Is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology for Indoor Positioning the Best System?

RFID positioning refers to the use of RFID technology to determine the position or location of objects or assets within a defined area. It involves the deployment of RFID tags and readers to track and identify the position of tagged items. RFID positioning systems leverage radio frequency signals to enable real-time or near-real-time tracking and positioning capabilities.

RFID technology is a wireless communication technology using radio frequency signals to identify and track objects or assets. It consists of RFID tags, RFID readers and a backend system for data management and processing. RFID technology enables automatic identification and data capture without the need for direct contact or line-of-sight communication.

RFID technology itself does not inherently provide precise location detection. RFID systems are primarily designed for identification and tracking of objects or assets rather than accurate positioning. However, there are certain techniques and approaches that can be used to approximate or estimate the location of RFID-tagged items within a defined area. Some of those include proximity-based localization, triangulation, RSSI-based localization and additional sensor integration.

Generally, RFID location tracking tends to provide coarser location information compared to dedicated indoor positioning systems or technologies like Wi-Fi-based systems, Bluetooth beacons, or infrared-based systems. The typical accuracy of RFID location tracking can range from several meters to tens of meters, depending on the factors mentioned above. To put it into perspective, Mapsted’s location-based system has a one metre accuracy.

There are several alternatives to RFID technology for indoor positioning systems, each with its own strengths and suitability depending on specific requirements. A few commonly used alternatives include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ultra-wideband, infrared-based and computer vision-based. The best alternative for an RFID indoor positioning system depends on specific requirements such as accuracy, coverage, infrastructure compatibility, cost and application-specific needs. It's important to evaluate these alternatives based on the specific use case and consider factors like deployment complexity, maintenance, scalability and integration capabilities with existing systems.

The biggest challenges of RFID position technology are the need for additional hardware (RFID tags) and the extensive requirements for planning/installation. In addition, RFID has limited accuracy, with a short range of less than one metre.

Technical limitations of other indoor navigation technologies can't deliver what Mapsted's patented, hardware-free core technology does – a highly accurate and cost-effective stand-alone indoor positioning system. An RFID positioning system doesn’t even come close. Other indoor positioning systems require expensive external hardware and costly maintenance. Instead of relying on external hardware for location-based needs, Mapsted technology pulls from a huge variety of data sources, creating an accurate and powerful indoor positioning system.

Our technology uses horizontal and vertical positioning, as well as multi-building positioning, to allow users to seamlessly navigate across complex outdoor-indoor venues. Mapsted is the only company in the world with a patented, hardware-free platform powered by AI, machine learning, data fusion technology and self-learning algorithms. Our market-ready solution relies on advanced, proprietary technology that pulls from 50 data points at any given time to deliver scalable positioning with a 1-5 metre accuracy level using any off-the-shelf smartphone.

An RFID navigation system can offer limited tracking by detecting passive tag checkpoints, but it lacks the precision needed for continuous, real-time navigation. It’s better suited for spot detection rather than full pathfinding.

RFID positioning accuracy is affected by interference from walls and metal surfaces, signal reflection, reader density and tag orientation. These factors typically reduce accuracy to within a few metres or less.

While RFID indoor localization relies on hardware like tags and readers, sensor fusion systems (like Mapsted’s) use data from multiple sensors for improved accuracy without needing any external RFID location tracking system infrastructure.

Scaling an RFID indoor tracking setup across large areas requires extensive planning, tag deployment and hardware maintenance. This makes it less scalable compared to hardware-free systems that can adapt dynamically to large, complex spaces.

Yes, RFID location tracking systems can connect with IoT networks to monitor assets. However, they involve significant integration effort and often lack the accuracy and flexibility of modern, hardware-free indoor positioning systems.