Jeremy A. Landt

The history of RFID

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an integral part of our life, which increases productivity and convenience. It is the term coined for short-range radio technology used to communicate mainly digital information between a stationary location and a movable object or between movable objects. This RFID system uses the principle of modulated backscatter where it can transfer the data from the tag to the reader. The tag generally reads its internal memory of stored data and changes the loading on the tag antenna in a coded manner corresponding to the stored data. RFID is a technology, which spans systems engineering, software development, encryption etc., and thus there are many engineers involved in the development and application of RFID and at present the shortage of technical and business people trained in RFID is hampering the growth of the industry.

Three Dimensional Time Domain Modelling of Lightning

The Thin-Wire Time Domain (TWTD) Code and the Waterloo Analysis and Design (WATAND) Code were combined into a new three-dimensional (3-D) time domain computer code. Based on the new computer code a 3-D time domain model of lightning was proposed. The lightning model was verified during the 1985 lightning season by measurements conducted at the CN Tower in Toronto. Using the new model, it is possible for the first time to correct the lightning current for the presence of towers and to predict the current distribution along a lightning channel.