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The RFID testing and deployment firm ODIN technologies has published its EPC Tag Benchmark report, having analysed eight of the major EPC (electronic product code) compliant RFID tags currently available.
The benchmark was developed to provide insight into how well different types of tag work in the field, and what criteria should be evaluated when making decisions concerning tag selection, placement, and orientation. According to ODIN, the benchmark report provides a scientific and objective comparison of how the eight tags work with various materials such as paper, plastic, water and metal.
"Selecting an RFID tag is a tough task, but the decision can make or break an RFID programme. If the tags don't work with your products in the field, your system simply will not work," explained Patrick J. Sweeney, president & CEO for ODIN Technologies. "Fortunately, well established principles of physics can provide answers to tag selection questions."
Follow-up report
In creating the benchmark report, the company aimed to apply the physics of RF along with sound scientific methods to arrive at information that can enable better decision making for companies that are currently developing RFID initiatives. Back in June 2004, ODIN Technologies published its EPC Reader Benchmark report, offering a head-to-head comparison of RFID reader equipment for EPC systems.
The EPC Tag Benchmark report evaluates RFID tags from the following suppliers:
· Alien Technologies;
· Matrics (now owned by Symbol);
· Avery Dennison.
Material tests
Each of the tags underwent the same testing with different cases of common product materials. The report presents its results in the form of a side-by-side comparison of these tags, based on the materials and performance criteria commonly required by end users. ODIN Technologies has also been quick to highlight the fact that all the tags were purchased fairly for the tests, and that the company has no interests (financial or otherwise) in any of the companies whose tags were being tested.
Because RFID is deployed in the real world, and because real world materials cause different levels of attenuation (and therefore tag performance), the company conducted the study using four common materials: paper, plastic, liquid, and metal. Consequently, users of the benchmark data will be able to select the results that apply most closely to the materials used in their own products.
Evaluation topics
The EPC Tag Benchmark report includes the following result sets:
- Communication Link Margin analysis: This measures how well each tag extracts, consumes and reflects RF power, and assesses the quality variance in a random lot of 100 tags.
- Distance performance analysis: This provides a ranking based on tag performance at several distances with different common product materials.
- Speed performance analysis: This provides insight into how well the tags performed when moving rapidly through a reader interrogation field similar to a conveyor application.
- Orientation sensitivity analysis: This ranks each tag based on orientation sensitivity with different common materials.
Source: ODIN Technologies
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