GearEye – The Ultimate Gear Tracking System With RFID Tags

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by Nic DivischekNovember 4^th, 2016

Kickstarter is an incredible platform to fund ideas that could improve your shots, manage your media or in this case manage your gear. GearEye are looking to fund their gear tracking system, which is based on Radio-frequency identification tags (RFID) and helps you manage your gear easily. They have almost reached their goal of $60,000, with over 50 days left! Here are some of the features of GearEye.

It happens to everyone. You forget a battery or a card or a lens and you can’t get your incredible shot. Or you leave the shoot only to find later that some gear is missing. GearEye is a smart gear tracking system that manages your equipment using Radio-frequency identification tags.

What is RFID?

RFID is an abbreviation for radio-frequency identification, which uses a electromagnetic field to automatically identify and track tags that contain electronically stored information. There are various versions of these tags. Some contain an on-board battery supply system, and are known as active tags. The one used by GearEye is a passive tag, which collects energy from a nearby RFID reader.

RFID tags are used in many day-to-day workplaces, from tracking a car’s production progress on an assembly line, to positive identification of live stock and various endangered wildlife species, such as rhinos and elephants in Southern Africa.

How does GearEye work?

GearEye allows you to organize and track anything that you place an RFID tag on. Depending which bundle you buy, you get a certain amount of RFID tags in various shapes and sizes. These RFID GearTags are stuck onto the items you would like to keep track of. With the GearEye app, you scan the individual gear items and name them accordingly. The stored items can then be organised into groups, such as shoot specific groups. For instance, a timelapse shoot group would encompass a camera, various lenses, a tripod and a motion control unit. A documentary shoot would need a camera, a tripod, some lenses, a reflector and some lights. The app allows you to customise the gear lists to your needs, and will also let you know when equipment that is not designated to the specific group is in your bag.

A life-saving feature about this gear tracking system for me personally is that if  you don’t have all the gear on you on your way home after a shoot, GearEye will notify you and allow you to locate the missing item.

GearEye will come in two versions: as a dongle that links your RFID tags to your smartphone, or a Smartphone Cover that also acts as a battery-pack.

The retail price starts at $199, and includes the dongle or the smartphone cover as well as 20 RFID tags in all shapes and sizes. The price goes up depending on how many RFID tags you need.

The applications for this product are pretty much endless. The most crucial one for me, though, would be to RFID tag my passport, so that I never forget it when going on an away shoot.

What do you think of this gear tracking system? Would you buy it to keep track of your equipment at all times? Please let us know in the comments below.