Home	Asset Tracking Software	Which Software?	Outsourcing	Data capture
RFID - An Overview	RFID for Asset Tracking	GPS Asset Tracking

RFID for Asset Tracking

The RFID tags used for asset tracking are called Passive RFID. These are stickers which are about half the size of a typical business card, which affix to the asset (desk, computer, chair) you are looking to inventory for Asset Management. Passive tags require no internal power supply. The power they use comes from the minute electrical current induced by the antenna in the tag by incoming radio frequency, giving the CMOS integrated circuit just enough power to come alive and transmit a response. Because passive tags are cheaper to manufacture and have no battery, the majority of RFID tags in existence are of the passive variety. As of 2005, these tags cost an average of Euro 0.20 ($0.24 USD) at high volumes.

The major attraction to RFID is to have a system that has a greater efficiency than barcodes or data entry by hand. While improving upon manual data entry is not difficult, RFID seems to be experiencing the same problems that any other technology industry has when it starts to become popular. Currently there is no agreement on important areas, such as: what data should the tags contain, which interface should be used to talk to RFID tags, and what frequency should be used. Standardization still remains a weak point in the system.

There is hope on the horizon however. RFID once primarily used separate operating bands, but this is narrowing down to once interoperable standard running at 900 MHz (860-960 MHz globally).

Much of this isn't a concern for using the technology for asset tracking, we will purchase the tags and readers from the same place and we really don't care if someone else can read them. From past experience, buying into proprietary systems is not the best move we can make, but in this case its probably just fine.

The Passive types have no real "dead" date on them. Life expectancy is "long". Probably a few decades since they don't have internal power, and just sit there. Damage to the tags however is not unheard of, which is why most of them come with barcodes on the tags as well. The barcode option should be looked for and used when purchasing these tags.

Bar codes, for all of their lack of sophistication when compared to the high-tech RFID alternative, have one big advantage. They are practically free -- the cost of a bar code is in the ink and label. Bar codes will always be cheaper than RFID tags and the industry should expect bar codes to continue being used where RFID chips are simply too expensive. For the foreseeable future, expect bar codes and RFID tags to work hand-in-hand.

Once a company has completed its initial RFID ROI analysis and considered the full breadth of opportunities and challenges of implementing an RFID system, it needs to look for a qualified technology partner or systems integrator. Look for partners that understand if the company is using bar codes, the expectation is a complete solution where RFID and bar code technologies work in unison. Also, the partner should understand the mobile applications of the company and provide a plan on how to leverage the investments previously made in these applications with your RFID system. If you take these issues into mind, there will be an improved chance of yielding the full benefits of RFID technology with fewer headaches.

There are of course several applications for RFID asset tracking that go far beyond the accounting/inventory need. Hospitals, for example have a great deal of equipment moving about with some very pricey pieces simply "disappearing" for days or weeks at a time. El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, Calif is deploying an RFID system for exactly this reason made by Eclipse Corp. and PanGo Networks. The application complements El Camino Hospital's existing Wi-Fi infrastructure. It will use active RFID, which requires a battery inside the tag to generate a continuous signal. These are much more expensive, but I'm betting not as expensive as loosing a heart monitor for three months.

With the advent of "smart shelves," real-time inventory tracking is now possible. A simple query can actively scan the store that instant to reveal the exact number of blue sweatshirts sitting on shelf B254 in store 19301. With that kind of visibility, region managers could shuffle inventory around between stores according to demand in an area instead of simply ordering more sweatshirts while a store five miles away has plenty sitting on the shelf.

RFID technology, while there have been some problems getting off the ground and still some bugs to work out, is definitely the way to go in the future for retail and industries that are equipment laden, such as hospitals or emergency response units.