There have been some assertions in our industry lately that RFID technology “just works” and that you don’t need to do any kind of an engineering study, or a subsequent pilot to prove the technology. Just install it and trust that it will work.
Our group has been implementing RFID technology for decades. If you want to count man years based on the tenure of our group, that is hundreds of years of experience in the RFID technology field. We have learned one major lesson in all of that time and experience. RFID seldom “just works”. RFID is analog, not digital.
Below is a partial list of just some of the things that can impact the success of an RFID project.
Type of tag being used.
Makeup of the products being tagged.
Position of the tag.
What is in front of the product that is being tagged.
What is behind the product that is being tagged.
How are you stacking the tagged products.
What orientation are the tagged products.
Is the data in the tags serialized.
What portion of the tag memory are you reading from.
Are there any metal objects around the tagged product.
Are there any liquid objects around the tagged product.
What is construction of the room where the tagged products are located.
How much humidity is in the air.
Has anything recently moved in the facility.
What reader are you using, mobile or fixed.
What antennas are you using.
How much power should the reader be outputting.
Are you going to use signal strength to filter or limit reads.
How far away are you wanting to read from.
Can you isolate tags that you do not want to read from the tags that you do want to read.
Is there any equipment producing EMI / RFI interference in the area.
What are you doing to dispose of unused tags.
Are they going into a trash container that is metal.
Are you just reading data or are you also trying to locate products.
Is your current software capable of accepting raw RFID data.
Will your tags be encoded with the same data that your barcodes contain.
Can you write middleware on the reader that will eliminate the need for a costly third-party software.
Could we go on listing the issues we have seen our customers grapple with in order to get an RFID project off the ground. For sure, but we think this list makes our point. So, what do you need in order to have the best possible chances of success with your RFID project?
A company with hundreds of years of experience in the technology. A company that will help you explore where RFID makes sense for your particular application. A company that has many hardware, software, and technology options to best ensure your success. A company with a customer first attitude, that is willing to spend the time with you to make sure your project is a success. A financially secure partner that doesn’t have to sell you something today in order to stay in business. A company that is willing to challenge your need to actually use RFID, or to scale that use back to applications that will cost justify. A technically creative company that will come up with clever and cost-effective solutions.
If this sounds like the partner that you want to work with on your next RFID project, the EMP Tech Group is your best choice, visit us at www.emptechgroup.com to learn more.