Pitt Professor Develops Solution to Radio Tag Privacy Concerns

PITTSBURGH—Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, which are expected to replace bar codes, have been subject to scrutiny by consumer privacy groups who argue that products can be tracked after their purchase. University of Pittsburgh electrical engineer Marlin Mickle has a commercially-ready RFID tag—the PENI Tag—which can be deactivated permanently, solving privacy problems for both manufacturers and consumers.

"There would be a command to kill the tags at the point of sale," said Mickle, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering. "It is the same principle as a fuse in your electrical system. Once a fuse 'blows,' it must be replaced. In the PENI Tag, the fuse is an integral part of the tag, and when it 'blows,' there is no way to reactivate it. The tag can commit suicide on command."

The PENI Tag (Product Emitting Numbering Identification Tag) works by converting an incoming radio frequency signal—picked up by an embedded antenna—into direct current, which powers the silicon tag and transmits a signal back at a different frequency. Tags currently being considered for commercial use do not convert energy into direct current, and none are as small as Mickle's 2.2 millimeter-square silicon chip. The internal antenna, developed at the University of Pittsburgh, recently was patented.

Other RFID tags currently being prepared for commercial use can be shut off by placing the products in a kiosk, one at a time. The PENI Tag, however, does not require additional hardware because it operates by a different mechanism than other tags, allowing it to deactivate automatically. If tags embedded in products are not shut down, products—including expensive items—can continue to be tracked by handheld "hacking" scanners even after the product leaves the store.

"There are people who are very concerned about privacy, and those people should be accommodated and protected," said Mickle. "That's why I think the ability to turn these tags off is one of the things that would satisfy both the commercial manufacturer and the consumer."

When manufactured in large quantities, Mickle says that PENI Tags should be cost-effective, especially because inventory, invoicing, and checking out will require less manpower. PENI Tags will cost substantially less than other RFID tags because they require no assembly.

Mickle estimates that RFID technology could be applied to between 350 and 500 billion products annually.

"More than 50 companies have expressed interest in the PENI Tag," said Harold Swift, technology license manager for Pitt's Office of Technology Management. "We have been moving forward with some large and small companies to determine the commercial viability of the technology through prototype testing."

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9/30/03/tmw