FAQ

A passive tag is an tag that does not contain a battery; the power is supplied by the reader. When radio waves from the reader are encountered by a passive rfid tag, the coiled antenna within the tag forms a magnetic field. The tag draws power from it, energizing the circuits in the tag. The tag then sends the information encoded in the tag's memory. This function is normally called “backscattering” as the tags only scatters back part of the energy that it received from the reader.

The major disadvantages of a passive rfid tag are:

• The tag can be read only at very short distances, typically a few feet at most. This greatly limits the device for certain applications.
• It may not be possible to include sensors that can use electricity for power.
• The tag remains readable for a very long time, even after the product to which the tag is attached has been sold and is no longer being tracked.

The advantages of a passive tag are:

• The tag functions without a battery; these tags have a useful life of twenty years or more.
• The tag is typically much less expensive to manufacture
• The tag is much smaller (some tags are the size of a grain of rice). These tags have almost unlimited applications in consumer goods and other areas.

A fully automated data capture and analysis system is the most efficient and reliable way to track valuable assets, equipment or critical personnel. RFID technologies overcome difficult logistical challenges, particularly in applications where optically based systems fail and when read/write capabilities are required. The technology is stable, and evolving, with open architectures becoming increasingly available.

Barcode technology is based on optical "viewing" of labels by lasers. The required line-of-sight between label and reader is often difficult, impractical, or even impossible to achieve in certain environments. In order to function properly, a barcode reader must have clean, clear optics, the label must be free of abrasion, and the reader and label must be properly oriented. RFID tags can be read from a greater distance, and are not subject the line of sight obstacle, and work in adverse or difficult environments.

An RFID system enables you to track, protect and locate assets or people in real-time. RFID tags can include various sensors, such as movement, verticality, temperature, humidity) which offers flexibility and specific solutions to focused challenges of certain applications.

Each RFID technology has specific advantages relative to a specific application's requirements and constraints. The Vizbee platform supports all of the market's leading RFID technologies, and can use different technologies within the same project. With the Vizbee platform you can select the best-suited RFID technology for each project.

Active RFID tags have their own internal power source, used to power the integrated circuits and to broadcast the response signal to the reader. Communications from active tags to readers is typically much more reliable due to the ability for active tags to conduct a "session" with a reader. Many active tags today have operational ranges of hundreds of meters, and a battery life of up to 10 years. Active tags may include larger memories than passive tags, and may include the ability to store additional information received from the reader.

The Vizbee generic platform has many unique features and an open architecture. APIs and an SDK enable easy bi-directional integration with other security systems.