Tracking Dinosaur Bones from Dig Site to Display with RAIN RFID
An asset tracking solution from HID and Impinj enabled improved workflows from the excavation site to the museum — and everywhere in between.
RAIN RFID streamlines fossil tracking and documentation
On a stretch of land in South Dakota, paleontologists from the non-profit Earth Sciences Foundation (ESF) reshaped how ancient dinosaur bones are typically excavated, documented, prepared for study, and ultimately displayed using RAIN RFID.
Crews at a hadrosaur dinosaur excavation site — on land owned by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe — used an innovative RAIN RFID solution including rugged RAIN RFID tags from Impinj partner HID, handheld readers from Impinj partner Technology Solutions Ltd. (TSL), Impinj RAIN RFID tag chips and reader chips, and mapping software from Esri. The RAIN RFID solution quickly and thoroughly documented specimen information and tracked the movement of unearthed fossils through various workflow zones, from the excavation site all the way to the museum with pinpoint accuracy.
The use of the Impinj and HID enabled solution at the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe excavation site:
- Streamlined workflows by 80%
- Eliminated manual data entry mistakes
- Boosted data accuracy
- Increased visibility for stakeholders
Conventional fossil tracking invites errors, omissions
The typical “dig-to-display” path can be time consuming and prone to error. Crews typically add detailed site and specimen information to field notebooks by hand at the excavation site, later pairing the notebook with the excavated specimens as they are shipped to a storage facility. Once the excavated items arrive, crews rely on paper spreadsheets to track the location of fossils as they are moved from place to place for examination and study.
But if notebooks and specimens become separated during transport, a treasure trove of information about the specimen is lost. Handwritten data incorrectly entered into a computer database can lead to inconsistencies and inaccurate location information. And if a specimen is removed from its protective casing during analysis and misplaced, the physical link between the specimen and its field number is severed, leaving researchers scrambling.
On-site data capture made easy with RAIN RFID
The RAIN RFID-based fossil-tracking solution digitizes data that has historically been gathered by hand, and helps excavators, researchers, and others easily locate specimens no matter where they are in their journey.
Here’s how the Impinj and HID solution works:
- Field technicians at an excavation site capture specimen information such as precise location, species, anatomical part, photos, and field notes in a data collection form using an electronic tablet and Esri’s ArcGIS Survey123 software.
- A durable HID Seal Tag vTamper UHF tag containing an Impinj M730 RAIN RFID tag chip is assigned to a specimen, such as a dinosaur bone. The tag stores basic data such as asset owner, asset description, original asset coordinates, and unique identification number.
- A technician reads the bone’s tag using a TSL 3166 handheld reader containing an Impinj E710 RAIN RFID reader chip. The tag information is now associated with the asset record.
- Once the data capture is complete, the HID tag is attached to the bone via a zip tie or sealed with the bone inside a package, ensuring the tag remains with the bone throughout its journey.
- With each read of the bone’s tag, a date/time stamp is created, forming an auditable record and providing the last known location of the fossil.
(The solution) allows us to geospatially curate fossils in a matter of seconds. From a time standpoint, this is the fastest, easiest thing I’ve ever seen.
Faster fossil tracking with real-time, accurate data
RAIN RFID enabled staff at the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe site to track specimens at each stage and update information in real time, eliminating the need for manual data entry and freeing staff to focus on other activities.
“(The solution) allows us to geospatially curate fossils in a matter of seconds,” said Tom Hebert, founder and director of Earth Sciences Foundation. “From a time standpoint, this is the fastest, easiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Other benefits of the RAIN RFID solution include:
Eighty percent improvement in workflows
The Standing Rock team seamlessly cataloged 347 fossils in just five days at the excavation site, drastically speeding up a typically time-consuming documentation process and improving subsequent workflows by an estimated 80%.
Radio wave-powered readers operate anywhere
Because RAIN RFID reads items wirelessly and doesn’t require electricity or batteries to operate, field crews didn’t have to worry about powering the handheld readers on site. The TSL reader’s powerful Impinj E710 RAIN RFID reader chip, designed for small-sized readers that remain active longer on a single battery charge, allows for information to be stored on the device until it can be connected to the internet and uploaded to the cloud.
Real-time tracking with pinpoint accuracy
RAIN RFID’s ability to track assets in real-time with near-perfect accuracy gave all stakeholders real-time visibility of bone status, allowing for easier collaboration and faster idea exchange — even when they were located hundreds of miles from the dig site. The technology was a comfort for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose members were able to stay abreast of the excavation process remotely as the job unfolded.
HID and the Impinj Partner Network
HID is an Impinj partner and manufacturer of RAIN RFID tags and readers. Learn more about the Impinj Partner Network, the Impinj platform, and how RAIN RFID helps companies see asset locations in real-time, gain visibility into equipment status, and plan resource use in any industry.
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Friday, June 20, 2025
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