RFID.
If the tag is not removed or deactivated, then walking between those separators on the exits will set off an alarm.
The separators are actually giant antennae, inducing a magnetic field between themselves. When a tag (which is just a small coil of wire, probably inside a sticker, strip or tag on the product that’s normally removed when you purchase it) enters the magnetic field, it induces a current in the tag. The tag itself is a tiny antenna and radio. When it powers up, it broadcasts a number over normal radio waves. That number is picked up by the door-antennae. If it’s one that’s not been deactivated at the checkout… it sets off the alarm.
Same way that your contactless credit card, travel cards, door entry systems, etc. work. The fobs/cards/tags are just a coil of wire, a small radio circuit and a programmed number. The “readers” are actually giant electromagnets inducing a magnetic field. The field causes electrical power to appear inside the tag’s antennae. This powers up the chip. The chip radios out a number, and that’s picked up by the reader on ordinary radio waves (e.g. 125KHz or 1.33MHz for most of them).
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