Wi-Fi Meets RFID

Directly from Earthweb:

While enterprises have heard about the benefits of Wi-Fi on their campuses, they also may be feeling pressure to explore RFID - a different wireless technology that can require another hardware, software and connectivity infrastructure.

Most of this year's focus on RFID has been on passive tags, which automatically emit a signal when they come in range of a reader. These relatively inexpensive tags, costing around 50 cents, have a range of only a few feet.

Active tags can piggyback on Wi-Fi networks. Active RFID tags work for high-value goods, such as medical or factory equipment. Despite the cost, they have one big advantage for companies that already have installed Wi-Fi in their facilities: They eliminate the need for a separate network and infrastructure for RFID.

"It's basically an 802.11 radio inside this tag,".

Therefore, the enterprise doesn't need to install readers or network the readers in order to get information into corporate servers. Instead, the signal broadcast by the active tags can be triangulated in order to locate the assets to which they're attached.

Active tags also are useful for another kind of high-value asset: people.

AeroScout provides the RFID-enabled bracelets used at the Legoland Amusement Park. Parents can rent the wristbands, and if they get separated from their child, they send an SMS message via phone and get back the actual coordinates of the child.

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