RFID for the Intelligent Professional

In the emerging RFID market there is a great deal of confusion around technology, standards, reliability, etc. These issues have been thrust upon a collection of professionals that hold various roles in a typical enterprise organization from warehouse managers to CIO's. While each one of these individuals has their own challenges to manage with regard to RFID, these are a subset of the challenges facing purchasing professionals when it comes to vendor selection and final purchase negotiations. At RFID TagSource we understand your challenges and will help you support your internal business customers in the most efficient and effective way possible.

RFID Tag Selection

While RFID tags have been described as "electronic bar code", this has created a great deal of confusion in the business community. While Barcode and RFID are both considered Auto-ID (Automatic Identification) technologies, that is where the similarities end. The most obvious difference is that barcode requires "line-of-sight" between the barcode scanner and the barcode. RFID does not require line of sight between the RFID reader and tag. For instance, when you are using passive RFID tags, the tag passes through an RF field created by the combination of an RFID reader (interrogator) and one or more antennas connected to that reader. The RF waves "wake up" the RFID tag and it reports back to the reader with the information stored in the memory on the tag.

However, due to the laws of physics, the packaging material, the physical make-up of the products contained within the packaging, the environment in which it must work, all play a roll in determining if the tag will actually "wake up". Companies on the leading edge of RFID deployment have struggled a great deal with these issues as there were no other options available. Now, a variety of RFID labs have been developed that offer RFID tag evaluation as a service. We work with a number of these facilities and can facilitate the testing process. [END]

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