Speaker 1: Imagine shedding your keys and passwords, entirely unlocking your car,
Speaker 1: your front door, even logging into your computer with just
Speaker 1: a simple wave of your hand.
Speaker 2: Sounds like science fiction, doesn't it?
Speaker 1: It really does. Well, Get ready because today we're embarking
Speaker 1: on a deep dive into the fascinating world of radio
Speaker 1: frequency identification or r FID.
Speaker 2: That's right, And for this deep dive, we're drawing our
Speaker 2: insights from a truly unique source. The book are FID
Speaker 2: Toys Cool Projects for Home, Office and Entertainment by Amal Grafstra.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a great one. Our mission today isn't just
Speaker 1: to explain RFID and dry technical terms. It's to cut
Speaker 1: through the jargon and show you how this star trek
Speaker 1: like tech which used to be mostly for big business, big.
Speaker 2: Warehouses, right supply chains and stuff.
Speaker 1: Exactly how it's surprisingly accessible now and applicable in your
Speaker 1: daily life. We're going to uncover some surprising ingenuity behind
Speaker 1: these projects, and.
Speaker 2: We'll also delve into the author's own remarkable personal journey.
Speaker 2: It all started with this, well, this real aha moment,
Speaker 2: fra him.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, tell us about that. That's quite the story,
Speaker 1: it really is.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Amal Grafster's motivation came after he learned about contactless
Speaker 2: RFID technology being used for like pet identifications.
Speaker 1: Okay, little chips and casts and dogs.
Speaker 2: Exactly, And he thought, wait a minute, why couldn't I
Speaker 2: use that same tech for myself, you know, skip the
Speaker 2: access cards, build his own systems.
Speaker 1: And he actually got implants he did.
Speaker 2: To avoid carrying cards, that personal quest, that desire for
Speaker 2: ultimate convenience and control. That's what really ignited the passion
Speaker 2: that led to this whole book.
Speaker 1: Wow. Okay, so to really appreciate these these cool projects,
Speaker 1: we first need to understand the basics. What exactly is
Speaker 1: RFID at its core?
Speaker 2: Well, fundamentally, think of it as a two part system
Speaker 2: wireless communication. You've got interrogators, those are the readers, and
Speaker 2: then you have the tags, the little things you attached
Speaker 2: to objects.
Speaker 1: Okay, so it's a bit like a barcode scanner and
Speaker 1: a barcode label kind of.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a good analogy. But here's the key difference.
Speaker 2: R FID is completely contactless, which means you can identify
Speaker 2: objects even if they're hidden, you know, inside a box,
Speaker 2: moving down an assembly line, even wrapped in paper. No
Speaker 2: line of sight needed.
Speaker 1: Okay, that immediately sounds way more powerful than a traditional barcode.
Speaker 1: Oh it is, and it gets more specific too, right.
Speaker 1: Barcodes usually identify a type of thing, like all oranges
Speaker 1: have the same code exactly right.
Speaker 2: Our codes label the type like isku quanti three four
Speaker 2: means oranges. But RFID, well, it can assign each individual
Speaker 2: item its very own unique serial number.
Speaker 1: So not just the bin of oranges, but potentially each orange.
Speaker 2: Potentially yes, or each apple. Or think about a hospital
Speaker 2: tracking every single medical chart as it moves around. That's
Speaker 2: a huge leap in granular tracking, pinpoint inventory traceability.
Speaker 1: That is a powerful distinction. Now, when we talk RFID systems,
Speaker 1: you often hear active versus passive. What's the main difference there?
Speaker 1: Why does it matter?
Speaker 2: It's all about power how the tag gets its energy.
Speaker 2: Passive RFID tags have no internal power source, zero battery.
Speaker 1: Okay, so how do they work them?
Speaker 2: They actually draw their energy from the magnetic field the
Speaker 2: reader emits. The reader powers them up wirelessly just long
Speaker 2: enough for them to respond.
Speaker 1: Interesting, So what does that mean for performance?
Speaker 2: It means they generally have a shorter read range usually
Speaker 2: you know, inches up to maybe several feet. The big
Speaker 2: advantages though, they're cheaper, much lower cost per tag, and
Speaker 2: they have an essentially indefinite lifespan because there's no battery
Speaker 2: to die.
Speaker 1: Makes sense. The downsides the.
Speaker 2: Shorter range obviously, and they can be a bit sensitive
Speaker 2: to interference from things like metal and liquids, especially the
Speaker 2: higher frequency ones.
Speaker 1: Okay, so if passive tags are powered by the reader,
Speaker 1: then active RFID tags must carry their own power supply correct.
Speaker 2: Active tags have a little internal battery and.
Speaker 1: What does that unlock? What's the benefit?
Speaker 2: Range? Much much longer range, typically around say thirty feet
Speaker 2: sometimes even hundreds of feet.
Speaker 1: Wow, Okay, big difference, huge difference.
Speaker 2: The advantage is that impressive range and they can transmit
Speaker 2: constantly if needed. But the trade off is well, they
Speaker 2: cost more per tag.
Speaker 1: And the battery runs out eventually, exactly.
Speaker 2: Limited lifespan usually around three to five years, depending on
Speaker 2: the tag and how often it transmits. But it really
Speaker 2: extends the reach of RFID tracking dramatically.
Speaker 1: So beyond just identifying things, some tags are also read write.
Speaker 1: How does that expand what you can do? What's the
Speaker 1: insight there?
Speaker 2: Ah, this is where it gets really interesting. Read write
Speaker 2: tags mean you can store data directly on the tag itself. Okay,
Speaker 2: so the tag isn't just an ID number pointing to
Speaker 2: a database somewhere. It can actually carry relevant information with
Speaker 2: the item.
Speaker 1: Like what kind of information?
Speaker 2: Well, the book uses the example of say, white gym socks.
Speaker 2: Instead of the tag just spitting out an ID that
Speaker 2: your system then has to look up, the words white
Speaker 2: gym socks could literally be stored right on that tag.
Speaker 1: Huh. So the tag itself knows what it's attached to precisely.
Speaker 2: It makes the item sort of autonomous, carrying it its
Speaker 2: own data, and that can save a lot of money
Speaker 2: because you don't need network connectivity at every single scan
Speaker 2: point just to look up what an ID means. Right.
Speaker 1: It reduces the reliance on a central database exactly.
Speaker 2: It transforms a simple identifier into like a portable data packet.
Speaker 2: Really useful, very useful.
Speaker 1: But speaking of cost and ease of use, the book
Speaker 1: does mention a security aspect for some of these DIY projects,
Speaker 1: specifically using open format tags. What's the deal there, Yeah, that's.
Speaker 2: An important trade off to understand. These common tags like
Speaker 2: EM four one h two used in many projects. They
Speaker 2: can be read or even duplicated by anyone with the
Speaker 2: right equipment, and that equipment isn't very expensive.
Speaker 1: So not super secure then not in a high.
Speaker 2: Security sense, no, But the book kind of embraces this.
Speaker 2: It makes these projects cheap, easy and fun for hobbyists. Okay,
Speaker 2: and you know, for a home setup, it's often an
Speaker 2: acceptable compromise. As the author points out, the real world
Speaker 2: threat for your front door probably isn't someone sophisticated least
Speaker 2: boofing your RFID tag.
Speaker 1: Right, Someone's more likely to just break a window exactly.
Speaker 2: You have to consider the practical threat model.
Speaker 1: Okay, let's unpack that's further though, because a Mallgraf's just book.
Speaker 1: It isn't just theory, right, It's about making RFID personal
Speaker 1: using it in some surprisingly intimate ways. Absolutely, like the
Speaker 1: RFID enabled front door project. That sounds pretty cool. How
Speaker 1: does that actually work?
Speaker 2: It is cool. So for a home door, you're usually
Speaker 2: looking at using either an electronic strike what's that. It's
Speaker 2: a replacement for the strike plate in your doorframe. When
Speaker 2: it gets power, it essentially gives way and lets the
Speaker 2: door open even if the dead bolt latch is extended. Okay,
Speaker 2: or you modify a standard electronic dead bolt the book
Speaker 2: details how you can take something like a common keypad
Speaker 2: dead bolt and basically hack it rewire it to respond
Speaker 2: to an RFID reader instead of, or in addition to
Speaker 2: the keypad.
Speaker 1: So you're adapting existing hardware. How does the RFID part
Speaker 1: actually connect and control to lock?
Speaker 2: Then? Right, you build a little control box. The book
Speaker 2: shows how to integrate a simple say one hundred and
Speaker 2: twenty five Killer Herds RFID reader with a relay. A
Speaker 2: relay is just an electronic switch. It takes the signal
Speaker 2: from the reader and uses it to switch the power
Speaker 2: on or off to the electronic strike or the modified
Speaker 2: dead bolt.
Speaker 1: Gotcha, and there's usually an indicator light too, Yeah.
Speaker 2: Often an LED. The author shows how you can carefully
Speaker 2: modify the reader board like de Sodern and moving the
Speaker 2: USB connector to hide all the wiring inside the wall
Speaker 2: for really clean covert setup. The relay clicks the lock open,
Speaker 2: the LED might blink to show it worked. Visual feedback
Speaker 2: and what about the brains?
Speaker 1: Is there software involved? What does it do?
Speaker 2: Yes? Definitely. The author developed custom software called door FID.
Speaker 2: Its job is basically to listen for tag scans from
Speaker 2: the reader. Okay, then it checks the scan tag ID
Speaker 2: against a list of authorized IDs. If it's a match,
Speaker 2: it tells the relay to unlock the door, and it
Speaker 2: controls that led blink.
Speaker 1: And you can manage the tags, add new ones, remove
Speaker 1: old ones exactly.
Speaker 2: What's clever is it also lets you manage tags. Add
Speaker 2: your tag, your partner's tag, maybe a temporary tag for
Speaker 2: a guest. And you could even set time restrictions.
Speaker 1: Oh like for a cleaner or dog walker.
Speaker 2: Precisely their tag might only work, say Tuesday afternoons.
Speaker 1: That's neat.
Speaker 2: And again the book brings up that practical security point
Speaker 2: for a home door. Is someone really going to try
Speaker 2: and clone your tag from two inches away? Maybe, but
Speaker 2: breaking a window is probably faster and easier for most burglars.
Speaker 2: It forces you to think about the real vulnerabilities.
Speaker 1: That is a good dose of reality. Okay, so you've
Speaker 1: liberated your front door. The next logical step for many
Speaker 1: people their car.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 1: How does RFID make keyless entry even more seamless, like
Speaker 1: no button presses at all?
Speaker 2: Yeah, the concept here is fantastic for convenience, especially when
Speaker 2: your hands are full. Imagine just bumping your hip where
Speaker 2: your keys are in your pocket against the spot.
Speaker 1: On the car and it unlocks, and it unlocks.
Speaker 2: The project uses a pretty simple, inexpensive access control kit.
Speaker 2: These kits can store say forty or fifty tags. They
Speaker 2: usually have a master tag for easy programming, and maybe
Speaker 2: give you an audible beep conformation.
Speaker 1: Antenna placement sounds like it would be critical here too.
Speaker 1: Where do you put it? Any challenges?
Speaker 2: Absolutely vital. The antenna coil is often quite delicate. You
Speaker 2: need to secure it carefully to a non metallic surface.
Speaker 1: Why non metality metal.
Speaker 2: Interfered badly with one hundred and twenty five kJ ever signal,
Speaker 2: Even though that frequency is generally more tolerant than higher ones,
Speaker 2: it just kills the range. So ideally you mount it
Speaker 2: near a window, maybe tucked under some plastic trim inside
Speaker 2: the car. Getting reliable reads without having to fumble around
Speaker 2: takes some careful placement. Every millimeter counts makes sense?
Speaker 1: And how does it actually talk to the car's locking system?
Speaker 2: A couple of ways. You can interface it with your
Speaker 2: existing keyless entry remote fob. Basically, you wire the RFID
Speaker 2: kits relay to simulate pressing the unlocked button on a
Speaker 2: spare fob you hide in the car, AH clever or
Speaker 2: you can wire more directly to the car's power lock actuators.
Speaker 2: The book tends to focus on simplicity here, so direct
Speaker 2: integration usually just handles unlocking, not locking, to keep the
Speaker 2: wiring easier.
Speaker 1: Gotcha, okay, front door car. What about your digital life?
Speaker 1: Logging into Windows XPI know a bit dated, but the
Speaker 1: concept with an RFID keyboard? How's that possible?
Speaker 2: This project is really neat. It involves physically modifying a
Speaker 2: standard USB keyboard like an old Microsoft Natural Elite. You
Speaker 2: basically open it up and integrate a small USB RFID
Speaker 2: reader and maybe a tiny USB hub inside the keyboard casing.
Speaker 1: So it all fits inside.
Speaker 2: Yeah. The goal is to have just one single standard
Speaker 2: USB cable coming out of the keyboard to your PC.
Speaker 2: It makes the RFID part completely invisible, totally seamless.
Speaker 1: With just typing, and when you wave your hand.
Speaker 2: It feels like magic. You just wave your authorized tag
Speaker 2: over a spot on the keyboard and boom, you're logged in.
Speaker 1: Okay, so the hardware is custom What about the software side?
Speaker 1: How do you make Windows accept an RFID tag instead
Speaker 1: of a password.
Speaker 2: That's where a clever bit of open source software comes
Speaker 2: in a tool called pgina, or specifically a module for
Speaker 2: it called Polgina dot dlll pgina. Yeah. It essentially acts
Speaker 2: as a replacement for this stand Windows login screen. The
Speaker 2: gena module pull Gina works as a kind of middleman.
Speaker 2: It intercepts the login process. It lets you link specific
Speaker 2: RFID tag IDs to your Windows username and password. When
Speaker 2: you scan your tag pule Gina looks up the associated
Speaker 2: credentials and automatically passes them to Windows, just as if
Speaker 2: you did type them in yourself.
Speaker 1: Wow. That sounds incredibly convenient, but also maybe a little
Speaker 1: concerning from a security standpoint.
Speaker 2: Does the book address that or absolutely it highlights a
Speaker 2: critical security aspect.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: By default, the tag IDs and the link usernames and
Speaker 2: passwords are stored in plaintext right in the Windows.
Speaker 1: Registry plaintext, so anyone with admin access could just.
Speaker 2: Read them exactly. Anyone who can access the registry editor
Speaker 2: with admin rights could potentially see that mapping. The book
Speaker 2: suggests maybe trying to secure those specific registry keys as
Speaker 2: a possible mitigation.
Speaker 1: But is that fool proof?
Speaker 2: Well? It also notes that poule Gina itself runs with
Speaker 2: system privileges, which is the highest level on Windows, so
Speaker 2: it always has access regardless. It's really a classic example
Speaker 2: that trade off amazing convenience versus potential security exposure, especially
Speaker 2: on a shared or less secured machine. You have to
Speaker 2: weigh the risks for your situation. And what's fascinating here
Speaker 2: is how these components, these ideas from personal projects, they
Speaker 2: actually scale up. They can tackle more complex challenges, pushing
Speaker 2: what RFID can do beyond just the home.
Speaker 1: Think businesses, right, like the RFID enabled smart shelf. I
Speaker 1: can totally see that for business inventory tracking, medical supplies,
Speaker 1: maybe parts in a warehouse.
Speaker 2: Exactly common business applications, supply chains, tracking files.
Speaker 1: But how does that translate to home use. What's the
Speaker 1: insight for you and me?
Speaker 2: Well, the concept scales down perfectly. You could adapt it
Speaker 2: for your DVD collection, your books, maybe tools and garage.
Speaker 1: Okay, I see, so you always know what's on the
Speaker 1: shelf without having to look.
Speaker 2: Pretty much. The core idea is real time inventory without
Speaker 2: manual scanning. And a crucial feature for this, especially for
Speaker 2: shelves with lots of items, is something called anti collision.
Speaker 1: Anti collision.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the reader module used in the book's project, it's
Speaker 2: a thirteen point five to six Megohurst read write module
Speaker 2: supports it. It basically means the reader can talk to
Speaker 2: multiple tags on the shelf at the same time without
Speaker 2: them all trying to respond at once and just creating noise.
Speaker 1: Ah, so it can sort them out right.
Speaker 2: It interrogates them intelligently so they don't talk over each other.
Speaker 2: That means you can literally just glance at a screen
Speaker 2: connected to the shelf reader and get an instant list
Speaker 2: of everything that's currently sitting there.
Speaker 1: That's pretty powerful, so reading many tags at once. What
Speaker 1: are the practical challenges in setting up the antenna for
Speaker 1: something like that, like a whole shelf.
Speaker 2: Well, that thirteen point five to six Melhurst frequency. It's
Speaker 2: particularly sensitive to interference from metal and also liquids. Okay,
Speaker 2: so the pad antenna used in the project has to
Speaker 2: be mounted to a non metal shelf, wood, plastic, fine metal.
Speaker 2: Big problem, it'll absorb or reflect the signal badly.
Speaker 1: And getting good coverage over a whole shelf.
Speaker 2: That's the trick. It's a delicate balance. You might need
Speaker 2: moultiple readers and antennas for larger areas, or you'd have
Speaker 2: to invest in a much more powerful and therefore more
Speaker 2: expensive reader setup. Getting reliable reads across every spot on
Speaker 2: a full shelf. It's a bit of a tight rope
Speaker 2: walk right.
Speaker 1: Okay, So beyond organizing our stuff, the book also shows
Speaker 1: how our FID can help with our pets. The RFID
Speaker 1: pet door sounds like a fun one.
Speaker 2: Oh, it's a great project. And what's neat about this
Speaker 2: one is unlike some of the earlier projects that needed
Speaker 2: a PC connect it.
Speaker 1: Like the log and keyboard, right, the pet.
Speaker 2: Door is designed as a fully autonomous system. It uses
Speaker 2: an RFID module, but it's paired with a small microprocessor
Speaker 2: like a basic.
Speaker 1: Stamp, meaning it runs by itself exactly.
Speaker 2: It functions completely independently. It reads the tag on your
Speaker 2: pets caller and decides whether to unlock the flap, all
Speaker 2: without needing a computer nearby. Only opens for your pets tag.
Speaker 1: Okay, I can imagine antenna orientation being absolutely critical here
Speaker 1: the pets moving the tag on the caller might be
Speaker 1: flopping around.
Speaker 2: You've hit on a really key point. This project is
Speaker 2: a perfect illustration of a fundamental principle of passive RFID.
Speaker 2: It's not just about being.
Speaker 1: Close enough, it's about alignment.
Speaker 2: Yes, alignment is crucial for the tag to get enough
Speaker 2: energy from the reader's field. To power up and respond,
Speaker 2: the coil antenna inside the tag needs to be aligned
Speaker 2: more or less parallel with the reader's antenna coil. If
Speaker 2: it's perpendicular turn the wrong way, the magnetic coupling is
Speaker 2: really weak. It won't get enough power.
Speaker 1: Like trying to charge your phone wirelessly, the putting it
Speaker 1: on the charger.
Speaker 2: Sideways exactly like that. So the challenge is, how do
Speaker 2: you make sure the pets tag is facing the right
Speaker 2: way when they walk up to the door.
Speaker 1: Yeah, how do you solve that? You can't exactly train
Speaker 1: your cat to hold its head just right.
Speaker 2: Uh huh No. The book offers a really clever practical solution.
Speaker 2: It's suggest using those small, flexible wristband style RFID tags. Okay,
Speaker 2: got the band part off, So you just have the
Speaker 2: tag module. Then you actually sow that module into the
Speaker 2: pets collar. And here's the trick. You also so in
Speaker 2: something with a bit of weight like their metal name
Speaker 2: tag positions so it naturally pulls the RFID tag module downwards.
Speaker 1: Ah, So gravity helps keep the tag oriented correctly facing
Speaker 1: the reader antenna, which would be low down in the doorframe.
Speaker 2: Precisely. It leverages the weight of the name tag to
Speaker 2: ensure the tag is usually facing downwards for an optimal
Speaker 2: read as the pet approaches. It's a really neat example
Speaker 2: of the kind of practical, ingenious problem solving you find
Speaker 2: throughout the book.
Speaker 1: That is clever. Okay, moving beyond Homan pets. Now, RFID
Speaker 1: scales up dramatically for tracking things like employees or valuable assets, right,
Speaker 1: and for that you need longer range. So we're talking
Speaker 1: active RFID exactly.
Speaker 2: Active RFID is a whole different ballgame because the tags
Speaker 2: have their own battery, right.
Speaker 1: We covered that power equals.
Speaker 2: Range yep, they don't need to rely on harvesting energy
Speaker 2: from the reader. This breaks that close range limitation. Systems
Speaker 2: like the four hundred and thirty three Meggahertz ones discussed
Speaker 2: in the book can offer ranges of you know, tens
Speaker 2: or even hundreds of feet. True wide area tracking.
Speaker 1: Becomes possible, and the book highlights a specific reader for this,
Speaker 1: the Wavetrend LRS two one. What's special about that one?
Speaker 1: For larger scale.
Speaker 2: Stuff, it has a few key features for that kind
Speaker 2: of application. One is support for RS four eight five networking.
Speaker 2: What's that It's a robust industrial communication standard unless you
Speaker 2: chain multiple readers together, up to two hundred and fifty
Speaker 2: five of them on a single long cable run, all
Speaker 2: connecting back to one PC. So you could cover a
Speaker 2: huge warehouse or office building with relatively simple wiring.
Speaker 1: Okay, that makes sense for big areas anything else.
Speaker 2: It also has adjustable gain. Think of it like a
Speaker 2: volume control for the reader's sensitivity or reach.
Speaker 1: Why would you need that.
Speaker 2: To fine tune the coverage area of each reader. You
Speaker 2: might want to prevent readers in adjacent zones from accidentally
Speaker 2: picking up the same tags, causing confusion. Adjustable gain lets
Speaker 2: you create more defined read zones.
Speaker 1: Gotcha? Any downsides for hobbyists? Well?
Speaker 2: The one quirk is that Wavetrend's official software development Kit,
Speaker 2: the SDK you'd normally use to write custom software for it. Yeah,
Speaker 2: it's proprietary. You usually need to sign a non disclosure
Speaker 2: agreement and NDA to get access.
Speaker 1: So not quite as open as some of the other.
Speaker 2: Stuff, right, A bit more of a hurdle for casual experimentation.
Speaker 1: And what about the act of tags themselves? Are there
Speaker 1: different types? Any clever tricks?
Speaker 2: Yeah, the wave Trend L series has various tags. There
Speaker 2: are standard personnel tags like badges, Domino style tags for
Speaker 2: sticking onto non metallic assets, keyfob tags.
Speaker 1: Uh huh.
Speaker 2: But one particularly clever one is the metallic asset tag.
Speaker 2: It's specifically designed to work even when attached directly to metal.
Speaker 1: How does it do that? I thought metal was bad
Speaker 1: for RFID.
Speaker 2: It usually is, especially when the tag is inside or
Speaker 2: sandwiched against metal. But this tag is designed to be
Speaker 2: affixed to the side of a metal object. Its antenna
Speaker 2: is tuned and positioned to radiate effectively even with the
Speaker 2: metal nearby. It's a neat solution to a very common
Speaker 2: RFID problem.
Speaker 1: That is useful, and some of these tags even have
Speaker 1: tempered detection. How does that work?
Speaker 2: It can, Yeah, It's usually a simple mechanism. A small
Speaker 2: magnet is mounted on the asset and a red switch
Speaker 2: which is sensitive to magnetic fields, is inside the tag housing. Okay,
Speaker 2: When the tag is attached correctly, the magnet holds the
Speaker 2: read switch closed or open, depending on the design. If
Speaker 2: someone tries to remove the tag from the asset, the
Speaker 2: magnet moves away, the switch flips state, and the tag
Speaker 2: immediately transmits a tamper alert signal.
Speaker 1: Clever does it always get picked up?
Speaker 2: It relies on a reader being close enough to hear
Speaker 2: that alert pretty quickly, so it's most effective if the
Speaker 2: tagged asset is usually within a monitored zone. But it
Speaker 2: adds a nice layer of security for valuable items.
Speaker 1: So you've got all these readers, all these tags reporting in.
Speaker 1: How do you actually manage all that data and make
Speaker 1: sense of it?
Speaker 2: Well, the book mentions some generic track stuff software as
Speaker 2: an example concept showing how you'd process the raw tag
Speaker 2: reads you know, tag id, reader id timestamp into meaningful
Speaker 2: information like asset x last seen at door y at
Speaker 2: timesz right. But it also points to a really powerful alternative,
Speaker 2: especially if you want to avoid that proprietary SDKs you
Speaker 2: we mentioned, what's that using home here home automation software,
Speaker 2: there's a specific third party RFID plug in available for
Speaker 2: homes here that's designed to work directly with the Wavetrend hardware.
Speaker 1: AH, so you can use the powerful wave Trend readers
Speaker 1: and tags.
Speaker 2: Exactly get the long range the networking, the tamper detection, but.
Speaker 1: Without needing the official Wave Trend software or SDT.
Speaker 2: Precisely, it makes that high end active RFID hardware much
Speaker 2: more accessible for diiers or people building custom automation systems.
Speaker 2: You can integrate the tracking data directly into your smart
Speaker 2: home rules or other custom applications. It really opens up possibilities.
Speaker 1: Okay, here's where it gets really interesting. I think, what
Speaker 1: if RFID could do more than just identify something. What
Speaker 1: if it could actually tell you something new about an item,
Speaker 1: or even change how we interact with the world around us.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is where read write tags really come into
Speaker 2: their own, pushing beyond just simple ID touched on it earlier.
Speaker 2: The idea of data on.
Speaker 1: The tag right, like the white gem socks example.
Speaker 2: Exactly, but scale that up. The book uses a great
Speaker 2: example brewery barrels. Okay, imagine each barrel has a ReadWrite tag.
Speaker 2: When it's filled, the system writes what product is inside,
Speaker 2: maybe which dispenser filled it, and crucially whether the barrel
Speaker 2: is currently sealed or tapped.
Speaker 1: Ah. So the barrel itself carries its status.
Speaker 2: Yes, so when that barrel arrives somewhere else, the scanner
Speaker 2: doesn't need to check a central database to know what's
Speaker 2: in it or if it's ready to use. The tag
Speaker 2: tells it directly. This enables autonomous logic. The item itself
Speaker 2: holds the critical info.
Speaker 1: Which as you said, saves needing network connections everywhere.
Speaker 2: Right, big cost saving in large operations.
Speaker 1: But these tags don't have much storage do they? Like
Speaker 1: you mentioned four bytes per block earlier, how do you
Speaker 1: cram all that information product, dispenser, sealed status into such
Speaker 1: a tiny space that.
Speaker 2: Requires some cleverness bit level manipulation, bit level.
Speaker 1: Like dealing with individual ones and zeros exactly.
Speaker 2: Instead of thinking in whole bytes, where one byte might
Speaker 2: store one number or one character, you design a data
Speaker 2: schema that uses specific bits within a byte or across
Speaker 2: a few bytes to represent different pieces of information.
Speaker 1: Can you give an example?
Speaker 2: Sure? Maybe the first three bits of a byte represent
Speaker 2: the dispenser ID allowing eight IDs, the next three bits
Speaker 2: represent the product ID another eight products, and the last
Speaker 2: two bits could represent the status zero zero means empty,
Speaker 2: zero one means filled, sealed, ten means tapped, eleven means
Speaker 2: maybe needs cleaning.
Speaker 1: Wow, So you pack multiple data points into a single byte.
Speaker 2: Precisely, you maximize every single available bit of storage on
Speaker 2: the tag. It's a bit of a hack, but a
Speaker 2: really necessary one to get meaningful data onto these low cost,
Speaker 2: limited memory tags.
Speaker 1: And is this just for fixed readers or can you
Speaker 1: build something portable to read and write this data on
Speaker 1: the go.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, the book absolutely covers that. It describes building
Speaker 2: a handheld read write device basically taking one of those
Speaker 2: common packed RFID modules like the SkyTech M one, pairing
Speaker 2: it again with a microprocessor like the Basic Stamp, adding
Speaker 2: a battery and an LCD screen, and stuffing it all
Speaker 2: into a small project box.
Speaker 1: So you can walk around and update the tags on things.
Speaker 2: Exactly, you could walk up to that brewer barrel, scan it,
Speaker 2: maybe updated status to tap directly on the tag using
Speaker 2: the handheld device. It highlights the engineering challenge of cramming
Speaker 2: it all in, but it shows the amazing versatility of
Speaker 2: having that autonomous read write power out in the field.
Speaker 2: It extends RFID into real hands on data management.
Speaker 1: That really does feel like extreme RFID, turning a hobby
Speaker 1: project into a serious tool. And the book explores other
Speaker 1: extreme applications too, right like integrating with home automation.
Speaker 2: Definitely we mentioned home ser You can connect RFID readers
Speaker 2: passive or active to it. Then you can create rules.
Speaker 2: If my tag is detected by the hallway reader, then
Speaker 2: turn on the living room lights and the kitchen lights
Speaker 2: to fifty percent.
Speaker 1: So your house reacts to your presence automatically.
Speaker 2: Yeah, using systems like X ten you were smart home tech.
Speaker 2: The book mentions specific X ten modules. An RFID event
Speaker 2: scanning your tag, maybe even an active tag detecting you
Speaker 2: entering a room, can trigger pretty much any automated action. Lights, fans, music,
Speaker 2: thermostat changes. Your house can genuinely greet you or adjust
Speaker 2: itself as you move around.
Speaker 1: And then there's this more conceptual idea SPyME and how
Speaker 1: artists are using RFID right.
Speaker 2: Spme. It's a term coined by the science fiction author
Speaker 2: Bruce Sterling Ok. It refers to objects that could be
Speaker 2: tracked through space and time, objects that have a history
Speaker 2: associated with them, often via embedded tech like RFID. They're
Speaker 2: not just static things. They have a life cycle, a
Speaker 2: location history.
Speaker 1: Interesting concept. How does art come into it?
Speaker 2: Artists Megan Trainer did a project called with Hidden Numbers
Speaker 2: that really brings this to life. Her artwork uses embedded
Speaker 2: RFID tags. When a specific tagged object a spine, is
Speaker 2: detected in a certain area, it can trigger artistic actions
Speaker 2: like what like invoking specific audio clips related to that
Speaker 2: object's history. We're even causing a physical sculpture somewhere else
Speaker 2: to animate or change in response to the object's presence.
Speaker 2: It directly links the physical object and its identity to
Speaker 2: a dynamic, responsive artistic output. Blurs the lines between tech
Speaker 2: and art.
Speaker 1: That's fascinating. And then, perhaps the most personal and most
Speaker 1: extreme application, implantable RFID tags. The author Amal Grafstra is
Speaker 1: kind of famous for this.
Speaker 2: He is. He's definitely a pioneer in the self implantation space.
Speaker 2: For practical use. Now, there is an SDA approved tag,
Speaker 2: the Vaship, intended for human implantation, mostly for medical ID purposes,
Speaker 2: but am All went further for his own access control.
Speaker 2: He actually has two implants, a simple one or twenty
Speaker 2: five Kilohertz tag in his left hand.
Speaker 1: How did that get in?
Speaker 2: That one required a small incision with a scalpel, And
Speaker 2: then he has a more advanced thirteen point five to
Speaker 2: six millerherz read write tag in his right hand, which
Speaker 2: was inserted using a large gauge injection needle assembly.
Speaker 1: Wow. And he uses these for everyday things.
Speaker 2: Yeah, purely for personal access control, opening his front door,
Speaker 2: unlocking his car, logging into his computer, even opening a
Speaker 2: safe just by waving the correct hand, it's the ultimate
Speaker 2: embodiment of his original vision, a completely keyless, passwordless existence.
Speaker 1: That's incredible dedication to the idea. But are all tags
Speaker 1: that could be implanted safe or suitable? The book must
Speaker 1: address that.
Speaker 2: It does, and it's a critical safety point. It warns
Speaker 2: specifically against using common ampool tags the little glass tubes
Speaker 2: often sold for pet identification for human implantation.
Speaker 1: Why not? They look similar.
Speaker 2: They often have a porous anti migration coating like perilene
Speaker 2: C or something similar. It's designed to let body tissue
Speaker 2: actually grow into the coating slightly to stop the tag
Speaker 2: from moving around under the skin.
Speaker 1: Okay, sounds good for pet, but it.
Speaker 2: Makes removal in humans incredibly difficult and potentially very painful
Speaker 2: or damaging if it ever becomes necessary. Tags specifically designed
Speaker 2: for human use, like the type amal uses, are typically uncoded,
Speaker 2: smooth glass or biocompatible polymer designed for easier remove if needed.
Speaker 2: It's a very important distinction for anyone even remotely curious.
Speaker 1: Good to know. Are there communities for people interested in this?
Speaker 2: Yeah? The book mentions online communities like one hosted at
Speaker 2: tagged dot cows, dot gen, dot n sns, where people
Speaker 2: with implants or those considering it can share experiences and
Speaker 2: information safely.
Speaker 1: Okay, Now, all this tracking, all this identification, especially as
Speaker 1: it becomes more widespread, it inevitably brings up big questions
Speaker 1: about privacy and how this data gets used. The bookshares
Speaker 1: are really compelling story about Florida toll roads.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a striking example of let's say, function creep
Speaker 2: or unintended consequences.
Speaker 1: What happened?
Speaker 2: So the RFID tags people use for automatic toll payment,
Speaker 2: like some pass in Florida? It turned out the highway
Speaker 2: authority had also installed readers along non toll sections of
Speaker 2: major highways, officially for traffic monitoring. They were reading the
Speaker 2: toll tags every half mile or so to anonymously calculate
Speaker 2: average travel times between points anonymously. Well that was the claim. Yeah,
Speaker 2: but the system was reading the unique idea of each tag.
Speaker 2: Book raises the obvious questions, what's stopping them from using
Speaker 2: that data to detect speeders between two points, or tracking
Speaker 2: the real time location of specific vehicles, or building up
Speaker 2: detailed travel histories. It happened without explicit driver consent or
Speaker 2: even widespread awareness initially.
Speaker 1: Wow, that really highlights the issue convenience meets potential surveillance exactly.
Speaker 2: It shows how easily an infrastructure built for one purpose
Speaker 2: can be used for another, and why consumer awareness and
Speaker 2: transparency about data usage are so crucial as RFID becomes ubiquitous.
Speaker 1: Are there other, maybe less obvious, tracking examples the book
Speaker 1: covers sure.
Speaker 2: Casinos are another big one. They're increasingly tagging high value
Speaker 2: poker chips multiple reasons. Security, mainly readers built into the
Speaker 2: tables can detect if bets are placed after the dealer
Speaker 2: calls no more bets. They can track chip movements, spot
Speaker 2: counterfeit chips, or see if someone pockets chips they shouldn't.
Speaker 2: Cashier's trays can automatically count tag chips, so.
Speaker 1: Real time inventory and security on the gaming floor precisely.
Speaker 2: It gives the casino owners a much clearer, real time
Speaker 2: picture of their assets and helps prevent cheating or theft.
Speaker 1: And the book even speculates about tagging cash itself.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it throws that out there as a future possibility.
Speaker 2: Imagine currency notes with tiny embedded RFID tags. What would
Speaker 2: be the point automatic counting? For one, a bank could
Speaker 2: verify a deposit instantly without manual accounting, Maybe tracking large
Speaker 2: cache movements to fight crime your wall. It could potentially
Speaker 2: even tell you exactly how much cash is inside.
Speaker 1: That's a mind bending thought. The privacy implications there seem huge, absolutely.
Speaker 2: Huge, and it really circles back to that core question
Speaker 2: the technology forces us to confront. As this RFID infrastructure
Speaker 2: keeps expanding and it definitely will, how do we as
Speaker 2: a society strike that balance. How do we harness the
Speaker 2: innovation and the convenience.
Speaker 1: Without sacrificing personal privacy or allowing opaque data collection?
Speaker 2: Exactly? We need to be aware, We need to ask questions,
Speaker 2: and we need to demand transparency and how this powerful
Speaker 2: technology is deployed and used.
Speaker 1: What a fascinating deep dive. We've really covered a lot,
Speaker 1: from the basic principles of RFID active versus passive read write.
Speaker 2: All the way to these really extreme applications building your
Speaker 2: own access control, smartshelves, pet.
Speaker 1: Doors right, and then the bigger ideas like spime, integrating
Speaker 1: with home automation and even implannable tech. The ingenuity is
Speaker 1: just incredible.
Speaker 2: And hopefully knowing all this helps you the listener, not
Speaker 2: just appreciate the tech itself, but also grasp the implications
Speaker 2: as it becomes more and more embedded in our world.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you now have a much deeper sense of the
Speaker 1: trade offs involved, the clever engineering hacks, and that really
Speaker 1: important ongoing conversation around privacy and data use.
Speaker 2: It stops being just some abstract technology and becomes something tangible,
Speaker 2: something that affects or will affect your everyday life.
Speaker 1: So where does this leave us? What's the final thought?
Speaker 1: As RFID continues this rapid climb weaving itself into the
Speaker 1: fabric of everything around us. What surprising new toys or
Speaker 1: maybe what challenging new ethical dilemmas do you think it
Speaker 1: will create next?
Speaker 2: And perhaps more importantly, what role will inform citizens like
Speaker 2: yourself play and actually shaping that future, ensuring this technology
Speaker 2: serves us well.