RFID Reading Drone Tested in Asia Warehouses

         Drone company AeroLion Technologies has launched a proof-of-concept with automatic-identification solutions firm SATO to provide a passive UHF RFID inventory-tracking solution that can take to the air. The system consists of a high-powered RFID reader and antenna mounted on a compact drone that can fly through a warehouse, capturing inventory counts. The two companies developed the solution with the support of the Yamato Group Research Institute.Traditional UHF RFID tag reading requires a handheld or vehicle-mounted reader to travel through the aisles of a warehouse, capturing RFID reads from the ground level. That process requires personnel to be on the warehouse floor, which costs a company extra labor hours and increases traffic in the warehouse.