RFID badge

What RFID means on an event badge

RFID covers a range of technologies with very different read distances. Gate-style systems used in logistics read tags from several feet away. Event badges almost always use a near-field chip embedded in the badge stock, read by a tap or a close pass rather than passively as someone walks by. The distinction matters whenever a vendor promises attendance data collected without anyone stopping.

What organizers use it for

Session attendance tracking is the main case, particularly where attendance has to be certified for continuing education credit. Entry and exit tracking is second, giving a count of who is in the building rather than who checked in at nine in the morning. Exhibitor lead capture and attendee-to-attendee networking are the other two, both of which turn a badge tap into a record.

What it costs

Chip-embedded badge stock costs more than plain stock, and the readers are a separate rental line. The decision turns on whether the attendance data has a job to do. If credits have to be awarded or a sponsor is paying for verified traffic figures, the cost is justified. If the data would be read once in a post-event deck and never again, it rarely is.

How Accelevents handles RFID

RFID badge scanning is switched on in the event's general settings. Badges are printed at check-in and then programmed through the Admin App, which assigns an RFID number to that attendee so later scans resolve to their record. Once programmed, the badge can be scanned to check into sessions, to mark entry and exit from the venue, by exhibitors to add a lead, and by other attendees to pull up a profile and connect. The feature runs on specific hardware: a Zebra ZC10L printer, NTAG-embedded badge stock, a Socket Mobile S370 scanner, an iPad and iPhone running the Accelevents apps, and a Windows PC running PrintNode for color printing. See badge printing.