RFID Technology for Large-Scale Security Solutions

In the spring of 2005, the United States State Department began issuing 'smart' passports to US citizens. These smart passports contained RFID chips that could store a passport holder's name, date of birth, and place of birth. The chip, which held 64K of memory, also had enough room to store bio metric data, including digital fingerprints, photos and iris scans. The technology, which was also adapted for use in driver's licenses, is part of the United States government's efforts to secure its borders and fight terrorism in the wake of 9/11.

In Mexico, a number of government officials have had RFID chips implanted subdermally. The chips control access to areas containing sensitive documents and rather than entrust access to privilege to identity cards that might be lost or stolen, these implanted chips have proven to be much more difficult to duplicate. With improvements, they may prove to be as reliable as retinal scans and similar measures.

Several elementary schools in the USA have asked parents to embed RFID tags in their children bags, which are routinely scanned upon arrival at school each morning. After a handful of high-profile child murders and kidnappings shocked the country, this pilot project was conceived as an early-warning system for school officials, who felt that taking roll call took too long and happened too late in the day.

Commercial air carriers, such as Delta Air Lines, are turning to RFID and sensors as effective tools for aircraft maintenance. Tagged aircraft components could carry maintenance history data or even detect and report any unusual performance via on-board sensors. Not only would airlines benefit from more cost-effective maintenance routines, but passengers would also receive the ultimate benefit of increased safety while ideally flying less expensively.