INSTARS - Technology Consultants

This system was developed for the HP Pocket PC. It is currently being redeveloped for NFC smartphones and tablets.

Interactive Asset Management System

RFID-Based Component tracking

RFID Management continues to be the forerunner in the use of a RFID based interactive Asset Management System. As most agencies are struggling with the implementation of bar code or number tagged inventory system, The RFID Management model has moved beyond this level into the use of interactive smart tags and RFID systems as the central part of the component tracking and maintenance process.

Decisions are always made based on available background information. The age, accuracy, and availability of this information are key factors affecting the quality and speed of the decisions made. Thus, a primary goal of an interactive asset management system is to provide this information at the component site in an efficient and cost effective manner.

Using RFID smart tag technology the complete component information can be stored directly on the component in addition to being a part of a centralized database.

However for this to be a reality a number of technology concerns had to be addressed.

All though RFID is a proven product it has always been an expensive approach. Historically, special vendor-specific tags and readers costing thousands of dollars were required. Tags were costly and not easily obtainable in small numbers. The tags were not programmable by the end user. In fact, tags were capable of only storing 16-64 bits of information.

To resolve these concerns RFID Management embarked on technology development project.

We decided to develop a system using off the shelf components in lieu of custom manufactured products. The following are the core products utilized:

The latest Microsoft Windows .NET and Windows Mobile were selected to be the software platform for development.

The HP Pocket PC with Compact Flash and secure digital slots was selected as the read/write device

The Compact Flash RFID reader/writers were imported from Europe

The inexpensive World Tags from Philips were selected as the core RFID smart tags. This allowed the use of fast smart tags with a current capacity of 2000 bits.

Source Kinetics was selected to write the device drivers and related software for the interactive asset management system using the above components.

As a result of this development project an inexpensive hardware/software platform for RFID based interactive asset management is now available. Since RFID Management has traditionally been a technology consulting firm, and does not want to be in the retail business, the RFID Management technology tools and other products are being marketed by RFID PLACE, Inc. at its website RFIDPLACE.com. Currently the products are only available to RFID Management clients.