Low cost Radio Frequency Identification asset management

Using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for asset management is reducing staff hours, increasing asset utilization and decreasing capital costs in many industries. Large companies can justify high implementation costs, particularly integration components, by amortizing it over high volumes. Small to medium businesses could gain some of these benefits, but the implementation cost may be a barrier. A prototype RFID asset management system was designed and implemented to evaluate the effort required and capability of free or open source middleware using typical in-house Information Technology skills. The results indicate integrating the various components currently requires specialized product specific knowledge.