Patent ID: 8138925

Claim:
A radio-frequency identification (RFID) system for detecting and/or directing a configuration of a complex system having a set of one or more types of mateable components, comprising: a set of mateable RFID tags arranged so that each mateable component in the set includes at least one mateable RFID tag, wherein the at least one mateable RFID tag includes information relating to their associated mateable components and are arranged so that the mating of components results in the electrical mating of the corresponding mateable RFID tags; at least one RFID reader adapted to read an RFID tag signal sent from at least one RFID tag in a mated pair of RFID tags, wherein the RFID tag signal contains information about the mated components; and an information processing system operably connected to the at least one RFID reader and adapted to receive and process information therefrom to establish a number and type of mated connections that constitute the complex system configuration.