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RFID uses radio waves to identify and track objects. RFID is a generic term that encompasses different frequencies and standards which include both NFC and RAIN.


What is RFID and RAIN RFID?

Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) is a form of wireless communication that uses radio waves to identify and find objects. RFID is a generic term that encompasses different frequencies and standards, including both NFC and RAIN—two technologies supported by industry alliances.

RAIN RFID is a passive, battery-free wireless technology system that connects billions of everyday items to the Internet. These connections provide rich, real-time data and insight, enabling businesses and consumers to identify, locate, authenticate and engage with each item. RAIN RFID is used in a wide variety of applications, including inventory management, asset tracking, and shipment verification. RAIN is the fastest growing segment of the RFID market and uses a single, global standard: UHF Gen 2 (ISO/IEC 18000-63). RAIN has connected over 50 billion items to date. By providing internet connectivity to, and real time information about, everyday items such as apparel, medical supplies, automobile parts, food and more, RAIN RFID enables the true Internet of Things.

RAIN RFID digitizes the physical world

Allowing it to become an information system that can automatically sense what is happening, share related data, and respond. RAIN RFID provides the ability to:

  • Uniquely identify an individual item beyond just its product type
  • Identify and locate items without direct line-of-sight
  • Identify many items quickly (up to 1,000 items per second)
  • Read items within a range of between a few centimeters to several meters

RAIN RFID can identify and locate up to 1,000 individual items per second.


Why use RAIN RFID?

RAIN RFID has the capacity to both greatly enhance and protect the lives of consumers, while revolutionizing the way companies do business. It is a flexible, low-cost solution, making its use appealing to a wide range of industries—from retail to healthcare, manufacturing, and hospitality.

RAIN RFID can tell you what an object is, where it is, and even its condition. With this information, businesses around the world are able to increase sales, drive operational efficiencies, and improve customer experience.

Solutions range from supply chain management to asset tracking to authentication of frequently counterfeited pharmaceuticals. Applications are limited, in fact, only by the imagination of the user.

RAIN RFID helps:

  • Automate inventory and asset-tracking in healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and business sectors
  • Identify the source of products, enabling intelligent recall of defective or dangerous items, such as tainted foods, defective toys, and expired or compromised medication
  • Prevent use of counterfeit products in the supply chain
  • Improve shopping experiences for consumers, with fewer out-of-stock items and easier returns
  • Provide visibility into the supply chain, yielding a more efficient distribution channel and reduced business costs
  • Decrease business revenue lost to theft or inaccurate accounting of goods

What sets Impinj apart?

Impinj is a leading provider and pioneer of RAIN RFID. We spearheaded development of the RAIN radio standard, lobbied governments to allocate frequency spectrum, and cofounded the RAIN Alliance. The Impinj platform uses RAIN RFID to empower people around the world to connect, identify, locate, and authenticate billions of individual items—and we’re just getting started. We have enabled over 50 billion items to be connected to the Internet of Things, in industries as wide-ranging as healthcare, hospitality, air travel, and industrial manufacturing. We’re inventing ways to bring more things online. If it’s a thing, Impinj will connect it.

Learn more about the Internet of Things and RAIN RFID

About Impinj technology

Unlock IoT for every thing with RAIN RFID.

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How do RAIN RFID systems work?

What are the main elements that allow the technology to work?

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What are RFID standards?

Who sets the standards and why are they important?

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How can RFID systems be categorized?

Low frequency to ultra-high frequency, passive to active, learn more.

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What is the Internet of Things?

Definitions abound but ours is about connecting every thing.

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What is a “Thing” in the Internet of Things?

A better question might be "what isn't?"

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Impinj connectivity platform—a foundation for IoT solutions


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