Locating and tracking assets using RFID

Abstract

Being able to quickly locate equipment is critical inside buildings, including hospitals, manufacturing floors and warehouses. In order to utilize limited budget and resources efficiently, accurate locating or tracking is required in many fields. In this research, we will focus on how to find the location of an item by using RFID in real time indoors to track equipment. When an item needs to be located, the purpose of using RFID is to minimize the searching time, effort, and investment cost. Thus, this research presents a math¬ematical model of using RFID (both handheld readers and stationary readers) for efficient asset location. We derive the expected cost of locating RFID¬tagged objects in a multi¬area environment where hand¬held RF readers are used. We then discuss where to deploy stationary RF readers in order to maximize the efficiency of the search process.