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March 31, 2006
RFID tags to assist in tracking first responders
This is an interesting way of changing the way RFID tags are normally used - the reader is mobile and the tags stationary.
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is studying whether RFID technology can be used as a low cost, reliable means to track firefighters and other first responders inside buildings and help them navigate under hazardous conditions.Typical RFID systems consist of tags, tag readers and application software. As the tagged products pass by a fixed reader they transmit data about the product and its location. The NIST researchers are looking at the "flip side." They want to know whether inexpensive RFID tags placed inside buildings can help pinpoint the location of a first responder and provide local information to a small handheld device that includes an RFID reader and a navigation unit.
In place of GPS (Global Positioning System), which is unreliable inside most buildings, the researchers are evaluating whether inertial sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes can be used as part of the navigation system to help guide the first responder through the building. The reader's interaction with a tag would be similar to using a "you are here" map in a shopping mall.
Posted by joeyelisa at March 31, 2006 12:29 AM