Is RFID Feasible for Monitoring Students?

Active systems are frequently utilized to track people. Passive UHF is a little more challenging, since the human body is mostly composed of water, which absorbs UHF energy. Thus the body can block radio waves from reaching a passive tag, preventing that tag from responding. The system can be engineered to keep the tag far enough away from the body to allow the tag to be read.

One challenge facing these systems involves preventing students from swapping tags. To address this limitation, schools typically print a photo of the cardholder and punish any children caught using another student’s tag.