How accurate is RTLS technology when pinpointing assets?
—Name withheld
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Are you referring to read accuracy or location accuracy? Active tags used in most real-time location systems can usually be read 100 percent of the time, since they broadcast their signal like a cell phone. If a tag is blocked by a metal barrier between that tag and a reader antenna, however, it might not be read.
Passive RTLS solutions are also highly reliable, but passive tags emit a weaker signal that is more easily blocked. A passive tag’s signal might be deflected by metal, or it might not penetrate a pallet of bottled water or thick planks of wood.
If you are referring to location accuracy, most passive and active RTLSs can locate a tagged object to within 10 square feet (about 3 square meters). The exception is ultra-wideband (UWB) systems. Because they don’t have the same challenges facing multipath solutions, they can locate objects to within a few centimeters.
—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal