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Cheap sensor for nearby tagged namecard

Bijan Vakili

Feb 21, 2015
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Feb 21, 2015
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Question: is there a cheap (less than $100 or so) way to sense (e.g. wirelessly through some radio technology) a nearby (e.g. ideally up to 15 feet in any direction but minimum up to 3 feet) tagged (e.g. via RFID passive or other means) namecard (e.g. as in ~3.5 x ~3.5 inch plastic card)?

I cannot use bluetooth low-energy because the form-factor is too large; it cannot be attached to a namecard.
I cannot use Wifi for the same reason as the bluetooth; that is, the form factor is still too large; although companies like Navizon have made the form factor quite small, ideally I'm looking for something like passive-RFID tags that are sticker-like but can be detected from few feet or up to 15 feet away.

I cannot use RFID readers (at least not any that I found on the internet) since the cost is way too much; the readers are several hundred dollars and the set-up is quite involved; ideally, looking for a USB-enabled reader that is easy to set-up; though this is not a hard restriction, rather a preference.

I am open to custom making the module; my use case is to just test if the tagged object is in vicinity or not; a simple binary yes or no; and I'd appreciate any feedback in perhaps doing this myself (DIY) if a product doesn't already exist. So if you have ideas, please share them (though I'm more in software than hardware, I can research your ideas to implement it.)

Attached image shows the context for the use case. And the form factor of the tags are similar to RFID passive tags ( https://t.seebgroup.com/rfid-passive-tag ); and the base reader is not too expensive ( e.g. less that $100) and the tags are cheap too (less than $10).

Thank you in advance for your help.
I'm blogging about my search for this item here: https://bvakili.com/blog/-/blogs/simple-small-thin-radio-transmitter
In case I find it through other means, I will surely do my best to come back and update this post; however, that blog post will have latest information as I find them.
 

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Bijan Vakili

Feb 21, 2015
4
Joined
Feb 21, 2015
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Hi Adam, thanks for your response question.

Sense whether attendant is at the desk. Think like building-lobby desk-clerk status. Currently I can workaround like this: clerk can use a webapp to give status ("I am at my desk" or "I am away from my desk") so guests can check when someone's at the desk; or when someone has left the desk vacant. This is to automate status process; so clerk doesn't have to manually.
 

Arouse1973

Adam
Dec 18, 2013
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Dec 18, 2013
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5,178
Ok so you want some sort of proximity detector for the people at the desk?
cheers
Adam
 

Bijan Vakili

Feb 21, 2015
4
Joined
Feb 21, 2015
Messages
4
Yes sir; and as simple as possible. Ideally something they don't care notice; e.g. as part of "smart" namecard/something.
 

Bijan Vakili

Feb 21, 2015
4
Joined
Feb 21, 2015
Messages
4
Ok so you want some sort of proximity detector for the people at the desk?
cheers
Adam
Adam, "proximity detector" , thanks! This phrase has provided some great results: already, I've come across some good posts:

http://electronics.stackexchange.co...ective-proximity-sensors-for-detecting-people

I had researched the terminology; but seems I did not get the terms right; in end I thought the right terms are: "sensor tag" but that's usually used in RFID domain.

I will research further and post here. In the meanwhile, thanks so much for your help!
 
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