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| The images are displayed on this website with the generous permission of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. This does not constitute either approval or endorsement of the products on this website. |
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| 1, |
How does radio frequency identification technology actually work? |
| 2, |
Don’t all of the electronics, high-tech equipment, and metal surfaces in a museum environment make RFID impossible to work in this setting? |
| 3, |
Is Ultra-Wideband all that different? |
| 4, |
If the tags have limited range, won’t that mean more upfront cost for additional readers or receivers? |
| 5, |
What is the difference between active RFID and passive RFID? |
| 6, |
Why should my institution use MuseumDOT? |
| Answer |
How does radio frequency identification technology actually work?
Small electronic chips (postage stamp size or smaller)–also referred to as tags–are placed on or in the item to be tracked. (Items may include equipment, supplies, people, and more.) The chips may be battery powered, generating its own signal, and called “active” chips; or they may reflect a signal from another source, called “passive” chips.
Antennae and sensors are placed strategically around the area within which items are to be tracked. At preset intervals, the sensors/readers retrieve a signal from the chips indicating their latest location. The location data are then sent to our proprietary software, which interprets the data. The data are saved both as text-based information and as graphically displayed information (i.e., overlaid on facility floor plan). |
Don’t all of the electronics, high-tech equipment, and metal surfaces in a museum environment make RFID impossible to work in this setting?
These challenges are very real for most RFID systems. However, MT’s product makes use of Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radio frequency technology, which is not susceptible to the same limitations as most other systems. Originally developed for military applications (e.g., on board ships, in the midst of weaponry and other metallic items), UWB has been demonstrated to read the RFID tags in extremely difficult everyday environments like hospitals, warehouses, grocery stores, etc. |
Is Ultra-Wideband all that different?
Ultra-Wideband (UWB) has a number of distinctive features. It is capable of locating tracked items within one foot of their location, even in the presence of typical interferences. This is due to the use of short (nanosecond, or one billionth of a second) pulses or bursts, whose time-of-flight can be accurately determined with the use of sensitive, high speed detection circuitry which triggers on the leading edge of the received waveform. UWB tags operate at a center frequency of 6.2 gigahertz (Ghz) and has an instantaneous -10dB bandwidth of 1.25 Ghz.
Because UWB makes use of reduced data rates, it can utilize significantly higher peak powers than those allowable for high data rate system. [UWB emissions are governed by recently approved FCC regulation 47 CFR Part 15 Subpart F.] The result is a system with substantially longer ranges indoors. Because it works on relatively low power, battery life can be expected to exceed 4 years. |
If the tags have limited range, won’t that mean more upfront cost for additional readers or receivers?
By definition, all RFID systems have limitations on the range. However, using the UWB technology, MT’s system has achieved an active tags read range of up to 600 feet indoors, and around 1,000 feet outdoors. Consequently, the MT system will likely require fewer reader/receivers than most other systems. |
What is the difference between active RFID and passive RFID?
Active RFID systems contain a battery versus passive systems which do not. For a passive tag to work it need to moved near to an energy source which emits energy in a specific frequency; this short burst of power allows the tag to transmit at a very short range to nearby receiver. Active RFID tags are typically on all the time, transmit a long distance and can usually be located using either a nearby receiver or a real time location system (RTLS). |
Why should my institution use MuseumDOT ?
MuseumDOT is a low cost alternative to the RFID systems. MuseumTRAQ trained installers apply a 1/8 inch barcode dot to a specific place on the artwork. Compared with RFID the barcode is very small and placed in a location difficult to be detected by an untrained eye. A low cost, portable reader can be used to read the barcode in-place and because it is very short range it is very accurate. |
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