Previously used in military settings for friend-or-foe identification, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology is now widely applied across various industries. Examples include self-checkout in unmanned stores, transportation cards like the EasyCard, and electronic toll collection (ETC).
In the future, this technology could also enhance the efficiency of electric vehicles and fleet management. Industry experts predict that the related market value could exceed a trillion dollars.
RFID, short for Radio Frequency Identification, differs from conventional barcodes, which require manual scanning to read product information. RFID uses wireless communication to transfer data from an electronic tag to a reader without physical contact, significantly reducing labor and time costs. Walmart, a global retail giant, adopted this technology in 2003 and is estimated to save over $8 billion annually in related expenses.
Beyond retail, RFID can be utilized in the medical industry. Electronic tags help healthcare professionals administer the correct medication to the right patients and improve the tracking and management of medical equipment. Additional applications include office access control systems, highway ETC toll collection, and metro transportation cards.
Moreover, the transportation sector represents another promising emerging industry for RFID. Taiwanese inventor Bing Xuan Li has advanced this technology with his patented BT Tag Bluetooth digital label, further enhancing its capabilities.
With 25 years of accumulated research, Mr. Bing Xuan Li holds numerous patents in the U.S., Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong. His collaborators include several Fortune 500 IT companies. By mastering two foundational patents—converting vehicle equipment data to ISO 18000 6C protocol and electronic 6C RFID multiple EPC (Electronic Product Code) (11758392 (uspto.gov) and TID (Tag Identification) programming and loading (11640511 (uspto.gov)—he has broadened the application scope of the next-generation Bluetooth electronic tags.
In the U.S. transportation industry, there are approximately 2.97 million large trailers with total transportation revenue reaching $940.8 billion Economics and Industry Data | American Trucking Associations. Given the interstate and international transport needs, along with varying tolls and emission standards, Mr. Bing Xuan Li’s new BT Tag can significantly enhance compliance and efficiency. All vehicle information can be encoded in the digital tag while meeting government regulations.
Additionally, a patented electrophoretic display license plate technology in development (11995492 (uspto.gov) allows vehicles to switch between different national or state plates seamlessly. This innovation reduces inspection and manual verification steps, decreasing truck wait times, enhancing transportation efficiency, and cutting idle fuel consumption.
The BT Tag Bluetooth label benefits not only logistics operators for fleet management but also electric vehicle owners. Traditional RFID signals can be disrupted by metallic window tinting, a common feature in electric vehicles like Tesla, which has specific requirements for such materials. Mr. Bing Xuan Li’s patented technology, unaffected by metallic tints, uses an active electronic tag installed on the license plate. This system, integrated with a smartphone, ensures accurate, interference-free signal transmission to the toll system by selecting the appropriate EPC/TID combination.
By expanding RFID applications with advanced BT Tag Bluetooth digital label technology, the scope and depth of its use are greatly enhanced. This advancement allows accurate vehicle identification and toll collection even in complex environments, yielding significant savings in labor, time, and energy costs. The widespread adoption of this technology also places a crucial piece in the smart city puzzle.
About the Author: Mr. Yi Shen Lin
