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When you have a room containing 300 computer servers that all look the same physically, and are all networked, how do you quickly find a specific machine that needs to be changed or repaired? This challenge was brought to Trolley Scan recently, and was solved by adding a 'find-a-tag' feature to its RFID-based asset tracking system.
With all items being tagged, a portable reader with Bluetooth interfacing, and a software engine, the company's asset manager, 'RFIDasset', aims to provide an effective asset tracking solution to help monitor large quantities of assets throughout a corporation, making sure that none have gone missing and that each item's current location can be correctly recorded in a central database.
RFID radar system
This can be implemented using Trolley Scan's portable RFID reader technology and its long range passive Ecotag transponders (including new passive tags designed specifically for notebook and laptop computers).
With read ranges up to 8 metres, it is not necessary to get close to each asset as its identity can usually be checked from the middle of a room, up to 8 metres away.
Finding specific tags
The new 'find-a-tag' feature was added to the asset management system's core software to allow users to search for any specific tag identity within a large tag population.
When the software detects a match between the incoming data and the requested tag number, the computer makes a noise and flashes a 'Found' message once a second for as long as that tag is physically in front of the reader's antenna. When turning away from the tag, the noise and flashing stop.
As the reader can process up to 800 transponders in a zone at a rate of 70 tags per second, this use of find-a-tag can potentially allow very large volumes of assets to be checked quickly. The same software could also be used, for example, to find specific books in a pile of library books, or personal files in a stack of documents.
Source: Trolley Scan
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