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Radio frequency identification (RFID) applications are expanding rapidly. The promise of accurate and cost-effective asset tracking, secure point-of-sale transactions and supply chain management all contribute to this growth along with US Department of Defense mandates. The adoption of RFID technology is also leading to an increase in available RFID systems and the associated need for pre-compliance and compliance testing.

For the designer, pre-compliance testing can greatly reduce the risk of test failure during compliance verification and the resulting time-to-market problems. However, pre-compliance testing has traditionally been a time-consuming manual process. By gaining an understanding of RFID pre-compliance tests and techniques for automating many test procedures, pre-compliance testing can become practical during a rapid product development cycle.

The Case for Pre-Compliance Testing

In order to display the certification trademark that indicates performance compatibility, most industry standards require successful completion of a battery of compliance tests. These certifications are important to prospective customers since they provide independent assurance that the RFID system will function correctly with a variety of readers and tags from different suppliers.

Compliance testing is similar to any impartial, objective test. Come prepared and it can be an exciting and rewarding experience. Come ill-prepared and it can represent a significant setback. In the fast moving RFID industry, a major cost of being poorly prepared for compliance certification is often the opportunity cost of missing market windows. Failing a compliance certification test and having to reschedule another test can mean weeks of lost revenue from a late product introduction or missing the design socket of an important customer.