RFID systems Core system components

TrailerTrailers work with you to make the right decisions in the complicated area of RFID system implementation.

Decisions have to be made on many different system components that go together to build a successful RFID solution. The main system pieces that contribute to a typical RFID solution can be categorised into the following main areas;

RFID tags

These are the small electronic device that can be placed on the item that will be tracked. They can be battery powered or powered up remotely when they are required to be read. The choice of appropriate RFID tag can only be be made towards the end of a detailed business and requirements discovery phase.
For more information please follow this link to RFID tags

RFID readers

TrailerTrailers will select the best RFID technology after comprehensive site surveys have been carried out to asses each location for suitability for placement of the required RFID readr network. Typically we will choose RFID readers that will need to be placed between 50cm and 100metres from the point where the RFID tag will travel. These are typically called choke points or bottleneck points. They are normally connected to the Edge servers via a serial RS232 or Ethernet cable, although RFID readers with wireless 802.11 communication are now available which make the installation and fitting simpler and more cost effective.

RFID middleware

The middleware is software that is designed to connect with individual RFID readers and collect, process and filter information from RFID tags. Typically the middleware will sit locally at the depot or distribution centre and will connect to several RFID readers either through cabling or wireless 802.11 connections.

Some readers can read RFID tags at the rate of 100 times per second, to collect this volume of data and stream thousands of readings towards a central server will place an unnecessary load on the data communication network, databases and application or enterprise server. The edge server cleans the raw data from the RFID reader and turns this into meaningful event information such as “I’ve just seen RFID tag number 109823467 at dock door number 3 in the Manchester depot at 19:34hrs on 21st Feb 2006”.

By integrating an RFID solution into your business and coupling it with other TrailerTrailers solutions such as fleet management we can then give these RFID events more attributes and additional information relevent to the asset can be continuously updated. An example of this could be "The tag has left the building and is now travelling in truck 98 towards Manchester and should arrive in 87minutes"

RFID middleware can also control and tune the individual RFID readers according to the findings delivered from the site inspection survey. For example some RFID readers could loose their configuration after a power failure. Settings such as operating mode, frequency and operating power can be reprogrammed by the middleware software after a power failure.

RFID edge servers

These are the physical servers that are used to run the RFID middleware software.

RFID enterprise software

This is the reason why all of the above RFID exist. They are there to feed information to a system that makes intelligent business decisions based on real events in the real world as collected by the RFID infrastructure. Often the enterprise software may communicate with other enterprise software systems, perhaps those of cutomers or suppliers to manage the flow of data between organisations for use by just in time manufacturing, billing or stock replenishment systems.

For further information download a brochure and technical specifications or contact a TrialerTrailer tracking consultant today.

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