Edson Perin
Keeping Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) readers performing at their best in marathon events is part of Race Result’s primary goals, as one of the world’s leading providers of sports timing technology. Known for innovation in the industry, Race Result inspires its customers with excellent quality Made in Germany.
Race Result’s challenge is to ensure that all competitors have access to a reliable timing system to obtain their race time. In addition to meeting the expectations of each runner, the company must be able to track individual runners through a marathon crowd. Thus, the reader equipment needs to function completely reliably to avoid failures.
To ensure a first-class timing system with a lifespan of several years, simple-to-handle test equipment was needed for outbound inspection and on the side for RAIN RFID reader performance checks alongside existing production tests.
The solution found by Race Result was achieved in partnership with CISC, company specializing in communication technologies aimed at increasing performance, compliance, interoperability, security and privacy of equipment, such as RFID. The two companies worked together to develop a solution using the handheld RAIN RFID Reader Checker.
The product provides a quick and effective performance check of each door of a reader at outbound and on-site inspection prior to the start of an event. Thus, the equipment has enabled Race Result to offer its customers a test procedure that is easy to use and has allowed them to become more independent of the test bench at the head office, saving time and money.
LEDs immediately indicate whether a reader is suitable for use in the application. In the case of a problem indicated by a red LED signal on the Reader Checker, further investigation is possible by connecting the reader to the computer to find out if the problem was due to output power, sensitivity, incorrect frequency, read rate, or a parameter of air interface.
Overall, using the RAIN RFID Reader Checker and its basic performance checks ensure that only unsuspecting decoders from distributors are shipped and decoder downtime is avoided. As a result, Race Result was able to ensure time savings, lower shipping and decoder downtime costs, increased reliability and better performance for customers, and earlier problem detection.
“We are a global leader in sports time innovation. Our application area pushes RFID technology to its limits. A reader that works perfectly is essential for us”, says Nikias Klohr, CTO of Race Result. “With RAIN Xplorer Reader Checker, we can quickly and easily check if the readers in our decoders are okay. Especially because the device is so small and handy, we can test dozens of rental devices in our warehouse in no time.”
Race Result offers a complete hardware and software package for sporting events of all sizes. In addition to around 50 employees at the head office, the company has seven distributors on three continents. Without ceasing to be profitable, the company has increased its customer base and turnover tenfold in the last four years, with a total revenue of 13 million euros in 2019.
