In the last post, an overview article was published concerning proximity technology and its use in everyday life. Today we will continue this topic, dedicating the main part of the conversation to the international system of product identification GTAG.
Terminology
In the last article, we mainly used the term proximity. In a broader sense and given the many new applications, the term RFID - Radio Frequency IDentification is becoming more and more common, which literally translates as "radio frequency identification." This term is more correct, as with the increase in the reading range of contactless tags, the meaning of the word proximity (close) begins to lose its original meaning.
The term GTAG is completely familiar only to specialists. It is derived from the phrase Global TAG, which can be translated as a “global label.” Why global? Because specialists of the whole world work on this standard, and this standard is proposed not as European or American, but as a global one. The main provisions of the standard have already been developed, the element base has been developed and the implementation of this technology has begun.

Things and technologies surrounding us have been changing very quickly lately, producing real revolutions in the way of life, although they usually pass “without noise and dust”. Not everyone thinks about it, taking everything as a natural change of day and night. But if you think about it, it’s very difficult to imagine today's world without these things. The Internet, mobile communications, GPS systems, handheld computers, digital photography and video shooting are only a small part of the iceberg. Today we are experiencing another such revolution, whose name is RFID.
... almost everyone knows
Yes, the phrase “contactless smart card” has been familiar to Moscow students and schoolchildren for several years, who use them extensively, for example, as travel tickets in the subway, and retirees in several districts of Moscow know the same card from a pilot project of a Muscovite’s social card. Many of those who use the Moscow and St. Petersburg metro on a daily basis also have such a map, as many of the municipal employees have it.
This card has a proper name - Mifare®. This name is clearly associated today with Philips, although it was developed by Micron, which was later purchased by Philips and became one of its divisions. We will talk about this card, its device and capabilities later, but for now let us recall once again the essence of the radio frequency identification technology (Radio Frequency IDentification) in order to understand its potential possibilities. Those who are already familiar with the basic principles can skip this section.

Security systems № 2 (56), 2004
L. Stasenko
The number of publications on this topic does not decrease for several years. This is due to the rapid development of the RFID technology itself, the development of new frequency bands, the regular appearance of new products and new applications, where the technology of contactless identification (or radio frequency identification - Radio Frequency IDentification) allows us to solve problems previously impossible for hardware and software.
From chaos to order, or background
The radio frequency identification technology came into being about 20 years ago and the entire period was shaped at a pace ahead of computer technology. Particularly intense RFID has been improved in the last 5-7 years. This can be explained by two factors: firstly, the development of microelectronics allowed to implement many ideas previously unavailable for purely technological reasons, and secondly, there were standards, the use of which ensured compatibility of technical solutions from different manufacturers. Before considering the specific issues of the use of contactless identification in various areas of human activity, let us dwell on the general principles of RFID systems and regulatory documents that define and will determine in the near future the course of design ideas.