A Novel Long-Range Passive UHF RFID System over Twisted-pair Cable

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is one of the most representative, rapidly growing, and highly extendable technologies, which uses electromagnetic waves in accordance with specific communications standards and regulations to identify, track, or even localise desired objects. However, due to its high cost, limited read range, and uncertain reliability, its adoption still lags, especially in large-scale organisations. Even though an RFID distributed antenna system (DAS) can greatly improve the detection range and read rate of a single reader when system uses different combinations of antenna states with frequency and phase hopping, the lossy and heavy coaxial cables between reader and antennas still limits the system coverage and design flexibility for wide-area passive UHF RFID applications. In order to develop a cost-efficient and flexibly-installed passive RFID DAS, a novel large-range passive UHF RFID system over twisted-pair cable is proposed in this dissertation. This new system consists of one baseband central controller and one antenna subsystem, connected by a commonly used twisted-pair cable. It is shown that transmitting/receiving low frequency baseband signals over a twisted-pair cable can significantly reduce cable attenuation and extend the communication distance. A simulation is conducted to demonstrate that frequency and phase hopping can also be remotely controlled to fit this system structure by slightly varying the frequency or phase of the input reference signal of the frequency synthesis system. The features of twisted-pair cable in terms of its low cost, light weight, and bend radius greatly improve the design and installation flexibility of an RFID system. The implemented system is designed based on the ISO 18000-6C and EPC Class 1 Generation 2 standards, and can operate according to FCC (902-928 MHz) and ETSI (865-868MHz) regulations. The results of the measurement show the reader can achieve a sensitivity of - 94.5 dBm over 30 m Cat5e cable, and its sensitivity can still remain at around -94.2 dBm over 150 m Cat5e cable. The experimental results of tag detection show that the passive tags can be successfully detected over a 6 m wireless range following a 300 m of twisted-pair cable between the central controller and antenna. This detection range cannot be achieved by existing commercial RFID systems. Since the transmission and reception in a RFID system are simultaneous, finite isolation of the circulator/directional coupler and environmentally dependent reflection ratio of the antenna lead to serious leakage problems. Leakage can directly cause sensitivity degradation due to saturation of the RF components. A fast leakage suppression block is developed in efforts to solve this problem. Measurements show that this new canceller can deliver an average suppression of 36.9 dB, and this excellent performance remains when the system uses frequency hopping. With help of an improved scanning algorithm, this canceller can find its optimal status within 38 ms, and this settling time is short enough for most commercial RFID readers. By reducing the number of voltage samples taken, the convergence time can be further improved. To fully investigate this new passive UHF RFID system value, a comparison study between the new system and a commercial system is conducted. This new automatic passive UHF RFID system is confirmed to deliver high performance long-range passive tag detection. Particular advantages are shown in the fast tag read rate and capability of uplink SNR improvement. This novel system is also superior to conventional RFID systems in terms of link distance, link cost, and installation flexibility

Agrifood market regulation and contractual relationships in the light of directive (eu) 633/2019

Il volume collettaneo analizza le tematiche connesse alla disciplina dei rapporti tra i diversi attori della filiera agroalimentare alla luce della Direttiva UE 2019/633 “in materia di pratiche commerciali sleali nei rapporti tra imprese nella filiera agricola e alimentare” e della sua attuazione negli Stati membri, nell’ottica della più ampia problematica della disciplina del mercato agroalimentare. In tale prospettiva, nella prima parte del volume la disciplina dei rapporti contrattuali della filiera agroalimentare viene inquadrata nell’ambito della PAC e della disciplina della concorrenza, evidenziandosi altresì le connessioni con altri profili di rilievo; nella seconda parte, l’analisi si concentra sull’attuazione della Direttiva UE 2019/633 nei diversi Stati membri, al fine di evidenziare i punti di forza e le debolezze del mutato quadro normativo europeo.The collective volume analyzes the issues related to the regulation of relations between the various parties operating within the agri-food chain in the light of EU Directive 2019/633 "on unfair commercial practices in relations between companies in the agricultural and food chain" and to its implementation in the Member States, with a view to the broader problem of agri-food market regulation. In this perspective, in the first part of the volume the discipline of contractual relations in the agri-food chain is framed in the context of the CAP and of the discipline of competition, also highlighting the connections with other relevant profiles; in the second part, the analysis focuses on the implementation of EU Directive 2019/633 in the various Member States, in order to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the changed European regulatory framework

Digital System Design - Use of Microcontroller

Embedded systems are today, widely deployed in just about every piece of machinery from toasters to spacecraft. Embedded system designers face many challenges. They are asked to produce increasingly complex systems using the latest technologies, but these technologies are changing faster than ever. They are asked to produce better quality designs with a shorter time-to-market. They are asked to implement increasingly complex functionality but more importantly to satisfy numerous other constraints. To achieve the current goals of design, the designer must be aware with such design constraints and more importantly, the factors that have a direct effect on them.One of the challenges facing embedded system designers is the selection of the optimum processor for the application in hand; single-purpose, general-purpose or application specific. Microcontrollers are one member of the family of the application specific processors.The book concentrates on the use of microcontroller as the embedded system?s processor, and how to use it in many embedded system applications. The book covers both the hardware and software aspects needed to design using microcontroller.The book is ideal for undergraduate students and also the engineers that are working in the field of digital system design.Contents• Preface;• Process design metrics;• A systems approach to digital system design;• Introduction to microcontrollers and microprocessors;• Instructions and Instruction sets;• Machine language and assembly language;• System memory; Timers, counters and watchdog timer;• Interfacing to local devices / peripherals;• Analogue data and the analogue I/O subsystem;• Multiprocessor communications;• Serial Communications and Network-based interfaces

Digital System Design - Use of Microcontroller

Embedded systems are today, widely deployed in just about every piece of machinery from toasters to spacecraft. Embedded system designers face many challenges. They are asked to produce increasingly complex systems using the latest technologies, but these technologies are changing faster than ever. They are asked to produce better quality designs with a shorter time-to-market. They are asked to implement increasingly complex functionality but more importantly to satisfy numerous other constraints. To achieve the current goals of design, the designer must be aware with such design constraints and more importantly, the factors that have a direct effect on them.One of the challenges facing embedded system designers is the selection of the optimum processor for the application in hand; single-purpose, general-purpose or application specific. Microcontrollers are one member of the family of the application specific processors.The book concentrates on the use of microcontroller as the embedded system?s processor, and how to use it in many embedded system applications. The book covers both the hardware and software aspects needed to design using microcontroller.The book is ideal for undergraduate students and also the engineers that are working in the field of digital system design.Contents• Preface;• Process design metrics;• A systems approach to digital system design;• Introduction to microcontrollers and microprocessors;• Instructions and Instruction sets;• Machine language and assembly language;• System memory; Timers, counters and watchdog timer;• Interfacing to local devices / peripherals;• Analogue data and the analogue I/O subsystem;• Multiprocessor communications;• Serial Communications and Network-based interfaces

CAMAC bulletin: A publication of the ESONE Committee Issue #14 December 1975 [last pub. of series]

CAMAC is a means of interconnecting many peripheral devices through a digital data highway to a data processing device such as a computer

Extending UTP 2 with cascading arbitration specifications

In testing, the term arbitration describes the process of calculating the verdict after the execution of a test case or test suite. The calculation of the verdict follows a defined rule set that clearly specifies which verdict to produce under which conditions. In many situations, these rules simply follow the scheme that any deviation between the expected and the actual response of the system under test leads to fail. UTP 2 introduces the concept of arbitration specifications on various hierarchy levels to determine the final verdict of an arbitration target. It provides default arbitration specifications that adhere to the above-mentioned straightforward calculation of verdicts, but allows for overriding these default ones with user-defined arbitration specifications. Unfortunately, this override mechanism adversely affects the maintainability of test cases and test actions because of its high degree of intrusion. Arbitration targets, such as test sets, test cases and procedural elements, and arbitration specifications are tightly coupled with each other, losing the ability to reuse these arbitration targets in a different context with different arbitration specifications. In this paper, we suggest to replace this highly intrusive override mechanism with a decoupling binding mechanism. This binding mechanism increases both comprehensibility and maintainability of test specifications on one hand, because arbitration targets remain independent of any potential arbitration specification. On the other hand, it offers a high degree of reusability and flexibility to the user because of a cascading override mechanism inspired by W3C cascading style sheets

Annual General Assembly of the International Association of Maritime Universities

978-84-947311-7-

Federal Register

Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii

Abianeh: revitalization of a historical settlement - a case study

Historical settlements such as Abianeh offer many clues as to our existence and the roots from which we have been so long dependent. Understanding the workings of such settlements helps resolve a great deal of lost social, economical, cultural and indigenous skills. However, recording the values of these places has become an almost impossible task for anyone to perform. Due to their inaccessibility and lack of central government interest, control and funds, the infrastructure of such a settlement is much too gradually diminished. Encouragement of a transient society through social and financial pressures, results in migration to larger cities for the inhabitants of these settlements. This has brought with it irrevocable damage, both to the settlements in terms of "lack of youth ", and the larger cities "over population ", phenomena that are not unique to Abianeh and Iran but felt by the world at large.This thesis is a practical response to such a problem, which has gradually become an international `disease'. The work looks at the settlement as an entity in its own right and examines it very objectively so as to derive real -life solutions, which can be practically applied in a revitalisation programme. These can enable it to revert or stabilize its sustainability in terms of its indigenous population, traditions, restoration, rehabilitation, renovation and its future expansion all within the framework of their cultural and social context. It is hoped that lessons can be learned from this study, which can be applied universally.To isolate the underlying factors behind the essential character and identity of the settlement;To establish and preserve for posterity the results of a survey that accurately records the physical entity;To formulate a conservation policy, which acknowledges these factors and materials, that can offer Abianeh a real prospect for survival and regeneration, and which can act as a template for future conservation exercises targeted at historical settlements at risk throughout Iran.The research objectives considered detail aspects of the study and can be summarised as comprising the following: a. To establish and successfully apply a methodology that enables the systematic collection and collation of universal, general and specific information related to the historical, geographical, social, environmental and cultural factors that have shaped the essential character of the people and settlement of Abianeh; b. To establish and successfully apply a methodology that is tailored to recording the extant physical condition of the settlement; c. To establish and successfully apply a methodology based on the above results that will clearly identify the absolute factors that must be addressed, before a successful conservation policy can be contemplated