CompTIA - RFID+ Certification

Curriculum

Course Materials

Students attending this blended-learning program will receive a robust set of course materials that caters to each of the three primary individual learning-intake styles (auditory, visual, and kinaesthetic-tactual) - critical for a successful accelerated learning experience.

Daily lectures, labs, and review sessions are supplemented by a combination of:

• Proprietary Lab Manual & Program Courseware - developed to address the unique demands of accelerated learners
• Self Test Testing Software

Firebrand Training has an aggressive educational schedule that thoroughly covers all essential elements necessary to attain the CompTIA RFID+ Certification during the program.

Module Descriptions

• RFID basics, Tags and Readers
• Testing & Troubleshooting of RFID Systems, RF in RFID
• RFID Systems Installation, Regulations, Standards and Mandates, Practice
• RFID+ Certification Exam

Course program in detail

Interrogation zone basics

• Describe interrogator functionality
• I/O capability
• Hand-held interrogators
• Vehicle mount interrogator
• LAN/Serial communications
• Firmware upgrades
• Software operation (GUIs)
• Describe configuration of interrogation zones
• Explain interrogator to interrogator interference
• Optimization
• System performance and tuning
• Travel speed and direction
• Bi-static / monostatic antennas
• Define anti-collision protocols (e.g., number of tags in the field/response time)
• Given a scenario, solve dense interrogator environment issues (domestic/international)
• Understand how a dense interrogator installation is going to affect network traffic
• Installation of multiple interrogators, (e.g., dock doors, synchronization of multiple interrogators, antenna footprints)

Testing and Troubleshooting

• Given a scenario, troubleshoot RF interrogation zones (e.g., root-cause analysis)
• Analyze less than required read rate
• Identify improperly tagged items
• Diagnose hardware
• Recognize need for firmware upgrades
• Equipment replacement procedures (e.g., antenna, cable, interrogator)
• Identify reasons for tag failure
• Failed tag management
• ESD issues
• Given a scenario, contrast actual tag data to expected tag data

Standards and Regulations

• Given a scenario, map user requirements to standards
• Regulations, standards that impact the design of a particular RFID solution
• Identify the differences between air interface protocols and tag data formats
• Recognize regulatory requirements globally and by region (keep at high level, not specific requirements -- may use scenarios)
• Recognize safety regulations/issues regarding human exposure

Tag Knowledge

• Classify tag types
• Select the RFID tag best suited for a specific use case.
• Pros and cons of tag types
• Tag performance
• Tag antenna to region/frequency
• Identify inductively coupled tags vs. back-scatter
• Identify the differences between active and passive
• Given a scenario, select the optimal locations for an RFID tag to be placed on an item.
• Evaluate media and adhesive selection for tags
• Tag orientation and location
• Tag stacking (shadowing)
• Package contents
• Packaging
• Items
• Tags
• Labels
• Inserts
• Liquids
• Metal
• Polarization

Design Selection

• Given a scenario, predict the performance of a given frequency and power (active/passive) as it relates to: read distance, write distance, tag response time, storage capacity
• Summarize how hardware selection affects performance (may use scenarios)
• Antenna type
• Equipment mounting and protection
• Cable length/loss
• Interference considerations
• Tag type (e.g., active, passive, frequency)

Installation

• Given a scenario, describe hardware installation using industry standard practices
• Identify grounding considerations (e.g., lightning, ground loops, ESD)
• Test installed equipment and connections (pre-install and post-install)
• Given a scenario, interpret a site diagram created by a RFID architect describing interrogation zone locations, cable drops, device mounting locations

Site Analysis (i.e., before, during and after installation)

• Given a scenario, demonstrate how to read blueprints (e.g., whole infrastructure)
• Determine sources of interference
• Use analysis equipment such as a spectrum analyzer, determine if there is any ambient noise in the frequency range that may conflict with the RFID system to be installed
• Given a scenario, analyze environmental conditions end-to-end

RF Physics

• Identify RF propagation/communication techniques
• Describe antenna field performance/characteristics as it relates to reflective and absorptive materials (may use scenarios)
• Given a scenario, calculate radiated power output from antenna based on antenna gains, cable type, cable length, interrogator transmit power (include formulas in scenario)

RFID Peripherals

• Describe installation and configuration of RFID printer (may use scenarios)
• Describe ancillary devices/concepts
• RFID printer encoder
• Automated label applicator
• Feedback systems (e.g., lights, horns)
• RTLS