Human ID - Seminar Report

INTRODUCTION

As time is progressing life is becoming more and more complex. As each day unfolds, man is tied up with a huge no: of constraints. Though the electronic era has attempted to reduce this mishap, the same developments have added to the hardships.

Electronic cards have become a part and parcel of our lives. Where ever we go we have to carry with us a dozen no: of cards for the various transactions that needs to be carried out. Debit cards, credit cards and ATM cards for financial transactions, identity cards for various legal and identity purposes, hall tickets and admit cards for examinations and other functions, driver's license for driving purposes, passports for immigration and  emigration purposes and the list continues.

The tracking and locating system present today is weak to meet the high end requirements. Tracking frauds kidnaps, livestock monitoring etc needs a more efficient technological solution.

As a solution to all these aspects, a new technology named RFID has emerged .RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification Devices.

RFID is an old inventory control technology that is quietly being deployed throughout business and industry to track everything from pets to people and products. This technology is helping optimize inventory and business systems and is making consumers' lives more convenient. RFID uses electronic tags for storing data and identifying items. RFID is a catchall term for a broad array of technologies that includes everything from battery-powered "active" tags, such as those used in highway toll booths, to "passive" RFID tags that measure a fraction of a millimeter in each dimension, not counting the antenna in the device.

Applied Digital Solutions is set to unveil a working prototype of "Digital Angel", a dime-sized implantable 'microchip' which is powered by muscle movement. Applied Digital Solutions announced that it had acquired the patent rights to a miniature digital transceiver -- which it has named Digital Angel. Digital Angel represents the first ever operational combination of advanced sensor technology and Web enabled wireless telecommunications linked to GPS systems. It is said to be the first-ever operational combination of bio-sensor technology and Web-enabled wireless telecommunications linked to global positioning satellite location-tracking systems. Concerns have been raised over personal privacy, but ADS claims that privacy concerns are misplaced, since the device can be turned off by the owner.

Potential applications include: medical and location monitoring for at-risk patients; emergency location of lost or missing children; finding lost or missing household pets; managing livestock and other farm-related animals; pinpointing the location of valuable stolen property; and managing the commodity supply chain. Digital Angel data is transmitted wirelessly, on a real time basis, to an Internet-integrated ground station and made available on a Web-enabled desktop, laptop or wireless device.

The IMPLANTABLE CHIP OR RFID

The  chip to be implanted resembles a glass pill; much the same size and shape as a vitamin capsule.The cyberpill contains three silicon chips and an electromagnetic coil to power them, which is activated by radiowaves from intelligent devices dotted about the cybernetics building. (An effect discovered by Michael Farraday many years ago.) The chip transmits a 64-bit signal.In the short term, it's a cost-saving device, a security tag and an ID card, all rolled into one innocuous-looking capsule.

What is RFID?

RFID tags are miniscule microchips, which some manufacturers have managed to shrink to half the size of a grain of sand. They listen for a radio query and respond by transmitting a unique ID code, typically a 64-bit identifier yielding about 18 thousand trillion possible values. Most RFID tags have no batteries. They use the power from the initial radio signal to transmit their response.

RFID uses wireless technology operating with the 50 kHz to 2.5Ghz frequency range. A RFID system consists of a RFID tag or transponder that contains data about the tagged item/object, and antenna, a RF transceiver to generate RF signals, and a RFID reader used for collecting RFID data, which it passes to a host system for processing. RFID does not require line-of-sight to operate for communications between a tagged object (which could be almost anything including a car, merchandise, package, etc.) and a reader (an electronic device used to capture the RFID signal).

Data encoded on the RFID tag can contain a variety of information about the object including item description through the use of an electronic product code (EPC). The EPC is an electronic representation of a product, which can include information about the product, manufacturer, and uniquely identify the product.

How does RFID work?

An RFID system may consist of several components: tags, tag readers, tag programming stations, circulation readers, sorting equipment, and tag inventory wands. Security can be handled in two ways. Security gates can query the ILS (Integrated Logic System) to determine its security status or the tag may contain a security bit which would be turned on and off by circulation or self-check reader stations.

The purpose of an RFID system is to enable data to be transmitted by a portable device, called a tag, which is read by an RFID reader and processed according to the needs of a particular application. The data transmitted by the tag may provide identification or location information, or specifics about the product tagged, such as price, color, date of purchase, etc. The use of RFID in tracking and access applications first appeared during the 1980s. RFID quickly gained attention because of its ability to track moving objects. As the technology is refined, more pervasive—and invasive—uses for RFID tags are in the works.In a typical RFID system, individual objects are equipped with a small, inexpensive tag. The tag contains a transponder with a digital memory chip that is given a unique electronic product code. The interrogator, an antenna packaged with a transceiver and decoder, emits a signal activating the RFID tag so it can read and write data to it. When an RFID tag passes through the electromagnetic zone, it detects the reader's activation signal. The reader decodes the data encoded in the tag's integrated circuit (silicon chip) and the data is passed to the host computer for processing.

Take the example of books in a library. Security gates can detect whether or not a book has been properly checked out of the library. When users return items, the security bit is re-set and the item record in the ILS is automatically updated. In some RFID solutions a return receipt can be generated. At this point, materials can be roughly sorted into bins by the return equipment. Inventory wands provide a finer detail of sorting. This tool can be used to put books into shelf-ready order.

A RFID tag consists of a microchip and a coiled antenna. RFID tags may be either active or passive.  Active tags tend to be larger and more expensive than passive tags as they contain more electronics due to the fact that they actively transmit data to a reader.

In comparison, passive tags draw power from the magnetic field generated between itself and a reader to power its microchip’s circuits, allowing it to reflect the RF signal transmitted to them from a reader, adding information by modulating the reflected signal.

Tags can also be either read-only, volatile read/write, or write one/read many.

Auto-ID researchers recommend placing a 64-bit (or 96-bit, depending on the version) number called an electronic product code (EPC) on an RFID tag. The EPC identifies every inventoried item with a unique serial number. Devices transmit identifying numbers on request from a compatible reader, similar to scanning a bar code but using radio frequencies rather than light. They are tiny and becoming inexpensive enough for manufacturers to include in consumer items such as clothing, cosmetics and car tyres. Unlike bar codes, which are identical for every unit of the same product, the RFID number transmitted is typically unique to each unit. Businesses aim to achieve cost reductions from better tracking of inventory through the supply chain.

In order for communication to occur between a tag and a reader, they must be tuned to the same frequency.  RFID systems can be configured to operate in a variety of frequencies from low to ultra-high frequency (UHF) or even microwave.  Being that RF propagation is different at different frequencies due to power and wave form properties, RFID system configuration must be considered in accordance with the applications that the system is designed to support.  For example, low frequency tags are a good choice for applications in which the distance between tag and reader is small (typically less than a foot) as apposed to UHF, which supports applications at greater distances (up to about 20 feet).

Data gathered for purposes of processing information for and about the tagged RFID item/object may include:

Description (EPC)

Time

Location

Physical parameters (temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.)

The data encoded in RFID are in the form of Electronic Product Codes, which is known as the ePC.

The Electronic Product Code, (EPC), is an electronically coded tag that is intended as an improvement on the UPC barcode system. The EPC is a 96-bit tag which contains a number called the Global Trade Identification Number (GTIN). Unlike a UPC number, which only provides information specific to a group of products, the GTIN gives each product its own specific identifying number, giving greater accuracy in tracking. The EPC was the creation of the MIT AutoID Center, a consortium of over 120 global corporations and university labs. The EPC system is currently managed by EPCGlobal Inc., a subsidiary of the Electronic Article Numbering International group and the Uniform Code Council (UCC), creators of the UPC barcode.

These images show a RFID label.

Image showing a RFID Tag embedded

TYPES OF RFID

There are three types of RFID: high frequency (850-950 MHz and 2.4-5 GHz), intermediate frequency (10-15 MHz) and low frequency (100-500kHz). Low-frequency tags are used for applications such as security access and asset management, which require shorter read ranges. High-frequency systems are used for applications such as toll-collection and railroad car tracking, which require longer read ranges. While high-frequency tags transmit data faster and can be read from farther away, they also consume more power and are more expensive than low-frequency tags.

RFID tags can be either

1. Active

2. Passive.

ACTIVE TAGS

RFID tags, on the other hand, have an internal power source, and may have longer range and larger memories than passive tags, as well as the ability to store additional information sent by the transceiver. At present, the smallest active tags are about the size of a coin. Many active tags have practical ranges of tens of metres, and a battery life of up to several years.

PASSIVE TAGS

RFID tags have no internal power supply. The minute electrical current induced in the antenna by the incoming radio frequency signal provides just enough power for the tag to transmit a response. Due to limited power and cost, the response of a passive RFID tag is brief — typically just an ID number (GUID). Lack of an onboard power supply means that the device can be quite small: commercially available products exist that can be embedded under the skin. As of 2005, the smallest such devices commercially available measured 0.4 mm × 0.4 mm, which is thinner than a sheet of paper; such devices are practically invisible. Passive tags have practical read distances ranging from about 10 mm up to about 6 metres.

The graph of the Level of Automation Vs Device cost plotted according to the current price estimation is shown below

The effective Cost Vs Efficiency of the traditional barcode technique provided a poor performance when compared with RFIDs.

RFID vs. OTHER TECHNIQUES (Bar Codes)

While Universal Product Codes (UPC) used with bar coding systems have provided many benefits, EPC’s used with RFID systems are poised to provide increased efficiency and productivity by way of automatic identification and tracking.

Unlike bar code systems, which use a reader and code labels that are attached to the object, RFID uses an electronic tag on the reader to acquire a RF signal at a RFID reader.  Information in transferred via optical signal with bar codes as apposed to RF signals with RFID.

Unlike bar codes, which need to be scanned manually and read individually (you have to actually see a bar code in order to read it), radio ID tags do not require line-of-sight for reading. Within the field of a wireless reading device, it is possible to automatically read hundreds of tags a second.

Bar codes and RFID tend to be used for different applications.  The fact that RFID does not depend on line-of-sight, makes it particularly useful for applications, such as package management, in which the item must be handled many times.  Being that standard bar codes typically only contain information about the manufacturer or originator of an item and basic information about the object itself, RFID is particularly useful for applications in which the item must be identified uniquely.

Being that it uses radio waves rather than optical, RFID can penetrate non-metallic materials, allowing the RFID tag to be embedded or encased within an item or object.  In contrast, the bar code must be physically exposed to the surface of the object, and in the case of bar code labels, can fall off the object.

Generally speaking, RFID is a better choice for situations in which there is a need for a lot of handling, such as in manufacturing and/or moving inventory situations.

To read the bar code label without having to read the number by eye and type it into a computer keyboard or number pad on a point of sale till all that is required is a bar code reader to scan the bar code. The bar code reader is an optical device for reading the bar code and converting the black and white stripes into the unique13 digit number that can be passed to a computer system. Bar code readers come in many shapes and sizes and usually fall into two types, laser scanner and imager.

The laser scanner uses a pencil sharp laser beam that is mechanically scanned across the bar code and the light that is reflected from the bar code will vary depending on the sequence of black and white stripes. Where there is a white stripe the laser beam will be strongly reflected into the reader and where there is a black strip the reflection will be poor. The reader thus detects a sequence of bright and poor reflections as the beam travels across the bar code that is then converted into a unique number.

The imaging bar code reader employs a device similar to that found in a digital camera, it takes a picture of the bar code and interprets the black and white stripes to create a number.

THE VERICHIP

VeriChip is a sub dermal, radio frequency identification (RFID) device, about the size of a grain of rice. This technology, developed by Applied Digital Solutions (ADS), one US-based company, has been used in animals for years and seems fairly harmless.

Extending the use to the human population is the next step.

The idea for employing the tags to identify humans came after the horror of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.

The chip is an ID tag which is passive (not independently powered). When radio-frequency energy passes from a scanner, it energizes the chip, and which then emits a radio-frequency signal transmitting the chip's information to the reader, which in turn links with a database.

The Bavarian company Ident Technology offers tracking devices using the human body (particularly the skin) as digital data transmitter.

TYPES OF IMPLANTS

Categorization of ICT Implants

Implantable devices can be categorised as:

• medical 
• non-medical 
• Both as:
• passive 
• active
• Reversible or non reversible
• Stand-alone or online
• ICT implants and tags
• Most passive implants are structural devices such as 
• artificial joints
• vascular implants 
• artificial valves
• Active medical implantable devices Directive 90/385/EEC

IMPLANTABLE NON-MEDICAL DEVICES

Passive devices: An example of a passive device is the radio frequency identification (RFID) device.

Active devices use electrical impulses to interact with the human’s nervous system

Current identification device: Human bar coding.

The VeriChip

RFID=Radio Frequency Identification Device

Passive ID tag

Contains an unique ID number

l How does it work?

Energized by a scanner (RF)

Emits a radio signal

Transmits ID number to a Database via phone or Internet

l Current applications (FDA approval in 2004)

Medical records (blood type, potencial allergies, medical history)

Personal information

Financial information

APPLICATIONS

Credit cards could be replaced by the controversial radio frequency identification tags implanted under the skin to identify people at cash machines.

Applied Digital Solutions is hoping that Americans can be persuaded to undergo a surgical procedure, which is performed with local anaesthetic and embeds a 12-by-2.1mm RFID tag in the flesh of a human arm.

MasterCard has been testing an RFID technology called PayPass. It looks like any other credit card but is outfitted with an RFID tag that lets it be read by a receiver instead of scanned through a magnetic stripe.

The American Express Blue credit card now includes a high-frequency RFID tag, a feature American Express calls ExpressPay.

MEDICAL APPLICATIONS

Medical data is not stored on the devices, also known as radio frequency identification chips; rather, it's stored in a database that links the chips' unique serial numbers with patient data. The chips have a certain sequence of numbers in them, and when scanned can bring up your medical info in them.

Through a secure database, medical personnel with a proprietary VeriChip interrogator, or reader, can access the medical record of a person with an implanted VeriChip tag. This access could be especially helpful in cases when a patient is unidentified and unconscious.

The patient ID chips are taking off more quickly in other countries. In Mexico, more than 1,000 patients have been implanted with VeriChip. The Italian Ministry of Health is testing the technology in some hospitals there.

TRACKING AND LOCATION BASED APPLICATIONS

The tags, which are inserted with a syringe, have been used to track pets and livestock for years, the company said. It could be used be used for patient or livestock monitoring, security, warfare, law enforcement, identification or firearms safety. It could be used to keep an eye on potential kidnap victims, or family pets, or to monitor valuables.

RFID tags make it into bank notes

Hitachi has developed an RFID (radio frequency identification) chip that requires no external antenna and makes possible the embedding of tracking and identification chips in bank notes, tickets and other paper products.

As with competing chips, Hitachi's Myu chip requires antennas through which data can be received and transmitted to a chip reader, all of which draws power. In the case of the current generation Myu chip; this antenna can be between five centimeters and seven centimeters long, said Keisaku Shibatani, a spokesman for Hitachi.

Even though the chips themselves are very small, at 0.4 millimeters square, the large antenna needed effectively limits their use in certain applications. The new Hitachi chip is the same size as the current model although requires no antenna. This means it is suitable for use in a range of applications including embedding in bank notes and documents, said Hitachi.

RFID systems originated in the 1940s, when the U.S. government used transponders to distinguish friendly aircraft from enemy aircraft. Through the 1970s, the federal government primarily used the systems for projects like tracking livestock and nuclear material.

Radio tags have been used commercially for delivering packages, handling luggage, tracking food in supermarkets and monitoring highway tolls.

The airline industry, along with the FAA, has used RFID tags to route baggage and increase air security. McDonald's and ExxonMobile are testing RFID chips to allow customers to pay for food or gas.

High-frequency RFID tags are used in library book or bookstore tracking, pallet tracking, building access control, airline baggage tracking, and apparel item tracking.

High-frequency tags are widely used in identification badges, replacing earlier magnetic stripe cards. These badges need only be held within a certain distance of the reader to authenticate the holder.

FUTURE PERSONAL TRACKING DEVICES

l.Integration and miniaturization of three technologies:

Biosensor: read a person‘s vital signs by touching the skin (implanted into a wristwatch)

Pager device: takes the data from the biosensor by using a cellular packet module

Position location technology: using radio signal to stay in contact with a person‘s pager device

This information is sent through cellular data packets to a data centre (Digital Angel™)

The first Digital Angel was launched in November 2001

Medical emergency purposes

Identification/Location purposes

ADVANTAGES

Easier method for tracking and locating.

Easier to handle than cards.

Less time needed for checking and detection.

Best mode of biosensors.

Works at both high range and low range.

Eases financial transactions.

All sort of records in a single chip

CONCERNS

The concerns regarding RFID tags can be classifies as

Privacy issues

Security issues

Ethical issues

When embedded in human bodies, RFID tags raise unique security concerns. First, because they broadcast their ID number, a thief could rig up his or her own device to intercept and then rebroadcast the signal to an automatic teller machine. Second, sufficiently dedicated thieves may try to slice the tags out of their victims.

Information technology experts warn that lingering security issues are making Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, another uncontrolled tool for identity theft.

They have raised the drum beat that its use in consumer channels now poses increased risks of personally identifiable information being used for tracking and surveillance purposes.

CONCLUSION

RFID’s have gained a major achievement over the traditional barcode and smart cards. These when implanted in a human body can exclusively identify the person and is considered a major advancement in security management as well in business transactions.

Human ID implant is an emerging technology that will prove to be a big revolution in a large no: of fields like financial and regulatory sectors, medical field, tracking and detection sectors etc. technology that makes possible the insertion of an RFID chip into the human body. It will act as the identity card, credit card, debit card, passport, license card, ATM card, hall tickets for examinations, consumer cards and at the same time will act as the locating system of the individual. Data encoded on the RFID tag can contain a variety of information about the object including item description through the use of an electronic product code (EPC).