Mountain View Systems FAQ

What is Mountain View Systems?
Mountain View Systems is an RFID Systems Integrator. We offer a unique combination of consulting experience, engineering know-how, and application development skills to the design of RFID solutions that result in quantifiable business advantages to our customers.

What is RFID?
RFID is an acronym for Radio Frequency Identification.

How does it work?
Fundamentally, RFID works by detecting reflected radio waves that have been modulated to reveal coded information. The easiest way to understand RFID is to think of signal mirrors. For centuries we’ve known how to communicate messages with just a mirror by flashing the sun’s reflection in the direction of the recipient. The flashes are sequenced to represent a code known by the recipient, such as Morse Code, that communicates intelligence without the necessity of an infrastructure that establishes physical contact (for example, a telegraph line). So, messages can be sent through the air simply by reflecting radiated sunlight. That is the basic idea behind RFID, except that instead of using radiated sunlight as our communication medium, we reflect radio waves.

For a more in-depth explanation of this and other RFID topics, click here to read "Basic Concepts in RFID."

So what does that mean to me?
RFID technology takes advantage of the reflected field’s morphic characteristics by manipulating the sequence and rate at which that reflection occurs, called modulation. RFID tags are designed to deliberately reflect the source radio frequency (RF) in sequences that are interpreted as information in the form of digital data.

RFID tags?
In its basic form, an RFID tag consists of a silicon integrated circuit (an “IC Chip”) connected to a small antenna. There are two general categories of RFID tags: passive tags and active tags. The most common of these is the passive tag (shown above), so-called because it has no internal battery power. Instead, passive tags are powered by energy drawn from the RF carrier wave transmitted and received by the RF interrogator.

So what do these tags do?
In a nutshell, the IC Chip analyses the carrier wave and responds with the data encoded in its memory. Data are communicated on the return carrier wave via a process called modulation. In this process a stream of data pulses ("1"s and "0"s) are added to (mixed with) the carrier wave reflected back from the RFID tag to the RFID Interrogator Antenna .

Is all this reflected energy harmful?
No.

Says who?
Uncle Sam does. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Code of Regulations Title 47 Part 15 regulates radio frequencies in order to prevent interference with other electronic communication systems at or near the same frequency bands. FCC Section 15.245 limits 902 MHz to 928 MHz to a field strength of 1/2 volt per meter measured at 3 meters. That’s 1/3 of the voltage in a AAA battery.

How is this technology useful?
RFID technology has distinct advantages over the ubiquitous barcode. Unlike barcodes, RFID tags do not require human intervention; can be secured inside packaging, are unaffected by dirt, moisture, abrasion, or packaging; have a read/write memory; and can store more data than a barcode.

Am I to believe RFID will compete with barcode technology?
Not compete, replace.

Note also that RFID data, once acquired, is easily managed by legacy software infrastructures implemented for the purpose of barcode inventory control and supply chain management.

So what if it’s better. How much does it cost?
Since the year 2000, rapid growth in the market for RFID is creating the economies of scale necessary to bring costs down to the point where RFID tags will soon be competitive with printed barcodes. In addition, revolutionary new fabrication techniques that further reduce costs are being implemented almost daily. Cheap at under 25¢ per tag today, by 2010 costs are projected to be less than a nickel per tag!

Click here to read "Forecasting the Unit Cost of RFID Tags."

Specifically, how can a business employ this technology?
Any business that has equipment or goods that needs to be monitored or controlled can use wireless RFID to track and manage its inventory.

Port authorities can use RFID to monitor the movement of controlled items secured in locked storage areas. Laboratories can use RFID to inventory radioactive canisters. Hospitals can use RFID to track equipment in patient’s rooms without disturbing care or rest. Police stations can use RFID to monitor access to evidence lockers or armories. Recyclers can use RFID to quickly identify collected source material. The list of possibilities is practically endless.

Where can I get this miracle product of the future?
That brings us back to Mountain View Systems.

I thought so. Explain how.
Mountain View Systems (MVS) uses Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) equipment to create cost-effective inventory and supply chain management methods. We've been in RFID for years, and we have a solid track record of successful development experience.

What experience?
Remember those examples listed on how to employ RFID technology three questions ago? Those examples are all real world cases Mountain View Systems has been integral in designing and implementing.

Mountain View Systems comprises a unique and comprehensive combination of technical skills that distinguishes our business model from many others operating in the RFID industry. Our RFID solutions offer high performance, particularly in adverse environments, and can be customized for unusual applications. We work with a wide range of partners to offer the best and latest technology. As a result, MVS is clearly differentiated from software companies, such as i2, Oracle, and Savi that lack the ability to create low-cost customization of middleware that solves the unique problem of your business. Because a typical application will involve capturing data on a specialty item, such as a pallet, tire, canister, hook, etc., in the customer’s environment and then implementing a solution that converts the raw data into true business value, our flexibility and experience in design and implementation are can be invaluable assets to a business looking to join the cutting edge of RFID implementation.

Are there any other horns that you wish to toot?
Not today. But stay tuned to this frequency.