RFID Essentials — Theory in Practice
reviewed by Harry {doc} Babad
Authors: Bill Glover, Himanshu Bhatt O’Reilly Link: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/rfid/ Pages: 276 $40 USD, $56 CND, £28.50 GBP, 33€ EUR ISBN: 0596009445 Audience — RFID software and solution architects, and the managers who need to understand the where’s and why’s of adding RFID to their business management practice. Major Strengths — A complete overview book on the subject of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for those who will need to understand or implement such systems. The book is geared to the project manager with some technical background. While it doesn't shy away from discussions of algorithms and protocols, it also doesn't provide details about implementation. It's the kind of book an informed manager wants, in order to be able to ask intelligent questions of his staff." Weakness — Although RFID systems will be entering and impacting the lives of most ordinary individuals, this book does not serve those readers. [See the references to Joshua Sharf’s reviews.] However, It was not meant to. As for me, I’m likely to get a RFID for Dummies book to satisfy my ongoing curiosity. [Note: A quick search o the Internet provided me with an overload of either news trivia or technical overkill, so it definitely must be a book.] |
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Where appropriate the instructions in the book was tested on a 1 GHz dual processor PowerPC G4 Macintosh with 2 GB DDR SDRAM running under OS X 10.4.3. |
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Product and company names and logos in this review may be
registered trademarks |
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Publisher’s Overview — “Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is rapidly changing the way businesses track inventory and assets. From Wal-Mart and Tesco, to the U.S. Department of Defense, early efforts are already showing benefit, but software, integration, and data processing for RFID still present a challenge. With the knowledge you gain in RFID Essentials, you will possess the information and understanding you need to start designing, building, or integrating with RFID systems. If you are a developer or an architect charged with developing an RFID system, this book is for you. Drawing on extensive experience, Bill Glover and Himanshu Bhatt provide you with essential information on this emerging technology.”
Review Introduction
Based on my lack of RFID expertise, but low tolerance for BS, I tend to agree; based on my reading of the book with the various experts I’ve quoted in my review. For example, Jonathan Schwartz, President and COO, Sun Microsystems, Inc., notes that “with the knowledge you gain in these pages, you will possess the information and understanding you need to start designing, building, or integrating with RFID systems.”
No, the book didn’t meet my needs, though I valiantly read it from cover to cover. That is also why much of this review contains quoted materials from those more expert that I, with whom I agree about the value of RFID Essentials. However, at the end of my read, I was convinced that the book provides an exceptional, albeit high-level, yet technically detailed overview of where RFID has been, is, and is going.
For those of you who are interested in the potentially malevolent (well, apocalyptic, really) implications of RFID (Radio Frequency ID) technology on society check out Joshua Sharf’s reviews at http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/03/10/040151.php and http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/02/07/182236.php
I can't say that I enjoyed RFID Essentials but agree that it covers a great deal of ground on both the technical (how does it work? how can you use it?). Businesses related aspects interested me (what standards exist? how are companies using now?) and are well covered. Computational (what are the algorithms? about what should you be concerned?) are also covered in detail focusing on both the RFID system architects and their managers. That material alas was over my head. As a non-expert, the treatment was not painless, but for one more knowledgeable or driven that I am, its likely to be in a painless manner. If you need to know about RFID and want a book that lays it all out from soup to nuts and beginning to end, this is the book for you
The Book Itself
Reports in business magazines and on the Internet have told us that over one billion RFID tags were produced in 2005 and in five years that could be over thirty billion. What exactly is RFID? How does it work? What can it do? Is it more than that little bit of something under the skin of my cat? These and similar questions prompted Himanshu Bhatt and Bill Glover to write RFID Essentials (O'Reilly). Bhatt explains their thinking, “To some extent we thought about writing this book as we were looking for one like it when starting out with our work on RFID at Sun Microsystems.”
To quote the authors, "Our book, note Bhatt and Glover, provides a conceptual view of RFID and explains the important components without getting too deep," says Bhatt. "Whenever you are faced with something that sounds brand new, it is important to see how that maps to what you already know so that you can use all your past experience to improve the odds of success. We focus on an architectural view of RFID systems so that important qualities such as security, scalability, manageability, performance, are covered right from the start."
Because of the
developing standards and growing demand, RFID has begun to mature as a
technology, and according to the authors of RFID Essentials, we'll see more widespread usage of it in our
day-to-day lives. "When someone needs to keep track of something, more and
more often they'll need to at least consider RFID as part of the solution,"
Glover observes. He believes that RFID will soon be as commonplace as barcodes,
but will go places and do things that barcodes never could. "Attaching an
ID to physical objects is just the first step in making these objects a part of
the growing network of information we use every day. Almost everyone will use
RFID in one way or another in the coming years; many of us already do and don't
realize it."
As Bhatt and Glover point out, a Google news search on any given day will turn up hundreds of RFID stories. The state of Colorado is hoping to protect elk herds in part by using RFID to track them; drug manufacturers are deploying RFID to help fight counterfeit drugs; sea ports in California are using RFID to improve security; and the US government plans to incorporate RFID into every new passport with initial trials beginning this month.
RFID Essentials is for developers, system and software architects, and project managers, as well as students and professionals in all the industries impacted by RFID who want to understand how this technology works. As the title suggests, this book is about RFID in general and not just the most recent developments, but it will provide readers with the information and understanding they need to start designing, building, or integrating with RFID systems. --Bryan Tracy, Chief Architect, GlobeRanger Corporation http://www.wi-fitechnology.com/displayarticle2642.html
Topics covered in the book include:
-Tags and Tag Protocols including Electronic Product Code
-Readers and Reader Protocols
-RFID Middleware
-Security and Privacy
-Managing RFID Devices
-Architecture
These seem complete in scope, based on my general understanding of system engineering and web research, but as the author’s note, their book is only a start for those wanting to design and implement an RFID system. I found the summaries at the ends of each chapter useful in testing my memory of and the authors present understanding of the material. [I didn’t get an “A”, but didn’t fail either.]
The mind boggles when one thinks about the range of an RFID future. One such aspect is described on Page 10, of Chapter 1.
“Physical objects will be tied to the Internet through their digital identities. Just as we expect to be able to do a quick Internet search to find the answer to an obscure trivia question, we will expect to be able to wave a soda bottle past a cell phone and find out where and at what specific time the soda was manufactured and, if we like, the last known location of every other bottle of that soft drink manufactured within the same hour at a particular location. Invisible digital graffiti associated with identities attached to physical objects will surround us in the form of messages posted to the Internet. But this could go far beyond messages like “Joey was here”—for example, a how-to video for using a piece of equipment could be associated on the Internet with the equipment’s tagged ID. By this era, we probably won’t think about RFID technology any more than we think about electrical technology today. We will simply expect it to work.”
Other aspects of RFID future include using the technique for monitoring both food and drug expiration dates or recalls, allowing businesses to quickly find and remove the outdated items.
For insights such as these, I found the book, even its more technical aspects, worth the effort to understand — kudos’ to the authors.
Discomforts
Acronyms – A lack of a glossary with at minimum the real names for the alphabet soup of terms used was troublesome, and would be even for professional managers who are not RFID experts. Better yet, would have been an annotated glossary of terms to such readers.
Dealing with Security and Privacy — Although the authors discuss Security and Privacy in detail in chapter 10 their business-like approach seems too soft for my taste. This is in contrasts to more alarmists’ books such as the SPYChiPS by Katherine Albrecht reviewed in macCompanion in December 2005. Based on the continual erosion of our privacy, in the interests of national security, I would have preferred something in between.
Excerpts from Chapter 10 Summary The privacy and security issues discussed in this chapter can be summarized as follows: · If you are building applications, privacy and security considerations should be central. · Making informed and responsible choices will require input from both privacy advocates and efficiency and accountability advocates, in equal measure. Effective education and an ongoing, reasonable dialog among the public and decision makers is the only way to ensure that individual rights and safety are not put at risk in the service of efficiency and also that important opportunities to improve the delivery of goods and services don't run into unnecessary roadblocks. · Even though the consumer privacy issues surrounding RFID systems seem to get the most press, there are other aspects of security that are equally important. Whereas RFID privacy concerns mainly involve what, when, where, and how much consumer data is being tracked by a third party without the consumer's permission or even knowledge, RFID security focuses on securing RFID systems from pranksters, spies, thieves, and other unauthorized entities. · When beginning a new RFID project, place privacy and security high on the list of nonfunctional requirements and track negative public perception as a risk to the project. · As with any other mission-critical system, it is important to consider and to plan to mitigate threats to the availability, integrity, and confidentiality of your RFID system. · Privacy and security need more than technologies and tools. People and processes play an important role in ensuring that the technologies are used effectively. |
In Closing
Although I was searching for a more lay introduction to RFID when I found this book, I am forced to acknowledge that the knowledge you gain in RFID Essentials will kick start a business’ effort to allow RFID to become part of their business tools and practices. It also supports specifying needs, conceptually designing, developing a plan for building, or for integrating their business with RFID systems.
"Bill and Himanshu have put together a true tour de force of RFID technologies.” I agree with them “The breadth and depth of their coverage of this emerging space will leave few wanting. Presented in an accessible yet technically relentless manner, the authors expose the merely curious to more than they bargained for and surprise even the most hardened RFID expert with new insights and understandings. This is a must read for RFID software and solution architects, and is highly recommended for anyone who needs to gain insight into the myriad of components, standards, and technologies that make up an RFID solutions environment." - Bryan Tracy, Chief Architect, GlobeRanger Corporation, January 2006.
Author BIOs
Bill Glover has been writing software since 1981 and has worked as a programmer, lead developer, or architect on systems of all sizes, from small, automated systems controlling dams and feed mills up to a complete redesign and reimplementation of one of the world's busiest travel web sites. Bill first worked with RFID in 1995, tracking individual cattle using ear tags. He is currently a Senior Java Architect with Sun Microsystems, Inc., and works with Sun's RFID consulting practice and the RFID Test Center.
Himanshu Bhatt heads the U.S. RFID Practice and Software Technology Lab for Sun Microsystems, Inc. Prior to assuming this role, Himanshu was responsible for business development and consulting in emerging areas of technology. Himanshu has over 16 years of experience in the architecture and development of distributed, multitier systems using a host of technologies for Fortune 1000 companies. Himanshu has spoken at industry conferences such as JavaOne and the LoneStar Symposium and has published articles on Java/J2EE technologies.
