Cheap RFID or NFT tag system to find things easier?

[Franziska]

Hi,

we keep searching stuff. Yes, we label our boxes and we write down the box location, but, once you rearrange something you start searching again.

With today's technology it should be possible to locate things easily and cheap via RFID or NFT tags on the boxes and a mobile app.

Basically add a stick on tag to the box, label it in an app, store it away. To find it, start the app and see it's rough position.
If all tags are displayed in the app relating to their location with regards to the other tags, one should be able to lift exactly the floor board where it's stored under or pull out the correct drawer.

I know that this can be done by pen and paper. But if you are several crew onboard things are bound to be stored in different locations & the list never gets updated.
If you have tags on your storage bins, the system updates itself.

So the overall question is, does someone use such a system? Is there a cheap way to implement it?

Thanks for thoughts. Maybe I'm ahead of times with my hope for a cheap and simple system...

[flightlead404]

Apple AirTags work for my cat

I’m sure there are cheap, hobbiest options check the various maker fora

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by flightlead404

Apple AirTags work for my cat

I’m sure there are cheap, hobbiest options check the various maker fora

Interesting can you please describe how you use them?
What do you see on your screen?

The Apple tags and similar Bluetooth devices from others are expensive if you want to track many boxes short range. Does anyone know of cheaper short range tags. Say in the few dollar rather than tens of dollars range?

I'm personally on Android, but when I hear about how you do it I can start to look more into an Android based solution.

[Endless time]

This may be an option. I have no experience with it. It does seem to meet the cheap requirement. It is very short range.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568...andl_shipto=US

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by Endless time

This may be an option. I have no experience with it. It does seem to meet the cheap requirement. It is very short range.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568...andl_shipto=US

That's a cool find. Imagine you search a box and have attached one of these, press a button on the mobile and the specific box starts whistling for you [emoji846]

Standart type battery too, so it can be changed when needed.

Drawback Bluetooth 4. Wonder how long the battery lasts, if it only lasts months it's not good enough.

Better from an environmental & economical standpoint would be a passive system without battery. Drawback the phone would need to guide you to the item.
Maybe RFID can do this? https://www.techtarget.com/iotagenda...identification
Here it sounds like it could. A system with passive RFID would suffice, say the reader system is mobile and you walk with it through the boat it would eventually pick up the right box if it is say within 25ft. The big question then is though how accurate it can home in on the box within that range. What I like on this system is that only the reader has a battery and, that the tags do not transmit actively. That prevents the tags also messing up the frequency of other items such as VHF, NAVTEX and so on.

Secondly, with regards to the Bluetooth based systems. I would need to check now how many of them one can associate with the app and if they can assure that they really all have different coding. If the latter is not the case you have the box with the drill bits calling together with the box of medical supplies and the box of.... That would be amusing but not worth the effort.

[AKA-None]

RFID tags are short range

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by AKA-None

RFID tags are short range

Actually there are different types and some can go up to 10m. That plenty if you walk through the boat and pick up the tag when you are close enough.
Thing is, they do not beep so once you have their reception you'd need a means to pinpoint the tag fairly accurately (few inch). Refit have the advantage to normally not having a battery, but to read them you need a special receiver. For the Bluetooth one a mobile is enough. .

A bit more research showed that Bluetooth 5 is much more power efficient than 4, so, I probably wait until the mass produced tags in China have switched to BT5.
Another plus is that you can set the Bluetooth tags as to how often they send a signal. All 5-10 seconds would be fine. That makes the battery last several years.
As far as I understand they send and receive at the same time, so you could trigger the beep sequence when it has reception.

These are still a bit big, but have user replaceble batteries and are way cheaper than Apple AirTags:
https://m.alibaba.com/product/160052...112b58adn33TmS

Btw. I made a mistake in the thread title obviously I meant NFC and not NFT.
Still NFC only works on very short range, so that's out.

[FabioC]

If I understand your application correctly (i.e., you want to know in which box something is, out of many boxes stored somewhere like on a boat), none of these devices would work for you. These devices do not track where something is, they simply tell you something is within 15 meters from your phone (in any direction). This could be enough to find your cat or where you dropped your keys, but it is not going to tell you in which box something is, unless the boxes are spread apart or something like that.

[brazenarticle]

Some time back I saw an article on KKCooltools that covered NFC chips used for this purpose.
https://kk.org/cooltools/robert-step...-geek-squad-2/
The NFC tags are really cheap, the app is free and it works fine.....but.....it was a hassle for supply areas that changed quantity, and not needed for the major spots where I knew what was where.
One thing I found them really handy for was to link pdfs of manuals or documents, for example if I have a need for the AIS manual I just swipe the chip and it is there on my phone or iPad. You could do the same with QRcodes but then you have to print them and see the sticker, the NFC chips can be mounted behind stuff or nearby. Just don't block the radio reception, it is really a Near Field deal

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by FabioC

If I understand your application correctly (i.e., you want to know in which box something is, out of many boxes stored somewhere like on a boat), none of these devices would work for you. These devices do not track where something is, they simply tell you something is within 15 meters from your phone (in any direction). This could be enough to find your cat or where you dropped your keys, but it is not going to tell you in which box something is, unless the boxes are spread apart or something like that.

Actually not quite.

Each tag has a unique code. These codes are stored in the app & associated with an item name you assign.

Select the tag associated to an item in the app, press a button and the Bluetooth tag emitts a beep or series of beeps. Just like a keyfinder.
So by making a certain tag beep, I can than go to where it beeps and find the box in question.

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by brazenarticle

Some time back I saw an article on KKCooltools that covered NFC chips used for this purpose.
https://kk.org/cooltools/robert-step...-geek-squad-2/
The NFC tags are really cheap, the app is free and it works fine.....but.....it was a hassle for supply areas that changed quantity, and not needed for the major spots where I knew what was where.
One thing I found them really handy for was to link pdfs of manuals or documents, for example if I have a need for the AIS manual I just swipe the chip and it is there on my phone or iPad. You could do the same with QRcodes but then you have to print them and see the sticker, the NFC chips can be mounted behind stuff or nearby. Just don't block the radio reception, it is really a Near Field deal

He says NFC only has 1/2 inch range, so I would need to be at the box I'm searching to tap it, no?

RFID tags have a longer range...
The part of what I want to achieve is find the boxes and stuff easily which has been misplaced or rearranged without noting whereabouts....