Can Magic Bands be used to locate people?

[Simba77]

http://store.tagsense.com/products/zt-500-long-range-active-rfid-tag
Here is an example of an active RFID tag with an Operating Voltage: 2.2 - 3 V that has range up to 70meters. See the datasheet for voltages.

It's not about voltage. It's about the amount of amp hours that a battery can store. A button cell has very low AH, and therefore can not transmit at long range before dying a quick death. The systems that have long range use the AA Lithium Thionyl Chloride cell I mentioned above, which has vastly superior storage capacity (high AH) in comparison, and can therefore "afford" to transmit over a longer range without dying a fast death.

Take a look at the transmit power of the device you linked: "Adjustable transmit power (200 mW max)"

The magicband transmit power: 0.687 mW max.

That device is 291 times more powerful than a magicband.

 

[disney is my life]

I haven't read all the posts so I don't know if it's been brought up but I read some where that if your child gets lost and finds a cm the cm can scan their band and somehow get the cell phone number of the parent.

 

[chartle]

I haven't read all the posts so I don't know if it's been brought up but I read some where that if your child gets lost and finds a cm the cm can scan their band and somehow get the cell phone number of the parent.

Probably not. Read all the posts.

 

[doconeill]

For some reason quoting is broken for me...

also, from the FCC filing for the bands:
“wrist worn arm band that transmits a 2.4GHz signal to an indoor wireless infrastructure.”

2.4ghz is EXACTLY what wireless cards in laptops, etc use. (also 5ghz in some)

what more proof do you want?

Proof of what? Frequency != range. It depends on the power of the transmitter.

http://store.tagsense.com/products/z...ctive-rfid-tag
Here is an example of an active RFID tag with an Operating Voltage: 2.2 - 3 V that has range up to 70meters. See the datasheet for voltages.

That is something completely different. MUCH larger, powered by AA batteries (which are more powerful than button cells)...it doesn't even say what frequency it uses (the link to the spec sheet goes to something else), and uses a completely different protocol specification.

YES, there are active tags that go a LOT further. That doesn't mean this does.

 

[Simba77]

I haven't read all the posts so I don't know if it's been brought up but I read some where that if your child gets lost and finds a cm the cm can scan their band and somehow get the cell phone number of the parent.

That's definitely possible with the technology, but unlikely to be implemented. The CMs have a highly refined method to reuniting children with their parents. By the time a child is found, the parents have likely already told a CM about it, and are simply waiting for the child to be brought to them.

 

[maddiebee]

I've worked at theme parks and we always found kids super quick. Systems are put in place for this kind of thing and always prove affective. Is there even any real need for a tracking? Do kids tend to get lost long enough to warrant a this kind of tracking that's being discussed?
While I understand that kidnapping happens, would that alone really drive Disney to put the MB's to use for this? Has the system they currently have every failed them that miserably?

 

[chartle]

I've worked at theme parks and we always found kids super quick. Systems are put in place for this kind of thing and always prove affective. Is there even any real need for a tracking? Do kids tend to get lost long enough to warrant a this kind of tracking that's being discussed?
While I understand that kidnapping happens, would that alone really drive Disney to put the MB's to use for this? Has the system they currently have every failed them that miserably?

No and as far as anyone knows, a child has never been kidnaped at WDW.

 

[Simba77]

Here's a summary of my conclusions, reached over the last 3 pages (lol):

1) Technology does exist in the real world where RFID systems are used to locate "tags" via a fairly standard wifi network. These location tags can have a range of 50+ meters (and often significantly more in ideal conditions or with stronger transmitters). This means that if one of these tags is within that specified range of a wireless access point (like a router), they can be located.

2) Magicbands do not have nearly the transmitter power to be used in such a system. The batteries (button cell) and transmitter (0.687 mW) are both too under-powered to be useful as an RFID locator. They were simply not ever designed to be used in such an application.

3) The RFID transmitter signal in the Magicband is only effective at a maximum distance of perhaps 10-15 feet, based on published specs and based on FCC filings of power output... This range would be enough for (theoretically) your name to show up on a nearby screen, or for an attraction to say your name when you pass within that 10-15 feet of the receiver (that is beside the ride track, for example - these are just speculative uses). It would not be useful nor effective in locating a person inside one of the theme parks, for the simple reason that the wireless access points (the routers used by Disney and their wifi network) are not nearly close enough to each other to work in such a fashion.

In fact, multiple wireless routers can not co-exist within such a small distance of each other. The wireless signal would interfere, causing the routers to be unusable as wifi devices.

In other words, to locate people using a RFID "tag" system in the parks, the transmitter in the magicband would need to be significantly stronger (like those used in hospital RFID locating equipment such as the WhereNet tag system), heavier, and larger. Those systems are powered typically by stronger AA-sized Lithium batteries and have much stronger transmitters than those found in a Magicband.

 

[EverythingIsSatisfactual]

Has there ever been any instances where Magic Bands have been used to locate a child lost at Disney?

 

[MakiraMarlena]

No, they don't use magic bands that way, they do not have a strong transmitter for real time tracking. There are systems in place to find lost parents (kids don't get lost at Disney parks, the parents do)

 

[HerRoyalHighness]

Plus those tile things (and other brands) have come out since this post was new.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

No, they don't use magic bands that way, they do not have a strong transmitter for real time tracking. There are systems in place to find lost parents (kids don't get lost at Disney parks, the parents do)

They can't FIND a lost child, but they can IDENTIFY a lost child who ends up with a cast member.

 

[accm]

Has there ever been any instances where Magic Bands have been used to locate a child lost at Disney?

We ordered this to stick on to my son's magicband, so that if we got separated for whatever reason, they'd be able to easily call me
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1003353901/if-lost-contact-phone-number-decal-for?ref=yr_purchases

 

[Betty Rohrer]

We ordered this to stick on to my son's magicband, so that if we got separated for whatever reason, they'd be able to easily call me
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1003353901/if-lost-contact-phone-number-decal-for?ref=yr_purchases

assuming CM has a cell phone on them which they may not. could still take awhile to call you

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We ordered this to stick on to my son's magicband, so that if we got separated for whatever reason, they'd be able to easily call me
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1003353901/if-lost-contact-phone-number-decal-for?ref=yr_purchases

They can already scan the band and get all of your information (assuming you're staying on property).

 

[accm]

assuming CM has a cell phone on them which they may not. could still take awhile to call you

No, but I'm assuming they can contact guest services (or someone else) who will have access to a phone to call me.
I'm sure it's not needed since Disney likely has a very good system in place for these situations, but it also cost me almost nothing, so why not?

 

[GoingSince1990]

We just started using an Apple AirTag to make sure we don't lose our backpack, and I'm very impressed by how well it works. If my children were younger I would be very tempted to use AirTags to keep track of them in places like Disney, even though Apple technically does not recommend this (probably because they don't want to give people ideas about stalking exes etc.)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...Apples-new-AirTags-track-children-crowds.html

 

[Betty Rohrer]

No, but I'm assuming they can contact guest services (or someone else) who will have access to a phone to call me.
I'm sure it's not needed since Disney likely has a very good system in place for these situations, but it also cost me almost nothing, so why not?

the best thing to have each is a picture of your child in what they are wearing at the park. small park I work at had a mother who was sure her son had on one color but when dad finally arrived boy was wearing a different color shirt. security had had the child for about 15 minutes at that point but because mother was sure he had the one color which was not what he was wearing, it took longer to get them together again. then mother was mad because security had him but would tell her when she had wrong shirt color. bet she would have been madder if security had given him to someone who overheard and pretended to be mom. Ps not sure they would be allowed to touch child enough to get the number

 

[scrappinginontario]

Zombie thread. Closing.

If you wish to discuss locating children in the park, please take to family board. A great discussion topic but more valid of Families board.