Real-time Data and Analytics: The asset tracking software lets you track the current location of the assets, like in which department it is being used or what process it is under. Thanks to the analytics, that these asset tracking softwares include into them, that are responsible for keeping up the data related to every important asset in real-time. This way, the software automatically updates the real-time location of the assets without manually entering the data into the system. The real-time data and analytics lead to the safety of the high-value assets as well as better employee productivity. With the real-time data and analytics, you can track the assets, their utilization, employee performance, and even the dispatch reliability.

Indoor Positioning and Location Sensing Technologies: The indoor positioning and location-sensing technologies are the new technologies that are becoming popular for asset tracking systems. This very technology makes the asset tracking systems capable of creating a 3D map for the objects to track. This way, the indoor location of the assets is visible on the system, and the tracking is even more accurate. The sensors play the most critical role for tracking the assets such that the readers are installed in every department inside the organisation. And with the smart algorithm, magnetic fields as well as radio signals, these readers are able to locate the exact position of the assets within the organisation.

Cloud-based Systems: Cloud is the current hot topic and is replacing the old storage methods rapidly. Most of the organisations are willing to use the cloud for their almost every operations running within. Cloud-based asset tracking systems are accurate and maintain the data at a centralised but accessible to all place. These cloud-based systems reduce the chances of data redundancy is near to impossible. With simultaneous backups, the data is always accurate and safe, as the chances of losing your data become minimal.

Mobility and BYOD: Mobile phones today are much more than a device to make phone calls or send messages. Smartphones have really become smart. So with the wireless technology used for asset tracking, the employees of an organisation can also make use of their own devices, i.e. a smartphone or their personal laptop, to track the assets. Also, there is no obligation of the place or the distance from the asset to track. The new technology is making the work convenient for the employees as they do not need a scanner to track the assets. They just require an internet-connected device like a smartphone or a laptop and the tracking software installed on it.

Blockchain: Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology which is generally used to track the transactions and carry out audits digitally. But in 2016, the same technology was also introduced to handle asset tracking. Since Blockchain provides high security and can keep large data, these are one of the best choices for managing and tracking the assets in, or out of an organisation. Blockchain creates different copies of data, and hence, all the users need to use their own private key to read the same. But at the same time, the data is immutable too, ensuring its security. The experts have discussed many benefits of Blockchain in asset management, such that there are possibilities that in the coming three-four years, the Blockchain technology is going to be the primary method of asset tracking.

Artificial Intelligence: Artificial intelligence and machine learning are one of the most innovative technologies that have been introduced to humans. Though using these technologies can be expensive, these can prove the most efficient ones to help increase productivity in an organization. In the asset management systems, these can be most useful in terms of taking care of the assets. Yes, these smart technologies help track the physical condition of assets as these can spot the issues in seconds and inform the system if the assets need maintenance.

So these are a few of the most useful trends in asset tracking and management for 2019. If you have also got an asset tracking software development project in mind that may involve any of these technologies, you can contact the expert team of Xornor Technologies for a free consultation.

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Barcodes, being the oldest, are the most popular. But, RFID is also gradually making its place in the industry. Since the installation of the RFID based tracking systems is a bit expensive, it took a little while for them to get the limelight. But in the past decade, there has been an abrupt rise in the number of organisations that have switched to RFID tags for their asset tracking method. In fact, according to some of the experts, RFID will be taking over the place of barcode soon. But, is RFID worth the hype? So let us see which is better and why?

What is Barcoding?

There would be rarely any person who has never seen a barcode in his/her life. Barcodes are everywhere, from the products you buy from a grocery store to the mail you receive in your mailbox. A bar code is a square or rectangular image that includes black coloured vertical lines of different thickness, numerals and characters. These lines and characters are nothing but encoded data. This data is decoded by an optical device, say a barcode scanner.

The barcodes are capable of storing the accurate data related to an item, like the manufacturing date, name, expiry date, type or the category of the item, or even its price. In most of the cases, a barcode consists of the country code, product item code, manufacturer code and the check code.

A scanner is used to read the barcode through laser, which scans code form left to right. The data is scanned in the form of 0 and 1 binary code, which is immediately stored or displayed on the computer.

The history of barcodes backs to 1960s, and since then, it has been the most loved medium for automated asset tracking in inventories, and various other operations in all types of organisations. So there is no fixed pattern on what type of information a barcode will hold.

What is RFID?

RFID or Radio-Frequency Identification is another method of asset tracking. It took ten years for this method to get into the limelight and replace the old methods of asset tracking. An RFID asset tracking system is of two types, i.e. active and passive, and most of the times, includes an RFID reader, RFID tags (chips or smart labels), and at least one antenna.

The RFID tags are comprised of an integrated circuit and the antenna, through which it holds and transmit the encrypted data. The reader reads this encoded data through radio waves, converts it to more readable form and through a communications interface stores into the database. The RFID systems can work independently or with little human intervention.

Comparison Between RFID and Barcodes for Asset Tracking:

Though barcode has been a standard in automated asset tracking for the past four-five decades, RFID being more accurate and efficient, it is slowly taking over the industries. Here is the comparison between barcodes and RFID asset tracking system:

1. Line of Sight: This the basic reason, that makes RFID better than barcodes, as to scan the RFID tags, the items do not have to be in the line-of-sight of the reader. If the tags are passive ones, these can be scanned from a fixed reader to a distance equal to 40 ft., and a handheld reader can read the tags from a distance of 20 ft. In the case of an active tag, the maximum distance from where the reader can read the tag is 100 ft. But for the barcode, the item can only be on the distance of a few feet, and that too, in the line of sight of the scanner.
2. Modification to the Data: Once printed, there are no options to modify or change the barcode. These are only readable. But the RFID tags can be read and re-written based on the requirements, even after the encryption.
3. Durability: Most of the times, you will find a barcode printed on a paper, and cannot handle the wear and tear situations. Whereas, the RFID tags are built from tougher material, and often, uses a hard case, such that these can sustain in harsh conditions, like heat, moisture, and even the changing weather conditions.
4. Data Security: Barcodes are easy to decode, so the security of the data is always at stake. But on the other hand, since the data is in the encrypted form, it becomes difficult to read the data through an RFID tag. Also, an RFID tag can store 100 times more data than barcodes, so it becomes safer from data replication.
5. Productivity: Since the barcodes need to be in the line-of-sight, only a single barcode is scanned at a time. But with the RFID system, multiple RFID tags (up to 200 tags) can be read at a time. With the increased read rate, productivity is also increased. In most of the cases, RFID readers don’t even need human help.

Even though barcodes are lighter for use and cheaper, using RFID for automated asset tracking, streamlines and automates all the processes as well as reduces the cases of human errors. This way, efficiency, as well as productivity, is always higher in the case of RFID asset tracking systems, as compared to the barcode systems.

Are you ready for your asset tracking software development, or still have confusion between RFID and barcodes? Feel free to contact us to know more.

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