Current usage

Low-frequency RFID tags are commonly used for animal identification, beer keg tracking, and automobile key-and-lock, anti-theft systems. Pets are often embedded with small chips so that they may be returned to their owners if lost. In the United States, two RFID frequencies are used: 125 kHz (the original standard) and 134.5 kHz, the international standard.

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.

UHF RFID tags are commonly used commercially in pallet and container tracking, and truck and trailer tracking in shipping yards.

Microwave RFID tags are used in long range access control for vehicles.

Some toll booths, such as California's FasTrak and Illinois' I-Pass system, use RFID tags for electronic toll collection. The tags are read as vehicles pass; the information is used to debit the toll from a prepaid account. The system helps to speed traffic through toll plazas.

Sensors such as seismic sensors may be read using RFID transceivers, greatly simplifying remote data collection.

In January 2003, Michelin announced that it has begun testing RFID transponders embedded into tires. After a testing period that is expected to last 18 months, the manufacturer will offer RFID-enabled tires to car-makers. Their primary purpose is tire-tracking in compliance with the United States Transportation, Recall, Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act (TREAD Act).

Cards embedded with RFID chips are widely used as electronic cash, e.g. Octopus Card in Hong Kong and the Netherlands to pay fares in mass transit systems and/or retails.

Starting from the 2004 model year, a "Smart Key" option is available to the Toyota Prius and some Lexus models. The key fob uses an active RFID circuit which allow the car to acknowledge the key's presence within 3 feet of the sensor. The driver can open the doors and start the car while the key remains in a purse or pocket.

In August 2004, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRH) approved a $415,000 contract to trial the tracking technology with Alanco Technologies. Inmates will wear "wristwatch-sized" transmitters that can detect if prisoners have been trying to remove them and send an alert to prison computers. This project is not the first such rollout of tracking chips in US prisons. Facilities in Michigan, California and Illinois already employ the technology.

Implantable RFID "chips", originally designed for animal tagging are being used and contemplated for humans as well. Applied Digital Solutions proposes their chip's "unique under-the-skin format" as a solution to identity fraud, secure building access, computer access, storage of medical records, anti-kidnapping initiatives and a variety of law-enforcement applications. Combined with sensors to monitor body functions, the Digital Angel device could provide monitoring for patients. The Baja Beach Club in Barcelona, Spain uses an implantable Verichip to identify their VIP customers, who in turn use it to pay for drinks [1]  (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3697940.stm). The Mexico City police department has implanted approximately 170 of their police officers with the Verichip, to allow access to police databases and possibly track them in case of kidnapping.

Amal Graafstra (http://www.amal.net/rfid.html), a Washington state native and business owner, had a RFID chip implanted in his left hand in early 2005. The chip was 12 mm long by 2 mm in diameter and has a basic read range of two inches (50 mm). The implant procedure was conducted by a cosmetic surgeon, although the name of the doctor was not released. When asked what he planed to do with the implant Graafstra responded: "because I¡¯m writing my own software and soldering up my own stuff, pretty much anything I want. Well, more accurately, anything I have the time and inspiration to do. Ultimately though, I think true keyless access will require an implantable chip with a very strong encryption system; right now I¡¯m only looking at this type of thing in a personal context."1  (http://www.bmezine.com/news/presenttense/20050330.html)