What Is the Difference Between RFID and BLE Electronic Price Tags?
First of all, RFID and Bluetooth tags have different hardware. Then there are the sensors, accelerometers, light, temperature, humidity, and other types of sensors can add more functionality to your existing infrastructure. This also increases the initial cost of the infrastructure. But by taking advantage of these sensors to add energy savings, they can also help your infrastructure last for months or years. Don't forget Bluetooth 5, which will make future tags infinitely competitive.
The Bluetooth 5 update will bring: 4 times range, 2 times speed, and 800% broadcast message delivery capacity, which means that rich contextual data and metadata from sources like sensors will increase by 800%.
If your requirements can be met via Bluetooth electronic shelf labels, you can save money. As a result, BLE tagging based RTLS solutions are only 1/5 of the price of comparable Wi-Fi or RFID products, and while this is a basic fact, every system is different. The exact cost of your RTLS depends on the point of your attention. Although costs will fluctuate as the technology evolves, these numbers reflect the rationale for each technology. Of course, Bluetooth 5 has been released, and Bluetooth digital price tags will soon be more powerful than ever.
More and more WiFi access point providers are supporting BLE. This means you can run BLE based RTLS over a WiFi network without having to install other gateways, saving on hardware, installation and maintenance costs.
Use Bluetooth ESLs for personal tracking. A new industry has sprung up that wants to keep track of your valuables, so you never lose them. Their primary use is for short and medium range items of the owner. Here's how they work: Users typically attach their personal Bluetooth tags to their assets (computers, key rings, even cats). These tags periodically send their ID information. Applications can register the location of these tags at a distance of about 30 feet, but can register up to 100.
These end-user trackers are usually the same as any other Bluetooth e-ink display tags. The real difference is in the applications and how the company decides to use them. As these solutions become more popular, you are likely to see more choices and more powerful capabilities.
