HF RFID works at 13.56 MHz and couples the reader and tag through a magnetic field rather than a propagating radio wave. That gives it short, predictable read ranges and good tolerance of water and the human body, which is why it is used for contactless payment cards, building access badges, library books and NFC tags.
The main standards are ISO/IEC 14443 (proximity cards, a few centimeters — the basis of most NFC tags) and ISO/IEC 15693 (vicinity cards, which can read further with large antennas). Each HF tag carries a UID, and many offer user memory for small amounts of data.
HF vs UHF for assets
HF is the right choice when you want a deliberate, one-at-a-time interaction — a technician tapping a phone on a machine to open its record. UHF RFID is the right choice when you want to count many items quickly or detect them automatically at a distance. HF will not give you doorway detection at meters of range.
In Asetavo
Asetavo uses HF through NFC tags, available from the Growth plan, read with the Asetavo mobile app on a phone.