RFID Journal Staff asked 9 years ago Will BLE take the place of real-time location systems and low-cost passive RFID devices?
—Name withheld
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No. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons were designed to communicate with cell phones over relatively short distances compared to active RFID systems. They are not designed for the real-time location of assets, so I do not see them replacing active RFID-based real-time location system (RTLS) technologies. What's more, they are expensive and have a battery that needs to be replaced, so they will never replace low-cost passive RFID devices.
I would expect BLE technology to evolve over time, and it might take the place of active RFID systems for some applications, but I think it would be farfetched to think it will ever evolve to the point at which BLE will replace all active RFID systems.
—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal
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