The high cost of tags has held RFID back. But today, passive tag prices are on the decline, while read range continues to improve. Active tags are far more expensive, but they're still worth the investment on larger and more expensive items. RFID is great for inventory tracking, asset management, and shipping and transportation applications. It can track animals and humans, automatically collect tolls, and charge for gas at enabled pumps.
Because of its short read range, RFID is a difficult location technology. With networks of readers in desired locations, it's possible to get a reasonably accurate fix on a person or object within the covered regions using some kind of triangulation scheme. Active RFID tags improve location accuracy, as their longer range and need for fewer readers let the system cover a much greater area.
This technique is more effective with Wi-Fi. While the 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN) standard is designed for wireless access to LANs and the Internet via hot spots, it also can be used to track laptops or other equipped items. Organizations with lots of Wi-Fi access points can use it to find a particular laptop, PC, PDA, or cell phone. If a Wi-Fi device appears within the range of any hot spot, its location can be identified.
With tens of thousands of hot spots already online in airports, hotels, and other public places, location has become fairly precise. The location possibilities improve further because of the many municipal Wi-Fi mesh networks being installed in cities around the country. G2 Microsystems developed a chip that incorporates a low-power 802.11b transceiver plus 125 kHz and the new 900-MHz RFID circuits for use in new active tags for location applications.
Location technology can take many new forms. A system from eTelemetry combines hardware and software to identify the switch port, department, physical location, and phone number of the person assigned to each IP address. It can give network managers feedback to locate network troubles, determine who is using the most bandwidth, and tackle other monitoring applications.
The evolution of location technology has, in fact, generated a whole new industry called Real Time Location Systems (RTLS). It creates wireless systems using RFID and Wi-Fi or other technologies to locate small electronic devices on people or things at any time. Using arrays of RFID readers and Wi-Fi access points, it's possible to blanket certain areas with location coverage.
Possibilities include hospitals, theme parks, parking lots, factories and warehouses, and postal or other shipping facilities. Research firm IDTechEx predicts this business will increase to $2.71 billion by 2016. The heart of this technology is not just the wireless hardware, but also the software that can collect and make sense of all tag and other data collected by readers.
Location-Based Service (LBS)
With such a huge location system in place, carriers have contemplated just how they can get some commercial payback for their mandatory investment. Cell-phone carriers have the most interest as a way of helping to pay for the huge investment in the E911 requirement. But what about those LBSs? "Concierge" service would identify nearby restaurants, shopping, or whatever. It would put consumers in touch with nearby services and facilities at any time. It even could broadcast advertisements—as you pass a restaurant or a store, it could trigger a related ad. The LBS business has yet to be fully established, but it's poised for action once the E911 service is nearly fully implemented.