Combined RFID Tag Antenna for Recipients Containing Liquids

International audienceIn UHF RFID (radio frequency identification), passive tag antennascan be fixed on boxes or recipients where the nature and contentsmight vary. These variations strongly affect the antenna performance.A combined antenna is proposed to ensure an effective read-range for aplastic recipient containing water or not. Two separate antennas arefirst designed for the filled and unfilled cases, respectively, thencombined for a correct working in both configurations

Flexible RFID tag for bottle labelling

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Eletrónica e TelecomunicaçõesRadio frequency identification technology is increasingly being used as a solution for identification services and for retail product inventory control. However, it remains a major challenge to fully replace existing technologies with RFID due to the unavailability of antennas applicable on any type of product. An example of this difficulty is the use of these antennas on bottles. The presence of a liquid drastically changes the performance and adaptation of the antennas, making them non-functional for this type of products if they were not specifically designed for it. The subject of this dissertation consists in the development of a flexible RFID antenna that works when applied to a bottle with liquid. For this purpose, antenna size re duction techniques and impedance matching techniques between the antenna and the microchip are studied in order to substantially reduce the size of an already operational antenna and make it functional for a bottle filled with liquid. RFID tags were built to work in free space and then modified to be applied to bottles with liquid. The tags’ size was reduced to one third of their original size. The results obtained, from tests carried out to achieve the maximum reading distances of the an tennas, show that they perform well when applied to the environment for which they were designed. It is also perceptible in these tests that changes in the environment such as changing the liquid inside the bottle reflect changes in the performance of the antennas making them non-functional.A tecnologia de identificação por radiofrequência (RFID) tem vindo cada vez mais a ser utilizada como solução para serviços de identificação e para controlo de inventário de produtos de retalho. Contudo, continua a ser um grande desafio substituir totalmente as tecnologias existentes por RFID devido à difícil generalização de antenas para qualquer tipo de produto. Um exemplo desta dificuldade é a utilização destas antenas em garrafas. A presença de um líquido altera drasticamente o desempenho e adaptação das antenas tornando-as não funcionais para este tipo de produtos caso não tenham sido dimensionadas especificamente para tal. O tema desta dissertação consiste no desenvolvimento de uma antena RFID flexível que funcione quando aplicada a uma garrafa com líquido. Para tal são estudadas técnicas de redução de tamanho de antenas e técnicas de adaptação de impedânica entre a antena e o microchip nela presente, com o objetivo de se reduzir substancialmente o tamanho de uma antena já operacional e torná-la funcional para uma garrafa com líquido. Foram construídas tags RFID para funcionamento em espaço livre e posteriormente modificadas para aplicar em garrafas com líquido. Foi conseguido reduzi-las para um terço dos seus tamanhos originais. Os resultados obtidos, provenientes de testes efetuados para lograr as distâncias máximas de leitura das antenas, demonstram que estas apresentam um bom desempenho quando aplicadas ao ambiente para o qual foram dimensionadas. É também percéptível nestes testes que alterações no ambiente como alterar o líquido no interior da garrafa refletem alterações na performance das antenas tornando-as não funcionais.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ultra high frequency (UHF) radio-frequency identification (RFID) for robot perception and mobile manipulation

Personal robots with autonomy, mobility, and manipulation capabilities have the potential to dramatically improve quality of life for various user populations, such as older adults and individuals with motor impairments. Unfortunately, unstructured environments present many challenges that hinder robot deployment in ordinary homes. This thesis seeks to address some of these challenges through a new robotic sensing modality that leverages a small amount of environmental augmentation in the form of Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. Previous research has demonstrated the utility of infrastructure tags (affixed to walls) for robot localization; in this thesis, we specifically focus on tagging objects. Owing to their low-cost and passive (battery-free) operation, users can apply UHF RFID tags to hundreds of objects throughout their homes. The tags provide two valuable properties for robots: a unique identifier and receive signal strength indicator (RSSI, the strength of a tag's response). This thesis explores robot behaviors and radio frequency perception techniques using robot-mounted UHF RFID readers that enable a robot to efficiently discover, locate, and interact with UHF RFID tags applied to objects and people of interest. The behaviors and algorithms explicitly rely on the robot's mobility and manipulation capabilities to provide multiple opportunistic views of the complex electromagnetic landscape inside a home environment. The electromagnetic properties of RFID tags change when applied to common household objects. Objects can have varied material properties, can be placed in diverse orientations, and be relocated to completely new environments. We present a new class of optimization-based techniques for RFID sensing that are robust to the variation in tag performance caused by these complexities. We discuss a hybrid global-local search algorithm where a robot employing long-range directional antennas searches for tagged objects by maximizing expected RSSI measurements; that is, the robot attempts to position itself (1) near a desired tagged object and (2) oriented towards it. The robot first performs a sparse, global RFID search to locate a pose in the neighborhood of the tagged object, followed by a series of local search behaviors (bearing estimation and RFID servoing) to refine the robot's state within the local basin of attraction. We report on RFID search experiments performed in Georgia Tech's Aware Home (a real home). Our optimization-based approach yields superior performance compared to state of the art tag localization algorithms, does not require RF sensor models, is easy to implement, and generalizes to other short-range RFID sensor systems embedded in a robot's end effector. We demonstrate proof of concept applications, such as medication delivery and multi-sensor fusion, using these techniques. Through our experimental results, we show that UHF RFID is a complementary sensing modality that can assist robots in unstructured human environments.PhDCommittee Chair: Kemp, Charles C.; Committee Member: Abowd, Gregory; Committee Member: Howard, Ayanna; Committee Member: Ingram, Mary Ann; Committee Member: Reynolds, Matt; Committee Member: Tentzeris, Emmanoui

Extended food supply chain traceability with multiple automatic identification and data collection technologies.

Hu, Yong.Thesis submitted in: October 2007.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-129).Abstracts in English and Chinese.Chapter Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1Chapter 1.1. --- Background and Motivation --- p.1Chapter 1.2. --- Objectives of the Thesis --- p.3Chapter 1.3. --- Scope of the Thesis --- p.6Chapter 1.4. --- Structure of the Thesis --- p.6Chapter Chapter 2. --- Review of Related Technologies --- p.8Chapter 2.1. --- Scope and Requirements of the Supply Chain Traceability --- p.9Chapter 2.2. --- Automatic Identification and Data Collection Technologies --- p.14Chapter 2.2.1. --- Introduction to the AIDC Technologies --- p.14Chapter 2.2.1.1. --- The Barcode --- p.14Chapter 2.2.1.2. --- The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) --- p.17Chapter 2.2.1.3. --- The Sensors for Food --- p.19Chapter 2.2.1.4. --- The Global Positioning System (GPS) --- p.23Chapter 2.2.2. --- Frequencies of the RFID Systems --- p.25Chapter 2.2.3. --- Encoding Mechanisms for the RFID Tags and Barcode Labels --- p.30Chapter 2.3. --- Standards and Specifications of the EPCglobal --- p.34Chapter 2.3.1. --- The EPCglobal Architecture Framework --- p.34Chapter 2.3.2. --- The EPCglobal EPCIS Specification --- p.39Chapter 2.3.3. --- The EPCglobal Tag Data Standards --- p.42Chapter 2.4. --- RFID Applications in Food Supply Chain Management --- p.43Chapter 2.5. --- Anti-counterfeit Technologies and Solutions --- p.45Chapter 2.6. --- Data Compression Algorithms --- p.47Chapter 2.7. --- Shelf Life Prediction Models --- p.49Chapter Chapter 3. --- Architecture and Scope of the Application System --- p.54Chapter 3.1. --- Application System Architecture --- p.54Chapter 3.2. --- Application System Scope --- p.55Chapter Chapter 4. --- The Tracking and Tracing Management Module --- p.60Chapter 4.1. --- Overview --- p.60Chapter 4.2. --- AIDC Technologies Adopted for the Traceable Items --- p.62Chapter 4.3. --- Mechanism to Achieve the Nested Visibility --- p.70Chapter 4.4. --- Information Integration in the EPCIS --- p.75Chapter 4.5. --- Anti-counterfeit Mechanism --- p.82Chapter Chapter 5. --- The Storage and Transportation Monitoring Module --- p.90Chapter 5.1. --- Overview --- p.90Chapter 5.2. --- Compression of the Sensor Data --- p.93Chapter 5.3. --- Management of the Sensor Data --- p.95Chapter 5.4. --- Responsive Warning Mechanism --- p.102Chapter Chapter 6. --- The Sensor Networks Enabled Assessment Module --- p.108Chapter 6.1. --- Overview --- p.108Chapter 6.2. --- Management of the Sensor Network Data --- p.110Chapter 6.3. --- Active Warning Mechanism --- p.114Chapter Chapter 7. --- Conclusions --- p.122Chapter 7.1. --- Contributions --- p.122Chapter 7.2. --- Future Work --- p.12

Technology in healthcare : business process reengineering and RFID

The purpose of this dissertation is to analyse if Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) can be used to improve the patient’s food chain at Hospital Beatriz Ângelo. Under the theory of Business Process Reengineering, the patient’s food chain and related activities are monitored and documented. As a result, the main problems and wasteful activities are identified, being some examples of it, lack of internal auditing to the number of meals served, and the time consumed when printing and checking diet lists and adding extra information to diet labels by hand. For every problem and wasteful activity identified, a solution is proposed and both technical and social designs are described. Gains derived from it are also evaluated. From these solutions it is possible to conclude that RFID can effectively be implemented as an internal auditing tool, to control the number of meals served to hospitalized patients, avoiding over-billing and eliminating the non-accurate and time consuming activity of manual billing. This is ultimately translated into cost savings by the hospital. Also, other technology is considered as a solution, a Zebra printer. This material is expected to eliminate the wasteful activities mentioned above, allowing staff to focus on more productive tasks. This dissertation concludes that RFID technology can effectively be applied at Hospital Beatriz Ângelo to improve a primary process, the patient´s food chain.A presente dissertação tem como objectivo analisar se a tecnologia de Identificação por Ondas de Rádio (RFID) pode ser utilizada de forma a melhorar um processo interno no Hospital Beatriz Ângelo, o processo de preparação e distribuição de alimentação aos doentes internados. De acordo com a teoria de Reengenharia de Processos, o processo em estudo e as actividades ao mesmo associadas são monitorizadas e documentadas. Desta observação, resulta a identificação de alguns problemas e actividades elimináveis com recurso à tecnologia, sendo alguns exemplos, a não existência de auditoria interna ao número de refeições servidas aos doentes hospitalizados, o tempo consumido na impressão das listas de dietas e a adição, à mão, de informação às etiquetas de dieta dos doentes. Para cada problema e actividade considerada eliminável, soluções são apresentadas, sendo o desenho técnico e social descritos para cada uma delas. Os ganhos derivados da implementação destas soluções são também considerados. A partir destas soluções é possível concluir que a tecnologia RFID pode efectivamente ser implementada como uma ferramenta de auditoria interna ao número de refeições servidas diariamente aos doentes. A implementação de um sistema RFID nesta unidade de saúde evita a facturação por excesso, eliminando ainda a auditoria manual às refeições que é efectuada no presente. Esta solução traduz-se em redução de gastos por parte do hospital. Adicionalmente, outra tecnologia é apresentada como solução para os problemas identificados, uma impressora de etiquetas. A referida impressora vem eliminar as actividades relacionadas com impressão de listas e etiquetas de dietas, acima referenciadas, permitindo que os colaboradores antes afectos a estas tarefas se foquem em actividades mais produtivas. Deste modo, a presente dissertação conclui que se verifica a oportunidade de implementar a tecnologia RFID no Hospital Beatriz Ângelo, para melhoria do processo primário de preparação e distribuição de alimentação aos doentes internados

Internet of Things From Hype to Reality

The Internet of Things (IoT) has gained significant mindshare, let alone attention, in academia and the industry especially over the past few years. The reasons behind this interest are the potential capabilities that IoT promises to offer. On the personal level, it paints a picture of a future world where all the things in our ambient environment are connected to the Internet and seamlessly communicate with each other to operate intelligently. The ultimate goal is to enable objects around us to efficiently sense our surroundings, inexpensively communicate, and ultimately create a better environment for us: one where everyday objects act based on what we need and like without explicit instructions

Selected Papers from the 5th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications

This Special Issue comprises selected papers from the proceedings of the 5th International Electronic Conference on Sensors and Applications, held on 15–30 November 2018, on sciforum.net, an online platform for hosting scholarly e-conferences and discussion groups. In this 5th edition of the electronic conference, contributors were invited to provide papers and presentations from the field of sensors and applications at large, resulting in a wide variety of excellent submissions and topic areas. Papers which attracted the most interest on the web or that provided a particularly innovative contribution were selected for publication in this collection. These peer-reviewed papers are published with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications. We hope this conference series will grow rapidly in the future and become recognized as a new way and venue by which to (electronically) present new developments related to the field of sensors and their applications

Organisational factors in RFID adoption, implementation, and benefits

This study investigates the impact of organisational and technological factors within pre-adoption, implementation, and post-implementation phases of RFID system deployment. In the pre-adoption phase, the study examines factors that drive and hinder organisations’ decision to adopt RFID. In the implementation phase, the study investigates the impact of organisational factors (business size, strength of culture, and business process re-engineering) on influencing the implementation processes of RFID. In the post-implementation phase, the study investigates how the benefits derived from RFID implementation interact with organisational factors (business size, strength of culture, and business process re-engineering) and RFID-related factors (product unit level of tagging, RFID implementation stage, and organisational pedigree in RFID). This study was motivated by the lack of (i) an advisory framework which considers quantifiable firm characteristics and the costs and benefits of implementing RFID, in yielding advice to guide decisions on RFID adoption, and (ii) a framework that covers the complete processes of RFID project deployment (from adoption decision to benefits derived) in yielding advice to guide decisions on RFID adoption. This study is achieved using a two-phase research approach: questionnaire survey of organisations that have adopted or plan to adopt RFID and case studies of organisations that have integrated RFID into their business processes. In addition, a thorough review of existing literature on RFID in different industrial settings was conducted. The key findings from the study indicate that RFID adoption is driven by factors from technological, organisational and environmental contexts and that the adoption, implementation and benefits of RFID are influenced by organisational culture strength, business size, and BPR. It was found that strong cultures, organisational size and BPR are all positively correlated with RFID adoption decisions, implementation and benefits. Potential contribution towards the existing body of knowledge is through highlighting the significance of organisational culture strength, business size, and BPR in providing a platform in which RFID will be accepted and implemented successfully to achieve maximum derivable benefits