engineer Cherish Bauer-Reich, most RFID tags have a thickness range between 0.5cm and 3cm. The novel antenna-less RFID tags have a thickness of below 3mm.

These tags utilise the metal as the antenna for communication. This enables the tags to track any products, ranging from coffee cans to metal cargo containers to oil barrels, with less concern about damaging or losing the tag.