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Tagged: Application, reader, tags
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February 26, 2016 at 3:13 pm #54641
I want a way to permanently label trees in an orchard. Part of this will use weatherproof labels, bits of metal, etc, but it occurs to me that passive rfids are a good backup.
The system needs to be cheap to implement.
At it’s simplest, it is a non-writable rfid tag embedded in indestrcutable plastic or ceramic with a hole in it for attachment to the tree. Each tag responds with a unique number. A database on the phone or laptop uses the number as a key.
My understanding is that NFC is too short range; the long time period requires passive systems.
The tag location may not be obvious so I’d like a range of at least two meters
Ideally I’d like a system that either uses an unobtrusive dongle attached to the phone’s usb port, or is a separate unit that talks to the phone by bluetooth.
If the tag can be programmed with more information that’s nice, but not if it increases the cost substantially.
My market: Fruit hobbyists and tree collectors, and garden fanatics who have from 30 to 200 plants in their collection.
What components should I be looking for for a turnkey system (reader, tags, software on phone or computer.
February 27, 2016 at 12:12 am #54644Hey Sherwood, thanks for posting. Your use case is compelling and a good fit for UHF RFID, a technology largely defined by the EPCglobal Gen2 standard. We are currently still in the process of integrating UHF RFID support into our Flomio SDK so we don’t have any readers to offer you for your application. We estimate it won’t be until May time frame that we will begin offering such products to our community.
In the event you need something sooner, I can recommend the vendors we are using internally so you can try them out in the meantime. UGrokit makes a portable and mobile friendly UHF RFID reader capable of reading passive tags a couple meters away. Their documentation and broad driver support make them an easy choice in my opinion. From the tag side, HID Global, offers the InLine tags for extremely durable mounting on any material. HID also carries a Nail tag that is designed to penetrate wood but it operates in the LF band (125kHz) and that limits the diversity of items you can tag as well as low cost reader options on the market.
I’ll ping the folks I know at UGrokIt and HID to add further comments to this thread. I hope the input helps you get going quickly.
best,
RichardFebruary 27, 2016 at 12:53 am #54645Not in a terrible rush for it. Right now I’m at the exploration phase, learning the market, learning the technology. Like to start testing this summer or fall, prototype marketing packing in spring 2017.
But the UGrokit reader is way out of the target market price. We’re looking at competing for guys beer money. 200 tags + reader < $200 kind of price. That’s retail.
February 27, 2016 at 1:17 am #54646Yeah, price is a challenge with long range UHF RFID. The technology hasn’t hit economies of scale yet so businesses can’t survive without the high retail prices. We are investing heavily in organizing hackathons around these technologies to help app developers with the learning curve. Branded TrackHack, we bring over $15k worth of RFID hardware for developers to tinker and experiment with. Our next TrackHack is in Austin, TX on March 11th. We have over 95 people registered but you should consider getting a wait-list ticket. With SXSW Interactive in full swing, I’m told many registrants may flake out.
You could probably find some cheap Chinese options for UHF RFID handheld readers on Alibaba but to get what you want, properly documented, pleasantly usable, and at the price you want will take several years to achieve. I wish that wasn’t the reality so we’re out evangelizing the technology any chance we get.
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