CIO, CareGroup and Harvard Medical School
The economics of RFID are becoming more attractive as the size and cost of tags drop, battery life increases, and the technology becomes standardized. Today:
- Passive RFID tags are small and inexpensive (about 50 cents), making them suitable for many applications. However, to be read, the tag must be placed in close proximity to a reader, meaning some human action is usually required.
- Active tags are about the size of a pager, include a battery (enabling the tag to emit a radio frequency signal), and cost $10 each. They are suitable for tracking larger objects or people in a sprawling facility. Battery life is a potential maintenance issue.
- Barcode applications share much in common with passive RFID but are lower in cost due to their wide deployment and a per-tag cost of about one cent.
