Identification and surveillance device, system and method for individual item level tracking

An identification and surveillance system for independently tracking a plurality of individual inventory items, said system comprising:

• a plurality of identification and surveillance devices, each of said devices being attachable to a respective one of said plurality of items and comprising:
• an attaching device for attaching to a corresponding item;
• and
• a radio-frequency device securely mounted with said attaching device, said radio-frequency device comprising:
• storing means for storing data therein, said data comprising individual tag-related information;
• a transmitter;
• an antenna;
• and
• a power source for powering said radio-frequency device;
• wherein said radio-frequency device, with the help of said transmitter, is able to communicate with a corresponding radio-frequency receiver for tracking said item;
• a radio-frequency receiver capable of communicating with each of said radio-frequency devices for receiving each of said corresponding data;
• and
• a software product suite with application software loaded into a host computer and adapted to read, process and store each of said data with the help of said radio-frequency receiver for tracking each of said corresponding inventory items.

An identification and surveillance method for independently tracking a plurality of individual inventory items, said method comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a plurality of identification and surveillance devices, each comprising:
• an attaching device for attaching to a corresponding item;
• and
• a radio-frequency device securely mounted with said attaching device, said radio-frequency device comprising:
• storing means for storing data therein, said data comprising individual tag-related information;
• a transmitter;
• an antenna;
• and
• a power source for powering said device;
• wherein said radio-frequency device, with the help of said transmitter, is able to communicate with a corresponding radio-frequency receiver for tracking said item;
• b) attaching each of said identification and surveillance devices to a respective one of said inventory items;
• c) providing a software product suite with application software loaded into a host computer and adapted to read, process and store each of said data with the help of a radio-frequency receiver for tracking each of said corresponding items;
• and
• d) tracking each of said inventory items.