This post was last updated on November 24th, 2022 at 04:35 am
Choosing the right RFID
Selecting the right products to suit your needs
RFID systems can be very cost-effective, offering a host of benefits and a rapid payback time. However to achieve the full benefits, it is critical to select the right combination of tags and readers. RFID can be complex and the technology changes almost every day.
An RFID specialist such as CoreRFID with a knowledge of the latest technology will be able to advise on selecting the optimum products and design a system to suit your needs. They will also assist in deploying, testing and fine tuning the configuration it so that it delivers the required results.
Here are 5 areas that an RFID specialist will consider and some of the questions that they will ask you.
1. The application
- Does the reader need to go to the tag or the tag to the reader?
- What will the maximum distance between the tag and the reader be?
- What environmental conditions will it operate in?
2. The readers
- Could the reader be fixed so that they read the tags as the tags pass by?
- Or could items be scanned by workers using a tablet or mobile phone?
- How will they integrate with existing systems?
- How will it communicate? (wifi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, serial)
- What other wireless systems are operating on the same site?
3. The tags
- What surface will they be mounted upon?
- How will they be attached – e.g. adhesive, screw, rivet?
- How big is the item and what space is available to mount the tag?
- How hostile is the environment e.g. temperature, humidity, extreme weather?
- Will the tag be subjected to chemical immersion, contamination from dirt and grease etc? Or vibration or rough handling?
- Will the tag be passing the reader at speed?
- Do you need to scan multiple tags at once?
4. Mobile working
- Do the users already have tablets or mobile phones?
- Is an in-built or Bluetooth reader required?
- How will the devices communicate with the host system?
5. The software
- What functionality do you want from the RFID software?
- What existing systems do you have and how can the RFID system be integrated with this to best effect?
These are just some of the questions that need to be considered. Technicians at CoreRFID will be pleased to discuss your requirements and advise on the best way to carry out a proof of concept to test the theory.
