RFID Goes to the Dogs

Following the registration process, each time a dog arrives at the park's gate area, the RFID inlay in the animal's tag responds to the interrogators by transmitting its unique ID number at a read range of 1.5 meters (4.9 feet); the entrance and exit gates themselves are each 1.5 meters wide. The tag's ID number is sent to Unleashed Park's back-end system, where Identysol's WavZoom software confirms that the ID number is valid and has been properly read. The ID number is transmitted to the Kennel Connection software, which verifies that the dog's vaccination and other information is up to date, and then on to third-party financial-management provider Trust Commerce, which links the ID number to encrypted credit card information. Once the credit card number is verified, the cost of the visit is deducted from the customer's account. The WavZoom system then illuminates a green light and releases the gate's magnetic lock. "All of this happens in a matter of a few seconds," Acree says.

This solution aims to minimize operational costs by reducing the number of workers required for check-in. It not only accomplishes this goal, Acree says, it also speeds up the check-in process and improves the customer experience. In addition, employees can use the system with WavZoom to track the number of dogs entering the facility, when they arrived and how long they stayed before exiting, among other activities.

While the automated check-in time normally takes less than two seconds, says Siddharth Malani, Identysol's CEO, a traditional check-in would require a minimum of several minutes. "Not just that," he says, "customers would have to wait in a queue during rush hours, which may take much more time."

Building the system to operate with WavZoom, as well as the Kennel Connection software and the Trust Management third-party database, was what led to the creation of a custom proprietary system, Malani says. "It was complicated," he explains. "We had to work with their developers and invent new ways of solving problems, and we had to help them make the necessary changes to connect to our application smoothly."

"We had to build the system from the ground up," Acree states, "using the WavZoom system to create a custom interface" with Trust Commerce and the Kennel Connection software. In the future, he notes, the company may add each dog's photo into the Kennel Connection software, so that staff members can verify an animal's identity.

Unleashed Indoor's Dallas dog park is so successful, according to Acree, that the firm is now looking to open additional parks in other parts of the country, such as areas with inclement weather. Each site would use the same RFID-enabled system, he says.