BER and outage probability of DPSK subcarrier intensity modulated free space optics in fully developed speckle.

In this paper a differential phase shift keying (DPSK) subcarrier intensity modulated (SIM) free space optical (FSO) link is considered in negative exponential atmospheric turbulence environment. To mitigate the scintillation effect, the selection combining spatial diversity scheme (SelC) is employed at the receiver. Bit error rate (BER) and outage probability (Pout) analysis are presented with and without the SelC spatial diversity. It is shown that at a BER of 10-6, a maximum diversity gain 25 dB is predicted. And about 60 dBm signal power is required to achieve an outage probability of 10-6, based on a threshold BER of 10-4

RFID Applications and Potentials

The economy of the 21st-century enterprise is driven by efficiency, which, among other initiatives, requires enterprise business processes and workflows to be supported by adequate information technology to achieve this efficiency. Information technology plays a key role in transforming enterprises, especially through the way these enterprises conduct business and interact with partners and customers

Foldable all-textile cavity-backed slot antennas for personal UWB localization

An all-textile multimoded cavity-backed slot antenna has been designed and fabricated for body-worn impulse radio ultra-wideband (IR-UWB) operation in the 3,744-4,742.4 MHz frequency band, thereby covering Channels 2 and 3 of the IEEE 802.15.4a standard. Its light weight, mechanical flexibility, and small footprint of 35 mm x 56 mm facilitate integration into textile for radio communication equipment for first aid responders, personal locator beacons, and equipment for localization and medical monitoring of children or the elderly. The antenna features a stable radiation pattern and reflection coefficient in diverse operating conditions such as in free space, when subject to diverse bending radii and when deployed on the torso or upper right arm of a test person. The high isolation toward the wearer's body originates from the antenna's hemispherical radiation pattern with a -3 dB beamwidth of 120 degrees and a front-to-back ratio higher than 11 dB over the entire band. Moreover, the antenna exhibits a measured maximum gain higher than 6.3 dBi and a radiation efficiency over 75%. In addition, orientation-specific pulse distortion introduced by the antenna element is analyzed by means of the System Fidelity Factor (SFF). The SFF of the communication link between two instances of this antenna is higher than 94% for all directions within the antenna's -3 dB beamwidth. This easily wearable and deployable antenna is suitable to support IR-UWB localization with an accuracy in the order of 5 cm

Wearable flexible lightweight modular RFID tag with integrated energy harvester

A novel wearable radio frequency identification (RFID) tag with sensing, processing, and decision-taking capability is presented for operation in the 2.45-GHz RFID superhigh frequency (SHF) band. The tag is powered by an integrated light harvester, with a flexible battery serving as an energy buffer. The proposed active tag features excellent wearability, very high read range, enhanced functionality, flexible interfacing with diverse low-power sensors, and extended system autonomy through an innovative holistic microwave system design paradigm that takes antenna design into consideration from the very early stages. Specifically, a dedicated textile shorted circular patch antenna with monopolar radiation pattern is designed and optimized for highly efficient and stable operation within the frequency band of operation. In this process, the textile antenna's functionality is augmented by reusing its surface as an integration platform for light-energy-harvesting, sensing, processing, and transceiver hardware, without sacrificing antenna performance or the wearer's comfort. The RFID tag is validated by measuring its stand-alone and on-body characteristics in free-space conditions. Moreover, measurements in a real-world scenario demonstrate an indoor read range up to 23 m in nonline-of-sight indoor propagation conditions, enabling interrogation by a reader situated in another room. In addition, the RFID platform only consumes 168.3 mu W, when sensing and processing are performed every 60 s

3D-Printed UHF-RFID Tag for Embedded Applications

This paper presents the design, manufacture and characterization of a novel 3D passive UHF-RFID tag for embedded applications. The prototype is fabricated using additive manufacturing techniques: 3D printing and copper electroplating. The design, manufacturing process and measurement set-up are presented and discussed in detail. We propose a biconical antenna design with spiral strips embedded in the cones to provide compactness without breaking the symmetry of the component and to improve bandwidth. The antenna is matched to a commercial UHF-RFID integrated circuit. We incorporate a packaging design that consists of a dielectric coating, to provide proper operation in different media or surrounding environments with changing electromagnetic properties. The good agreement between experimental results and Finite Element Method simulations allows us to validate the whole process. Finally, a compact capsule-type RFID tag is proposed and its performance in different media is reported

Big data analytics and application for logistics and supply chain management

This special issue explores big data analytics and applications for logistics and supply chain management by examining novel methods, practices, and opportunities. The articles present and analyse a variety of opportunities to improve big data analytics and applications for logistics and supply chain management, such as those through exploring technology-driven tracking strategies, financial performance relations with data driven supply chains, and implementation issues and supply chain capability maturity with big data. This editorial note summarizes the discussions on the big data attributes, on effective practices for implementation, and on evaluation and implementation methods

Feasibility of Warehouse Drone Adoption and Implementation

While aerial delivery drones capture headlines, the pace of adoption of drones in warehouses has shown the greatest acceleration. Warehousing constitutes 30% of the cost of logistics in the US. The rise of e-commerce, greater customer service demands of retail stores, and a shortage of skilled labor have intensified competition for efficient warehouse operations. This takes place during an era of shortening technology life cycles. This paper integrates several theoretical perspectives on technology diffusion and adoption to propose a framework to inform supply chain decision-makers on when to invest in new robotics technology

Integrating Internet of Things and EHealth Solutions for Students’ Healthcare

Apple Incorporated’s recent announcement of its entry device – The Apple Watch™ to the wearable’s market can arguably be said to put a final seal of authenticity on wearables. The inevitable ubiquity of wearable devices for eHealth monitoring is a fact soon to be reckoned with. Access to the physiological information provided by the wearables through the ‘6A Connectivity Concept’ of IoT will find positive applications in various fields, most especially in the eHealth and mobile-Health domain. The state of health of a student is key in determining the student’s overall academic performance. Health-related issues usually affect the motivation and ability of students to learn. Therefore it is necessary to provide better health services for students in their various schools and institutions. This paper is a study of the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) and eHealth solutions to effectively manage and monitor university students’ health. One of IoT’s main technologies in healthcare is Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) technology. In this study, we show how RFID technology is used to implement an eHealth solution known as Electronic Medical Records (EMR) for managing students’ health information (which includes students’ medical history, prescriptions, laboratory results, Electrocardiography (ECG) results, blood pressure results, and vital signs). This paper also studies wearable devices for monitoring students that are at risk for high blood pressure, which can be due to intense stress, overweight conditions, and family history of high blood pressure

Integrating Internet of Things and EHealth Solutions for Students’ Healthcare

Apple Incorporated’s recent announcement of its entry device – The Apple Watch™ to the wearable’s market can arguably be said to put a final seal of authenticity on wearables. The inevitable ubiquity of wearable devices for eHealth monitoring is a fact soon to be reckoned with. Access to the physiological information provided by the wearables through the ‘6A Connectivity Concept’ of IoT will find positive applications in various fields, most especially in the eHealth and mobile-Health domain. The state of health of a student is key in determining the student’s overall academic performance. Health-related issues usually affect the motivation and ability of students to learn. Therefore it is necessary to provide better health services for students in their various schools and institutions. This paper is a study of the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) and eHealth solutions to effectively manage and monitor university students’ health. One of IoT’s main technologies in healthcare is Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) technology. In this study, we show how RFID technology is used to implement an eHealth solution known as Electronic Medical Records (EMR) for managing students’ health information (which includes students’ medical history, prescriptions, laboratory results, Electrocardiography (ECG) results, blood pressure results, and vital signs). This paper also studies wearable devices for monitoring students that are at risk for high blood pressure, which can be due to intense stress, overweight conditions, and family history of high blood pressure