Neal Thompson explores RFID technologies in the event and meetings industry at MPITechCon - the premiere tech conference for the meetings and events industry hosted by MPI Chicago

1. @thomace RFID Technologies
Neal Thompson
Director, Strategic Technologies
Maritz Travel Company

2. Background
 Working with RFID since 2010
 Partnership between Maritz Travel and
Capture Technologies

3. Types of RFID Tags
 Active (Battery
enabled)
 Toll Collection
 Passive Tags (RF
signal provides power)
 Electronic store
security

4. Passive RFID Tags
 Receives power from the reader
Data Broadcast
RFID Tag
Reader

5. Passive RFID Tags
Frequency
Type Frequency Range
Contactless 13.56mHz 2-6 Inches
Smart Card
NFC 13.56mHz 2-6 Inches
UHF 928mHz Up to 30
Feet
Antenna
Type Frequency
2D Orientation Sensitive
3D Complete Orientation Insensitive

6. Storing Data on RFID Tags
EPC Global Class 1 Gen-2 UHF RFID Tag
4 Memory Banks
EPC
(Electronic TID (Tag
Reserved User Memory
Product Identifier)
Code)
Access and Identification Type of Tag Writable Area
Kill Password of Host of Memory
Product
Pre-written 128-496 bit 32 to 512 bit

7. Tag Modes
 Read Once
 Read tag, switch to B
mode
 Remain in B mode until
power is lost
 Continuous Read
 Read tag, switch to B
mode
 Can’t find any more tags
 Read again switch to A
mode

8. Getting Tags on Badges
 Two methods
 Associate the EPC
to the attendee at
time of print
 Write the Attendee
ID to the tag at time
of print

9. Tag Association Process
Process Challenges
 Badge is printed  Slow at time of attendee
 Sticker with RFID tag is badge pick-up
applied to the badge  Prone to human error
 Sticker contains a barcode (forgot to scan)
with EPC  Does not test the tag for
 Barcode is scanned into readability
onsite system and a record  Tag may be removed from
is created for association the badge
 Pre-Print is labor intensive

10. Tag Write Process
Process Advantages
 Blank badges are  Process is fast and
ordered with RFID seamless
tags factor adhered  Very little training of staff
 100% of tags are quality
 Badges are printed checked
and the tag is written  No separate data file with
with the AttendeeID tag associations
 Tag is verified read to  Easier to “disable” a badge
ensure tag viability  Reads of “rouge” tags are
eliminated

11. Hardware
 Type of Readers
 Hand Held
 Reader/Writers
 Long-Range
Antennas
 Use Cases
 AccessControl
 Room Monitoring

12. Access Control
How It’s Used What To Consider
 Uses a tap and go  Badge design being
model comfortable for
 Each attendee must attendees
“tap” the badge on a  Power and
reader
infrastructure outside
 Most vendors are the door
moving away from
laptops to tablets  Monitors to ensure
attendee adherance

13. Room Monitoring
How It’s Used What To Consider
 Passive: Panels are  Panels are not 100%
installed either to the accurate
side of the door, or
over trusses  Greater infrastructure
 Active: Tap and Go and time for setup for
with no access control panels
 Key is to measure  Panels are more
time in the session convenient

14. Engagement
How Its Used What To Consider
 Panels are setup in  Reporting can be
areas (exhibit floor) challenging
 Setup time / overall
 Strategically located booth look and feel
around content areas  Very valuable data for
 Attendees are exhibitors especially
measured by duration when combined with
LR data
in locations

15. The RFID Ecosystem
 My Surveys
 My Exhibits
 My Content
 Electronic
Drink Tickets
 Engagement
and
Analytics

16. Case Study
Top 100 technology company

17. Event Overview
 User conference
 6,000 attendees,
world wide
 Numerous
sessions
 Large interactive
exhibit area

18. Sessions
 Access control for C
level sessions
 Participation reporting:
 Engagement
 Topic interest
 Partner driven
sessions
 Triggering surveys

19. Exhibit Hall
 Monitor attendee behavior on
the show floor
 Provide exhibitor value of
overall traffic
 Create heat maps of the
exhibitor to determine what is
most impactful
 Identify which accounts are
most engaged in what solutions

20. Putting the Data to Use
 Partner sessions
became required during
registration
 Exhibit hall design was
re-tooled to be
experiential
 Attendees registered for
time to be on exhibit
floor: moved away from
welcome reception
concept

21. Reporting
Concepts of RFID Reporting

22. Overall Attendance

23. Track Attendance

24. Attendee Type Engagement

25. Topic Detail

26. Lessons Learned
What works.
What remains challenging.

27. What Works
 Gain insight and data
into attendee behavior
 More efficient /
accurate scanning than
barcodes
 Tablet session
scanning provides
digital signage

28. Evaluating Providers
 Investment: Look at
total cost
 Experience with
registration system
 Efficient tag association
model at check-in
 RFID scan storage on
devices
 Reporting turnaround

29. Demonstration