Advisory Service

In preparation for your RFID, Wireless and Mobility programme your company will need to:

Learn about RFID , Wireless and Mobility
Seek independent advice to assist in the technology evaluation
Identify the Business Case
Define your specific Technical Requirements
Determine the best technology solution
Carry out some form of Pilot or Trial
Implement a solution including development and integration

The RFID Centre helps companies carry out all of these activities.

Proceeding from a business strategy to a full scale deployment can be a complex activity, as unlike barcode systems, RFID and Wireless is not a ‘plug and play’ technology and requires careful selection and tuning. The RFID Centre and its partners can provide specialist services such as technical requirements definition, testing, trials and assistance with pilots. For the other areas, we can work with your preferred suppliers or provide guidance as to which of our partners can help.

An internal ICT department tasked with an RFID, Wireless or Mobility project will typically need specialist third-party help – as the science and physics of Radio Frequency is very different from the standard disciplines found in the ICT world. This is especially relevant to companies new to the technologies who are considering undertaking a pilot or trial.

Most companies undertake a small scale pilot or trial prior to any significant deployment or investment as there is a need to produce commercially relevant results within feasible technical bounds. A trial provides direct experience while minimising risk – providing understanding of the resource requirements and benefits of further deployment.

In launching a trial or pilot the RFID, Wireless or Mobility components are usually subject to a mix of location specific and off-site controlled testing. When designing a trial or pilot programme, independent advice and technical support is available from the RFID Centre and its partners who can provide technical guidance, expertise, equipment and facilities to:

Define the best testing programme for you
Establish the most appropriate tag and antennae type
Test readers and portal designs and tuning for optimum performance
Evaluate Frequency, Performance and Regulatory/Standards requirements
Consider the impact of RFID, Wireless or Mobility on your particular operation and environment
Conduct Site Surveys to compare actual performance against lab tests

The initial pilot provides valuable results in determining the choice and operating parameters for the equipment to be used. When the pilot is extended to other parts of an organisation’s process and locations there are often requirements for further fine tuning. In expanding from a pilot it is important to ensure that the defined operating standards and outputs from a future implementation are reproducible and repeatable. In a larger scale deployment there is need to consider data flows, filtering, exception reporting and integration to existing applications.

The RFID Centre and its partners have specialist technical expertise in these matters For more information regarding the RFID Centre Advisory Service covering Requirements Definition, Testing, Trials and Pilots please contact us.

The RFID Centre is independent and has a focus on RFID, Wireless and Mobility technical matters - but can offer guidance on which parties can assist with the other areas shown at the top of page. Similarly, we don’t sell products and applications – but many are on display at the Centre and can be viewed during an open-day tour.