Low Cost Active RFID Drives Cost Parity With Passive Systems

GuardRFID President Zahir Abji announced that GuardRFID's active 433MHz Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and real time locating system (RTLS) is driving cost parity with passive systems.

Abji said, "Active tag systems can now be had for around $10 per tag – with active tags providing enormous benefits to automating systems and operations that barcode and passive cannot accomplish." He went on to say that passive systems are usually judged on the tag cost of around 20 cents. Yet when total cost of ownership calculations are considered, the real cost is more like $2-$4 per tag.

Abji says that GuardRFID is at the forefront of driving active RFID market adoption by striving for total cost of ownership (TCO) parity with passive systems – making active tags the obvious choice in many supply chain applications. "Are we there yet?," said Abji, "No – but the tipping point of TCO is no longer a slam dunk for passive."

GuardRFID's 433 MHz active product outperforms similar RFID systems with minimal deployment and maintenance efforts. The high speed tag to reader system supports a density of hundreds of thousands of tags within a coverage area, and allows hundreds of tags to be simultaneously and rapidly acquired when crossing through a choke point such as dock doors. Guard RFID's systems are scalable, so that users can build upon their investment by adding products and solutions as and when they need them. For example, Asset Tracking and Access Control solutions can coexist within the same network infrastructure, eliminating the need for deploying several non-compatible systems.

Abji concludes, "Active RFID market adoption is driven by the need for reliability and affordability. Active tag cost is always the first question when end users evaluate a RFID system because the on-going tag costs will drive up total cost of ownership (TCO)."

About GuardRFID
GuardRFID offers innovative and cost-effective technologies and solutions for tracking, location, identification and protection of assets and people. The GuardRFID platform has a standards-based, open architecture which allows many applications to share one backbone, providing true system scalability. The GuardRFID Argus Connector offers integrators shortened development and implementation time to enhance ROI.

GuardRFID offered the first disposable solution for Infant Security and Patient Flow solutions in the Healthcare space and their revolutionary active RFID tag technology is the smallest available with speeds 8 times faster than comparable systems. High density of tags, secure anti-collision and two-way communication make the system truly unique, while the system's cost-effective installation results in a significantly lower total cost of ownership.

SOURCE: GuardRFID