Many of us work with RFID based systems in the workplace and are able to see how this technology can increase efficiency in areas such as asset management and tracking. So we often forget that RFID can be used in a smaller scale, such as for home projects to make our lives just a little bit easier. Here are some RFID based DIY projects you can try out this weekend:

The idea behind this project is to see what the iPhone's serial is capable of and to try and have a little fun with RFID along the way. This reader works with the low frequency (125Khz) tags but it can also be hacked to a working version for MiFARE Hi-Frequency as well.

This was built as part of an up and coming project from The Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at University College London.

This hack allows you to have an easy and secure way to enter your garage (or any other door). RFID is the best way to unlock the door, you can even do it with you hands full. The simple circuit is built with a basic ATMega 168 Arduino chip and a ID-20 RFID reader to control an electronic door lock.

Click here for another variation of this project.

If you have two cats and one of them is on a diet but the other needs free food, you can build a feeder with RFID capability that only opens for the cat that needs free access. The free-food cat wears a collar with an RFID tag.

This is a cat door/flap that can only be opened by the animal that wears the appropriate RFID tag. Arduino controls the process. It features a custom made antenna large enough to function as a gate, which makes it easy for the animal to activate and quite reliable.

If you're tired of continuously having to type in your password when logging in to your computer, you can hack your system to log in using a RFID card. It may be more secure in some cases, either way it's way cooler than just typing a password in.

This fantastic video demonstrates how to use RFID (radio frequency identification) to restrict access to your fridge, or any other location. Basically, it only allows access to the safe (fridge) if your RFID tag has the proper code.

Getting through RFID key-card doors is a pain when your hands are full of books or files, and your key-card is in your pocket, or swinging free on a lanyard. This project shows you how to turn any RFID based key card into a bracelet.