Choosing the right auto-id technology can be difficult.
Making the right choices can be challenging. With so many technologies, standards and formats, the range of options open to users is very wide indeed. We've gathered together some of the key questions to ask yourself before choosing your technology. If you'd like help, please contact us. We're always happy to provide whatever guidance we can.
Some of the factors to consider....
Thinking about auto-id...
- Can this be done using barcoding?
- Is RFID an answer?
- Does this solution need a hybrid approach?
Thinking about RFID readers...
- What frequency tags will you need to read? (HF/LF/UHF)
- What type should it be? (fixed location; plugged into PC, lap-top or PDA; intergated in PDA; stand-alone)
- For stand-alone readers, how many tag id's must it store?
- How will it communicate? (wifi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, serial)
- How will it plug in? (USB, compact flash slot, SDID slot)
- How important is read range / sensitivity?
- What are the anti-collision needs (reading many tags at once)?
- Do you need to be able to write tags as well as to read them?
Thinking about RFID tags...
- What are you attaching them to? (plastics, wood, metal)
- How can you attach the tag? (stick on, strap on, rivet / screw, mould in)
- Is there a size limit for the tag? (bigger tags generally have better read range)
- Does it need to survive a specific temperature / humidity range?
- Does it need to survive chemical immersion / dust / magnetic flux?
- Does it need to be rugged?
- Do you need personalisation (logo/printing)?
- Do you need to both read & write and why?
- Do they need to match existing tags?
- How far do they need to be read from?
Thinking about hand held PDA's for RFID applications...
- Do they need barcode & RFID capability?
- Do they need a camera?
- Is a full keyboard a requirement?
- How will data be retrieved from them?
- Do they need integrated GPS?