Dual-Active RFID Is Ideal For Integrators Submitted by Allan Griebenow, AXCESS International Inc.

As a business supporting the enterprise, technology integration has arguably never been in such a state of flux. What were once solid, defensible domains in system integration have morphed into a heavily contested landscape. Integration specialties in security, homeland defense, supply chain, IT, bar coding, automatic identification, etc. are all colliding at a single common point — the enterprise network. IT departments are now implementing a wide array of technologies to improve the business, and all are competing for the technology dollar. As a result, integration businesses have been forced to compete against new and sometimes more formidable adversaries. Dual-Active radio frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that offers the ideal characteristics for integrators to establish, build, and protect revenue sources.

Active RFID is a technology not too dissimilar in concept to the passive RFID systems Wal-Mart and other consumer package goods retailers are implementing to improve their supply chains. Wireless tags automatically identify and account for goods as they enter the facility. In passive tagging, small and low-cost tags are attached to cartons or pallets and read via a portal-configured reader infrastructure at the dock door. Passive RFID systems run the risk of poor accuracy due to an unacceptably low tag signal strength, and poor reliability from signal interference. On the other hand, active RFID tags have batteries on-board, enabling them to be recognized over greater distances when placed on many different objects and therefore offer the enterprise a dramatically broad, diverse set of solutions.

Allan Griebenow is President and Chief Executive Officer of AXCESS International. He came to AXCESS in 1999 when it acquired Prism Video where he was founder and Chief Executive Officer since 1994. Prior to Prism Video, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Vortech Data Inc. before its acquisition by Eastman Kodak. He has over 20 years of experience in telecommunications and advanced applications, starting his career in 1979 as a Presidential Management Intern with NASA. Griebenow received a B.S. degree in business administration from the University of Maryland and earned an MBA from San Francisco State University.