Systems and methods are described for triggering interrogation of RFID tags by an RFID system in different interrogation spaces in response to detection of the presence and/or motion of an object using a machine vision system. One embodiment of the invention includes an RFID exciter configured to communicate with a master controller, where the master controller is configured to control activation of the RFID exciter and a video camera connected to an application server, where the application server is configured to communicate with the master controller. In addition, the video camera is configured to provide a video sequence of a scene to the application server, the application server is configured to store information concerning a region of interest within the scene, the application server is configured to detect motion within the region of interest using the video sequence, the application server is configured to send a trigger message to the master controller in response to the detection of motion within the region of interest, and the master controller is configured to activate the RFID exciter in response to receipt of a trigger message from the application server.