RTLS VS RFID - PARTNERSHIP OR COMPETITION?

The constant technological development entails increasing needs of a precise identification and location of objects. A natural and proved way of fulfilling identification needs is using Optical Character Recognition (OMR, mostly bar codes) or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). However, applying RFID to locate objects is a big challenge. In applications, which require both identification and location of objects, RTLS (Real-Time Location Systems) can be very helpful. Apart from the identification, RTLS ensures also the real-time objects' location. A range of possible RTLS applications coincides with the ones of RFID. Does that mean that RTLS is a next stage of RFID development? In the following paper, the authors are pursuing to answer a question, if RTLS is complementary or competitive towards RFID?