This Year’s Biggest RFID Trends

With nearly 21 billion devices expected to be connected to the Internet of Things in just three years’ time, staying on top of the latest trends can help you keep ahead of the competition. Here is a look at some of the RFID solutions that are getting the biggest buzz right now.

RAIN RFID

RAIN RFID is a type of wireless technology that can connect, manage, store and share billions of items on the internet. This means that consumers and firms alike can locate, identify, and authenticate items in addition to engaging with them. It is expected that 28 billion devices will use RAIN RFID by the year 2020, and IDTechEX predicts the RFID market’s value will hit $32 billion by 2024.

This technology is not complicated to use. A RAID RFID tag can be attached or embedded into items during manufacturing. Then, a monitoring system known as a gateway or reader can be mounted on a ceiling, which will then collect data from the tags either locally or using a cloud server.

Bluetooth Low Energy Beacons

Another big trend also takes a current technology to the next level – in this case, Bluetooth. Common in tablets and smartphones, now Bluetooth Is being used for tracking assets in the form of Bluetooth Low Energy Beacons. They can keep track of information like an asset’s movement, location and temperature. They are powered by battery and can be configured using apps, giving them the ability to broadcast outbound signals. It’s even possible to use encrypted passwords to make sure transmissions are protected.

This solution can be deployed quickly; it’s just a matter of coding tags and connecting them to the asset. It’s particularly suited to high-value items and those that are prone to variable patterns of movement that are aren’t confined to a specific area.

As you can see, even the newest technologies on the market today are evolving into something better and more capable, and it will be interesting to see where it goes next.

This post is based on an article featured in Microwave Product Digest.