RFID Field Guide : Deploying Radio Frequency Identification Systems

RFID Field Guide : Deploying Radio Frequency Identification Systems
| 2005-02-08 00:00:00 | | 0 | RFID


The RFID Field Guide is a comprehensive source of practical advice fordesigning and deploying RFID systems in a variety of industries andapplications. It features real-life examples, case studies and frameworks thatdemonstrate how to successfully deploy RFID solutions. In addition toconcisely explaining the fundamentals of the technology, Moradpour andBhuptani carefully analyze RFID's capabilities, possibilities and businessadvantages, and describe a process for evaluating the costs and benefits ofRFID projects. They also address issues related to compliance with variousmandates, security and privacy. Appropriate for those new to the technologyand those already starting to work with and evaluate RFID, this book is a fieldguide for the practitioner to gain a detailed understanding of the technology orsimply get answers to specific questions.

User review
Thin on Technology, Thick on Assesment
I bought the book expecting it to be perfect for somebody who is in charge of deploying RFID technology. I found the first few chapters quite useful for this regard. However, the bulk of the book was focused on analyzing the cost and benefits of introducing RFID in the first place, how to sell it to management, pilot programs, etc. This is excellent advice, but not very useful for somebody interested in the HOW TO deploy RFID. Overall, I was very disappointed with this book on the technical side, although it was an interesting read on the management side.

User review
Better hands-on experience
You can find a lot of written stuff about RFID on the Internet for free. When you try playing with the real readers and tags and try to write your own RFID application it becomes clear that the practice is far behind the theory. A narrow (and inexpensive) shortcut for matching both is so called `PIRF` (platform independent radio frequency API). It is Java based and runs on both Windows and Linux platforms. The Lite version comes with some of TI developers Kits. There are some examples on how to use it and it works fine with a number of RFID readers (mostly TI ). Anyways, it is useful for you first clash with RFID to have it on your side.

User review
discusses business issues; especially concerning privacy
As Sun gropes around for a next Big Thing in technology, this book tries to suggest that RFID might be it. The text is written at a management level of discussion. You do not need to be in IT hardware or software to benefit from the book's explanations.


The authors discuss the business implications of RFID deployment. Not just in the background of a supply chain, but also at a mass consumer level. To wit, there is a careful airing of the privacy issues that might arise if RFID tags can be used for tracking people and their purchases. And different countries have different policies towards these issues.


The conclusion is broadly positive for an eventual ubiquitous deployment. Prudently, the authors desist from suggesting when that might be.

User review
Disappointing
The information presented in this book is very basic and entry level for those who have not a clue about RFID. All information are available almost every where on the internet, they just gathered them in a book form. The book explains stuff that every body knows when implementing a technical project, like selecting vendors, implementing projects, etc.

Recomended only for those who have never implemented a technical project (not even RFID).

User review
RFID Field Guide
This is an excellent book for a company evaluating Radio Frequency Identification. It is a great reference for both a project manager or a person in the trenches, who is doing the implementation. Its focus is evenly balanced between the business issues and the technical issues.


The authors provide an overview of RFID, including historical context to set the stage. They follow through with key concepts about RFID and as well as EPC standards and dedicate most of the book towards implementation related issues, including project management and cost-benefit analysis. Each chapter begins with a set of questions which I found quite useful. The authors successfully tie the lessons learned from other deployments and the historical technology adoption trends into the book to make some interesting predictions about RFID as well as provide a road-map for the practitoners. The variety of examples sprinkled through out the book as well as the detailed case studies in the back of the book drive home the points.


This is a must-read for anyone thinking of evaluating or deploying RFID. The corresponding web-site (www.rfidfieldguide.com) offers a comprehensive list of RFID vendors as well as informatin on the basic and advanced RFID classes offered by the authors.