RFID - A Ninja to Deal with Fake Parking Permit

Over the years, the issues related to the parking lot mismanagement have increased. In the traditional approach, also known as the manual parking lot management system, there is a requirement of skilled personnel to do the job perfectly. Manually managed parking lots are more in use when compared to the automatic ones. But wait..did you get the main drawback in the manual one? A lot of errors. Yes, these manual systems are more prone to errors. Sometimes, these errors can prove to be disastrous for the authorities.

With the advent of RFID technology, complete automation of numerous processes can be successfully achieved in the industries. In recent years, many businesses have implemented RFID technology in their operations. Innovations and continual developments in the wireless communications technology have made the RFID technology a lot cheaper. UHF (Ultra High-frequency) RFID tags have been introduced. These tags have a longer reading range and provide more accuracy when compared to its predecessor tags.

In this age of innovation, every new product comes with a warning message. Yes, you've heard it right. Every coin has two sides and its the common human tendency to look at the brighter one. This approach may be promoted as an optimistic one, but it is more like a lopsided approach. What about the darker side? We have to see it in order to implement a new technology effectively. This is a smart approach.

What if the power of technology falls into the wrong hands? The problems related to piracy and fake permits will increase. Reports show that there has been an increase in the cases related to fake parking permits. Sometimes, it is difficult to deal with such problems. The RFID technology can prove to be the ultimate savior for us.

Don't You Dare, RFID is Here!

RFID-based parking management systems have been developed to provide cost-effective parking lot management solutions to the authorities as well as providing convenient services to the people. These systems have also helped in the development of vehicle management system. The problem of fake parking permits can easily be solved by this RFID-based system.

In areas where you see the 'parking by permit only' sign, you require a special permit to park your vehicle in that specific area. Nowadays, there have been cases of fake parking permits. The only effective solution to deal with such cases lies in the magic chip known as the RFID tag.

An RFID tag can be incorporated into the permit sticker. This will help in accurate authentication of the driver as well as the vehicle. The design and logo of a permit sticker can easily be replicated, but it is almost impossible to replicate an RFID tag. These tags contain electronically stored information about the details of the vehicle owner as well as the duration of the permit.

The duration of the permit can be extended by the user of the parking lot. Authorities will just have to update the RFID unit of the sticker. The main benefit of these RFID tags lies in their transferable nature. If an owner has multiple vehicles, but he has the parking permit for only one then the tag can be easily transferred from one vehicle to another.

The RFID-based parking management systems have not only proved beneficial in increasing parking lot revenue but in dealing with problems related to parking permits as well.

What are the Main Components of RFID?

In RFID(Radio-frequency identification) technology, the objects are tracked using special tags known as RFID tags. These tags carry information that is estimated to be about 2000 bytes. The main advantage of these tags is that they have a high throughput i.e. over hundreds of tags can be read at the same time. There are three main components of this technology: 

Scanning Antenna or Coil
The scanning antenna acts as a source for sending out a radio-frequency signal.
This signal provides a means of communication with the RFID tag. A scanning antenna can be of two types: the one that can be permanently affixed to the ground and the one that is available in a hand-held version. A new type of the antenna is recently introduced in which it is built into the door frame.

Transceiver
A transceiver with a decoder is used to interpret the information from the tags. When packaged with an antenna, it is also known as a reader or interrogator.
 Function of the reader is to decode the encoded data and then pass it to the host
computer.

Transponder
A transponder is the RFID tag that has been programmed to store certain information. Transponder can be of two types: Active and passive.
Active transponder has an internal battery and performs the basic operation of read/write, and passive transponders are those transponders that obtain their operating power from the reader. They don't need an external power source.

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.