Jan. 31, 2011—RFID Journal has published a new report, titled "How to Choose the Right RFID System: A Step-by-Step Guide." This 40-page publication explains the differences between many types of radio frequency identification technology, including passive, active, battery-assisted, ultra-wideband (UWB), Wi-Fi, ZigBee, hybrid and chipless—and also discusses which type of system is best for particular applications.

RFID Journal's editors created this special report to help businesses choose the RFID technology that can best meet their needs in both the short and long term. It is designed to walk companies through the process of determining their needs, and then matching those requirements to the proper RFID system.

The report is divided into nine sections:

Part 1: The Major Types of RFID Systems
Part 2: A Step-by-Step Guide to Choosing the Right RFID System for Your Application
Part 3: The Different Types of Passive RFID Systems
Part 4: The Different Types of Active RFID Systems
Part 5: Battery-Assisted RFID Systems
Part 6: Hybrid RFID Systems
Part 7: RFID Sensor Networks
Part 8: Chipless RFID Systems
Part 9: Alternatives to RFID

An appendix lists common RFID applications, the type of system most commonly used for each, and links to news articles about those applications on RFID Journal's Web site. A separate appendix lists numerous RFID vendors, broken down by the type of technology offered. The report also includes a table listing 27 different types of RFID technology, the air-interface protocol employed for each system, and each technology's read range, location accuracy and tag cost.