Mod 9 – RFID Deployment Steps – What is Tested

01 / FIELD NOTE

Keep the decision tied to the operating context.

RFID systems are rarely deployed completely stand alone because their job is to capture data about or on a physical object that is then used in further processing distinct from the RFID system itself. This means that most RFID deployments involved some form of integration into other systems and/or processes.

RFID equipment can also be impacted by the environment in which it is deployed, especially if that environment includes other radio devices or heavy electrical equipment, both of which can generate energy fields that may interfere with a RFID system.

For these reasons there are a series of steps that are usually taken in a RFID deployment in order to ensure success in integrating the RFID system into the environment in which it will be used.

• The role of “middleware” in retrieving RFID data from the reader and passing it on to the system that will eventually process or use it.

• What type of data could be available from the reader

• Identity of the item observed by the RFID system

• The reader/antenna combination that observed the item

• When the observation was made

• The strength of the signal that was returned by the item

• The basic steps that should be taken to ensure that other radio equipment will not interfere with a RFID deployment?

• A “Site Survey” to establish what other radio equipment may be in use

• Which part of the RFID radio spectrum in use may be impacted

• The basic steps that should be taken to ensure that other electrical equipment will not interfere with a RFID deployment?

• A “Site Survey” to establish what electrical equipment may be in use and whether or not it is creating Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)

• Assess if any EMI present is sufficient to degrade the RFID system performance

• What format the data is in when retrieved from the reader or how it is retrieved

• How to integrate this data into other systems

• How to do a Site Survey, what equipment is used or what data is gathered. It is enough at Associate Level to know that a Site Survey must be done and in principle what is being checked