Active RFID versus UHF RFID Technologies

The fundamental consideration relative to personnel mustering is that in cases of actual disaster and personnel fearful for their safety, they will not follow mustering protocols or go to muster points, rather, they will flee in the most direct route possible from the disaster.

Active RFID technology utilizes passive readers with battery powered tags. There are a variety of passive readers, with the following outputs: Weigand, RS-232, RS-422, Hardwired Ethernet and WiFi. The active tags are available in a variety of form factors. The primary advantages of Active RFID include:

• A number of styles and sizes of long range battery powered tags enable the most dependable detection of tags regardless of human bodies, metal or other inhibitors in proximity to the tag passing through a RFID detection zone (RF field). Active RFID provides the most reliable muster data. Whereas Active RFID tags are approximately $18.00/each, the tags are reusable to reduce the long term cost-of-ownership.

• Low cost readers/antennas, approximately $600.00, enable robust deployments with minimal investment.

• Active RFID readers support a wide variety of networking schemas to simplify or eliminate cabling needs.

• Active RFID readers support long-range radio communications to transmit data from reader-to-reader and/or to network/database without requiring cable, including transmission distances thousands of feet.

• Active RFID readers can be coupled with tablet PC’s to manage data capture and communications in case of catastrophic disaster and failure of networking/readers.

• Active RFID enables configurable-sized detection zones from approximately 9 centimeters to 600+ meters, including ample buffers to cache data for future database update, if communications are interrupted.

The most robust personnel accountability and personnel mustering solutions utilize Active RFID technology to passively track personnel and visitors, given the uncertainty that personnel will travel to muster points or visitors will know the location of muster points in case of actual disaster.

UHF RFID technology utilizes active readers that transmit radio waves that activate UHF tags. Readers support Ethernet and POE networking and each reader typically support four (4) antennas with detection range of up to approximately 40’. UHF RFID can perform for personnel mustering purposes, but, requires that staff physically arrive at a muster point in close proximity.

A primary advantage of UHF RFID is that RFID tags and badges are inexpensive, generally ranging from $0.25 to $4.00. UHF detection zones typically range from about $2,000.00 to $5,000.00.

The primary challenge for UHF RFID is that detection ranges are at maximum about 40’ and radio waves from UHF antennas are blocked by the human body or metal, meaning that in case of emergency, UHF RFID should not be depended upon for passively tracking personnel / visitors. UHF RFID should not be placed at facility doorways due to missed tag reads, and, the cost of placing UHF RFID zones encircling a facility for passive ‘out of building’ tracking is prohibitively expensive and also subject to missed tag reads.