With every passing year, San Diego faces more and more people passing through its streets. As attention for San Diego Comic Con grows, it attracts more people. In the old days, there used to be scalpers hanging the streets and people clamoring for a chance to get into the convention floor without a badge. Although CCI has taken measures like increased security and turning a badge into monopoly money in order to prevent counterfeiters from scalping fake badges to unknowing wanderers in the Gaslamp, the system isn’t perfect.
Instead, they have sought to adopt RFID technology. RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. It’s a tag that is attached to the convention badge that requires verification from its user before entering the premises. Other large conventions have started to adopt this practice including New York Comic Con, Silicon Valley Comic Con, Salt Lake Comic Con*, and CCI’s sister con to San Diego: Wondercon.
With this year being Wondercon’s first experience with RFID and at a new location, the system was rife with loopholes. Several exits posed before escalators and other exits would malfunction, causing delays and ultimately volunteers and security would neglect the system in order to keep the crowd moving.
Attendees seeking panels within the Microsoft Theater were required to leave the main convention floor and walk across the street to tap into the theater and also proceed through security. Since SDCC frequently holds panels within the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton Bayfront, the hotel adjacent to the convention, it’s realistic to expect another bottleneck point within the hotel itself.
However, unlike Wondercon, SDCC remains in a location that has been essentially armed to the teeth with security at all checkpoints, and adding the extra step of tapping for RFID is really just another step. At New York Comic Con, this process has also become much simpler despite the crowds who attend the convention.
The solution to this problem isn’t easy. It requires that security and CCI staff remain understanding and vigilant, while also providing some sort of “bathroom pass” should an attendee encounter a problem that requires them to step out of line to solve.
Essentially it all boils down to time versus security. For those unlucky attendees who have lost their badges in the past, there is seemingly no solution other than to purchase another badge. Without a guarantee that the lost badge isn’t being used, someone who might have made a mistake or had their badge taken would get the raw end of the deal. With RFIDs, it’s potentially possible to turn off lost badges making them inactive for tapping in and out of the convention. Each RFID chip is individual and therefore can be turned off and replaced.
- Keep your badge ready. This shouldn’t be an issue for regulars. Security already requires people to have their badge held up and ready to see, now you just have to be ready to tap it as well.
- Make sure to tap in AND tap out. This may seem like an obvious one, but during points of crowding and the busy hours, there is a potential to be missed tapping in or out. This can present a problem the next time you want to use your badge. The badge keeps track of your movements, so follow the rules and stay in line.
- Secure your badge. Although the RFID makes losing your badge less of a pain, it’s still important to make sure your badge is secured, especially when you are exploring the floor. With crowds of people and pushing and shoving, it’s easy for your badge to be knocked off of the lanyard or taken off your body. Hook your lanyard into the plastic of the badge holder as well as the metal pin for extra protection, and hold onto it in crowds.
- Aim for lower traffic areas. This requires some knowledge of the convention center, but if you want to avoid more lines and potential bottlenecking of the masses, walk down further from the crowds. All doors lead into the floor, some just are farther away from your goal.
- Keep an eye out in the mail. Badges will be mailed to you this year, instead of you picking them up. So it’s your responsibility to keep it somewhere safe until the convention and make sure you have it before you leave for San Diego!
We’ve also accessorized this year with our own customized retractable reel ID badge holders from CorgiKohmander.
aww yeah! thanks @CorgiKohmander for these! RFIDs are going to be a breeze for us this year at #SDCC!! pic.twitter.com/w19a5YHUDJ
— NERDOPHILES (@nerdophiles) April 17, 2016
As far as our opinion on RFIDs, it’s a process that takes getting used to. But if it clamps down on problems like counterfeiting and gives those who waited and participated in the grueling process of buying a badge the exclusive privilege of attending the convention then we are all for it.
* Since we do not have attendees or press from SVCC or SLCC, we can not give an accurate opinion on the RFID situation that they have. Those with experience please comment below to further the discussion!