GearEye Promises to Keep Track of All Your Gear with RFID Tags

If it works, GearEye's new RFID tagging system for your gear could change the way you pack for your shoots forever. Thin stickers in three versions allow you to tag all kinds of gear from memory cards to camera bodies and lenses, while an additional accessory scans a nearby area to verify if those items are in your bag, ensuring you never forget a piece of gear (and, alternatively, ensuring that you're never carrying more than you need).

GearEye's solution goes beyond Bluetooth trackers with its ability to conveniently tag individual pieces of gear. Each RFID sticker is ultra-thin and adheres to just about anything. A separate dongle or smartphone case (I'm opting for the dongle, since the case is device-specific, even if it does include a battery) allows a compatible app to verify if all of your gear is in your bag. The app also lets you create different types of shoots that might require different kinds of gear, so with just a few clicks, you can have a perfect packing assistant ensure you're packing as lightly as possible.

Because the RFID tags do not require batteries and are thin and cheap to produce, they last forever and offer an affordable, long-term solution for gear tracking. If everything works well, this could change the way every photographer packs his or her gear.

Available on Kickstarter today, GearEye starts at $119 for the base early-bird package, of which a few are still available. The starter package includes enough tags to track up to 20 pieces of gear, but extra tags for more gear won't be too expensive down the road for $10 for a pack of 20. Additional, larger packages are also available at Kickstarter pricing, with everything shipping July 2017.