How RFID Works
RFID's inner workings are simple: tags pick up a reader's signal, juice it using the energy from the field, or transmit a signal themselves (Active tag), then the reader reads and decodes the info for data processing. A full RFID setup is made of a reader, tags, and software. The reader sends out radio waves to power circuits and send data, then receives and processes it.
The way RFID cards and readers communicate and transfer energy can be divided into two types: inductive coupling and backscatter coupling. Low frequency RFID usually uses the first method, while high frequency ones use the second.
Readers can be read-only or read/write devices, and they're the brains of the RFID system. They're usually made of a coupling module, transceiver module, control module, and interface unit. Communication between the reader and tags is half-duplex, with the reader also providing energy and timing to passive tags. In real-world applications, Ethernet or WLAN can be used to manage things like data collection, processing, and remote transmission.