Fast tag identification for mobile RFID robots in manufacturing environments

Purpose In manufacturing environments, mobile radio frequency identification (RFID) robots need to quickly identify and collect various types of passive tag and active tag sensor data. The purpose of this paper is to design a robot system compatible with ultra high frequency (UHF) band passive and active RFID applications and to propose a new anti-collision protocol to improve identification efficiency for active tag data collection. Design/methodology/approach A new UHF RFID robot system based on a cloud platform is designed and verified. For the active RFID system, a grouping reservation–based anti-collision algorithm is proposed in which an inventory round is divided into reservation period and polling period. The reservation period is divided into multiple sub-slots. Grouped tags complete sub-slot by randomly transmitting a short reservation frame. Then, in the polling period, the reader accesses each tag by polling. When tags’ reply collision occurs, the reader tries to re-query collided tags once, and the pre-reply tags avoid collisions through random back-off and channel activity detection. Findings The proposed algorithm achieves a maximum theoretical system throughput of about 0.94, and very few tag data frame transmissions overhead. The capture effect and channel activity detection in physical layer can effectively improve system throughput and reduce tag data transmission. Originality/value In this paper, the authors design and verify the UHF band passive and active hybrid RFID robot architecture based on cloud collaboration. And, the proposed anti-collision algorithm would improve active tag data collection speed and reduce tag transmission overhead in complex manufacturing environments.

A Dual-Band Low-Power-Consumption Active RFID Tag Based on a Meander FPCB Antenna for Subway Vehicle Management

A meander microstrip antenna was designed to operate in the UHF and microwave bands. Laser direct structuring (LDS) and the flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) method were used to fabricate the antenna, and their results were compared. A dual-band low-power-consumption active radio frequency identification (RFID) tag based on the present antenna was developed and fabricated for an automated subway vehicle maintenance system. The recognition distance of the active tag is more than 20 m at 900 MHz and more than 170 m at 2.4 GHz, while the recognition rate is >95% at 900 MHz and 100% at 2.4 GHz. The 100% recognition rate was obtained when the RFID readers were placed in a line parallel to the subway track. Therefore, we have shown that our active RFID tag can be used in a subway vehicle management system.

Traffic Avoidance System for High Priority Vehicles

India and most of the developing countries have unplanned cities in which roads are narrow and unkempt. Due to increasing vehicular density, repair of roads and traffic rules violation, traffic congestion is increasing at an alarming rate. Delay in arrival of High Priority Vehicles (HPV) like ambulances and fire engines cause severe loss to life and property. Although most HPVs are equipped with sirens, it is not efficient to guarantee a clear road to HPVs due to its audibility range. Hence, we propose a system by which the vehicles near the traffic junction will be alerted about the oncoming of HPV much in advance of its arrival so that they can make way for the HPV. In this system, every HPV is provided with an active RFID tag. Few kilometers before the main signal, an active RFID reader would be placed which would detect the vehicle and send this information to the display screen placed near the traffic junction signal via LoRa wirelessly, starting to make way for the HPV. Therefore, this project proposes to streamline the traffic and allow HPV to pass easily.

Networked Wireless Sensors, Active RFID, and Handheld Devices for Modern Car Park Management

Networked wireless sensors, actuators, RFID, and mobile computing technologies are explored in this paper on the quest for modern car park management systems with sophisticated services over the emerging internet of things (IoT), where things such as ubiquitous handheld computers, smart ubiquitous sensors, RFID readers and tags are expected to be interconnected to virtually form networks that enable a variety of services. After an overview of the literature, the authors propose a scalable and lowcost car parking framework (CPF) based on the integration of aforementioned technologies. A preliminary prototype implementation has been performed, as well as experimentation of some modules of the proposed CPF. The results demonstrate proof of concept, and particularly reveal that the proposed approach for WSN deployment considerably reduces the cost and energy consumption compared to existing solutions.