RFID Solution Of Event Management

Printed Tickets with RFID inlays are the best present solution to this problem. The ticket looks similar to an ordinary one but has an RFID inlay inside. The RFID inlay is a passive, read-only type tag that can now be identified by a reader. Since the tag can be identified at a distance, it is possible to have an access control system at which the visitors flash their tickets at an automatic door that opens. Alternatively, for large events where security guards are anyway necessary to control the crowds, they can be equipped with handheld readers that quickly scan the ticket and allow entry.

Present Situation Of Event Management

Large events, be they sports events like football matches, rock shows or trade exhibitions are always a challenge to manage. The challenges arise from the fact that the organizers are trying to control, not just ordinary crowds of people, but large fanatical crowds (like football fans). Restricting entry to only genuine ticket or pass holders is a major headache.

There have been many cases of fraudulent tickets (duplicate numbers, counterfeit tickets) being sold to an unsuspecting and eager public. These cases not only give heartburn to the person who has been cheated out of his money but also create ugly scenes at the venue, where the organizers have to inform the victim, near the entrance to the grand show, that all along, he has been misled and sorry, he cannot enter, because he is holding a dud ticket.

Thus the problems with the present situation are:

• If the ticket is just a printed ticket, then the entry to the event has to be manually regulated, where each person’s ticket is checked by a security guard and then
• allowed entry. It requires a large number of guards who have angry and impatient fans breathing down their necks.
• If the ticket is just a printed piece of paper, it can be easily counterfeited. Worse, if the organizers themselves cannot make the difference between a genuine
• and a counterfeit, then a genuine visitor who has purchased the official ticket may find his seat occupied by a fake ticket holder, who merely arrived earlier.
• To make matters better, organizers introduced bar-coded tickets. Now due to the automatic identification, the process of gatekeeping was faster, but alas, bar codes could also be easily counterfeited. So we are back to square one.

Advantages Of RFID

• No possibility of counterfeits. It is difficult for a counterfeiter to make or source RFID inlays matching the specs of the original, as also the impossibility of guessing the genuine serial numbers.
• Easier managing of access at gates as the scanning is faster with RFID tags on the tickets.

Has this system been implemented? Of course. The most visible demonstration of the new system was at the recent FIFA Soccer World Cup in Germany. About 4.8 million RFID tickets were sold to fans, leading to no counterfeit problems and easier access control to the matches.

Future Scenarios Of Event Management

RFID tickets will become the norm rather than the exception, for all events, not just football matches. The Beijing Olympics will also have RFID tickets.