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A radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based configuration detection system for automatically detecting, directing, and/or configuring the physical configuration of a complex system constituted by a set of one or more types of mateable components. The RFID configuration detection system utilizes a

A radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based configuration detection system for automatically detecting, directing, and/or configuring the physical configuration of a complex system constituted by a set of one or more types of mateable components. The RFID configuration detection system utilizes a set of mateable RFID tags arranged so that each mateable component includes at least one mateable RFID tag. Each RFID tag includes information about its associated component and is arranged so that when the components are mated, their associated RFID tags also are mated. The system uses at least one RFID reader to read RFID tag signals from the RFID tags. The RFID tag signals provide information about mating status of the component, as well as information about components themselves. An information processing system operably connected to the RFID reader receives and process information concerning the number and type of mated connections and thus the configuration. Changes to the configuration, such as mated connections being unmated, can be tracked to provide real-time configuration information.

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1. 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 RF

1. 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; andan 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. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the mateable RFID tags is adapted to transmit an RFID tag signal that indicates an unmated status when two mated RFID tags become unmated. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one mateable component includes two or more mateable RFID tags arranged so as to indicate an orientation of the at least one mateable component when mated with another mateable component. 4. The system of claim 1, including a database unit operably connected to a display operable to display information about the complex system configuration. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein: the complex system is a telecommunication system, and wherein the set of mateable components includes one or more components selected from the group of components comprising: patch panels, patch-panel adapters, jumper cables, housings, equipment racks, and a cabinet;the mateable RFID tags include unique ID numbers for each telecommunication system component; andthe information processing system includes basic information about the telecommunication system that is combined with configuration-status information provided by the at least one RFID reader in order to detect and communicate the telecommunication system configuration. 6. A radio-frequency identification (RFID) configuration detection system for detecting and/or directing a configuration of a complex system having a set of one or more types of mateable components, comprising: at least one mateable RFID tag associated with each mateable component in the set of mateable components and having an antenna electrically connected to an integrated circuit (IC) chip, the IC chip being adapted to store information that includes information relating to its associated mateable component, wherein the at least one mateable RFID tag is arranged relative to its associated component such that mating two mateable components causes the corresponding at least one mateable RFID tag associated with the two mateable components to mate electrically and exchange the information stored therein, and to communicate information regarding their mated status via at least one wireless RFID tag signal;at least one RFID reader adapted to receive the at least one wireless RFID tag signal from each mated pair of components; andan information processing system operably connected to the at least one RFID reader and adapted to receive therefrom and process said mated status information to determine the complex system configuration. 7. The system of claim 6, wherein at least one of the mateable components is orientation sensitive and has associated therewith one or more mateable RFID tags arranged so as to establish a mating orientation when the at least one orientation-sensitive component is mated with another mateable component. 8. The system of claim 6, wherein the stored information in each IC chip includes a unique identification (ID) number relating to the associated mateable component. 9. The system of claim 6, wherein the information processing system includes a database unit adapted to store said mated status information on an ongoing basis to provide a real-time status of the complex system configuration. 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the information processing system includes a display operably coupled to the database unit and adapted to display information relating to the configuration of the complex system. 11. The system of claim 6, wherein the complex system includes a telecommunications network, and wherein the mateable components are selected from the group of mateable components comprising: a cabinet, an electronics rack, a rack-mountable electronic device, a rack-mountable electrical/optical device, a rack-mountable housing, a patch panel, a jumper cable, a switch, a router, and a server. 12. The system of claim 6, wherein the at least one RFID reader includes an antenna system having one or more antenna elements arranged relative to the complex system so as to detect RFID tag signals from different regions of the complex system. 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one RFID reader is adapted to generate polling signals that elicit the RFID tag signals from the mated RFID tags. 14. A radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based method of detecting and/or directing a configuration of a complex system having a set of one or more types of mateable components, comprising: providing each mateable component in the set with at least one mateable RFID tag that includes information about its associated mateable component, including arranging the at least one mateable RFID tag so that when two mateable components mate, the corresponding mateable RFID tags mate and exchange information about their respective mateable components;mating a number of mateable components so as to cause the corresponding mateable RFID tags to mate electrically and exchange information about their respective mateable component;for each pair of mated components, generating at least one RFID tag signal that includes information relating to the mated components; andreceiving and processing the at least one RFID tag signal from each pair of mated components to determine the complex system configuration. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the generating of the at least one RFID tag signal includes, for at least one pair of mated components, generating one RFID tag signal from each mated RFID tag. 16. The method of claim 14, further including displaying the complex system configuration. 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the mateable RFID tags are polled periodically to elicit RFID tag signals to provide updated information about the complex system configuration. 18. The method of 14, wherein at least one of the types of mateable components is orientation sensitive, and further including: arranging the at least one mateable RFID tag relative to the orientation-sensitive component so that a component orientation can be deduced when the orientation-sensitive component is mated with another component. 19. The method of claim 14, further including directing a change in the complex system configuration by: causing an RFID tag to attract the attention of a system end-user with respect to one or more of the mateable components; andindicating to the system end-user to connect at least one of the other mateable components to said one or more mateable components. 20. The method of claim 14, further including transmitting an RFID tag signal that indicates when two mated components become unmated.