What is range and accuracy?
The range is defined as the distance that the signal travels. In general context, the range of any indoor location technology is dependent on the configuration, power settings and environment in which it is deployed. For example, a WiFi or Bluetooth signal will demonstrate a wider range outdoors without any obstruction than in a multi-surface indoor setting.
The reliability of the signal within a given range, and the tolerance of that signal when accounting for environmental factors is referred to as Accuracy.
RFID –
Pros: While RFID makes it possible to identify up to 1000 tags per second at nearly 100% read rates, its accuracy varies based on the number of factors, primarily:
(1) Frequency: The higher the frequency, the more sensitive it is to interference. For example, radio waves tend to bounce off metal and are absorbed by water at ultra-high frequencies. This is one the primary reasons why UHF RFID tags are no1t used to track metal products or those with high water content.
On the other hand, low and high-frequency tags, with their capability to penetrate non-metallic substances, are ideal for scanning metallic products and objects with high-water content, such as fruits. In fact, there are applications in which low-frequency RFID tags are actually embedded in metal auto parts to track them.
(2) Tag antennas: Most RFID tags come with dual antennas to eliminate ‘dead zones’ related to the orientation of the tag. Few tags may also be optimized for the frequency band to improve performance.
(3) Readers and Reader Antennas: In this case, most near-field RFID systems are less subjective to interference as they operate at a shorter read range while far-field RFID systems that can read up to several meters often face weaker communication issues.
All in all, because of the maturity and range of options available with RFID, it is possible to put any use case to play (for a price of course).
iBeacon –
Pros: Beacons typically have a wireless range of 1m to 70 m.
Cons: Beacons being radio transmitters are prone to suffer from interference, as radio signals can be absorbed by different media, such as water, air, human bodies or even metallic surfaces. The best way to deal with this is to realign your beacons within the desired area of operation such that there is no proximity to metallic surfaces.
Another important thing to note here is that beacon range is dependent on ‘broadcasting signal power’. Higher the broadcasting signal power, greater the range at which mobile devices will be able to pick up the signal and convert it into information. Unfortunately, greater broadcast power can also result in faster battery drain. That said, you can change the broadcasting power based on the use-case in hand.
