Could a Smartphone Track a Miniature RFID Tag Placed on a Golf Ball?

Published: August 30, 2012

Is this use of the technology possible?

—Name withheld

———


No. Smartphones might have a Near Field Communication (NFC) reader built in, but NFC readers are designed to provide a read range of only a few inches. Even if an interrogator were to utilize a passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) reader attachment, such as MTI‘s Mini Me model, the phone would not be able to supply sufficient power to attain much read range. A company known as RadarGolf offers a ball with an embedded transponder and a device capable of locating balls.

—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal