Long-range Radio Frequency Identification Research Articles

Multipolar Engineering of Subwavelength Dielectric Particles for Scattering Enhancement

Electromagnetic scattering on subwavelength structures is attracting much attention owing to the broad range of possible applications where this phenomenon can be used. Fundamental limits of the scattering cross section, which are well understood in spherical geometries, are overlooked in cases of low-symmetry resonators. Here we revise the notion of superscattering and link this property with symmetry groups of scattering potentials. We demonstrate pathways to spectrally overlap several eigenmodes of a resonator in a way such that they interfere constructively and increase the scattering cross section. As a particular example, we demonstrate spectral overlapping of several electric and magnetic modes in a subwavelength ceramic resonator. The optimized structures have a dipolar scattering cross-section limit exceeding that for a sphere by up to a factor of 4. The revealed rules, which link symmetry groups with fundamental scattering limits, allow assessment of the designs and performance of subwavelength superscatterers, which can be used in label-free imaging, compact antennas, long-range radio-frequency identification, and many other fields.

Longest-Range UHF RFID Sensor Tag Antenna for IoT Applied for Metal and Non-Metal Objects.

This paper presents a passive cavity type Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag antenna having the longest read-range, and compares it with existing long-range UHF RFID tag antenna. The study also demonstrates mathematically and experimentally that our proposed longest-range UHF RFID cavity type tag antenna has a longer read-range than existing passive tag antennas. Our tag antenna was designed with 140 × 60 × 10 mm3 size, and reached 26 m measured read-range and 36.3 m mathematically calculated read-range. This UHF tag antenna can be applied to metal and non-metal objects. By adding a further sensing capability, it can have a great benefit for the Internet of Things (IoT) and wireless sensor networks (WSN).

A Circularly Polarized Antenna Array with Gain Enhancement for Long-Range UHF RFID Systems

A 2 × 2 circularly polarized (CP) sequential rotation microstrip patch antenna array with high gain for long-range ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) communication is proposed in this paper. In order to meet the operational frequency band requirement of 840–960 MHz and, at the same time, achieve enhanced broadside gain, a two-level sequential rotation structure is developed. Series power divider is used as the basic element of the feed network that is implemented with the substrate-integrated coaxial line technology for minimizing radiation losses. The manufactured prototype exhibits a peak gain of 12.5 dBic at 900 MHz and an axial ratio (AR) bandwidth (AR ≤ 3 dB) of 18.2% from 828 to 994 MHz. In comparison with the state-of-the-art, the proposed antenna shows an excellent gain/size trade-off.

Performance Evaluation of a Long-Range RFID Tag Powered by a Vibration Energy Harvester

This letter reports the characterization procedure of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag powered by a microelectromechanical system vibration energy harvester (VEH). The tag antenna and its matching interface to the RFID chip are designed with the help of an electromagnetic simulator. The energy provided by the VEH is stored in a reservoir capacitor and released through a mechanical switch to the tag. It is demonstrated that the tag can communicate with a reader at a distance up to 15 m when powered by the VEH working with an acceleration of 2 $g_{rms}$ and 100 Hz. The energy delivered by the VEH within 100 s can sustain up to six tag readings using the EPC Gen-2 Class-1 standard.

Security analysis and review of digital signature-based low-cost RFID tag authentication

BACKGROUND: In logistic processes, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology provides possibilities for improving the integrity of shipments, the performance of supply chains and for enabling leaner processes. RFID tags are used in logistics to identify and authenticate users, products or shipments. Especially cheap, passive long-range low-cost RFID tags are of interest, but these provide security-related challenges. In new implementations of this RFID technology the threats and risks must be carefully considered as they can result in system malfunctioning, revenue losses and illegal activities. Hence, there is a need for cryptography techniques for low-cost RFID tags. Various lightweight security mechanisms that take into account the limitations of the tags have been designed. The potentiality of using asymmetric cryptography and digital signatures in tags is one such mechanism that enables more secure tag authentication. RESULTS: This paper explores how asymmetric digital signatures have been used for RFID tag authentication. The paper provides a literature overview of the methods used in both research and in commercial products, and provides knowledge about gained and missing protection in such use cases. A method based on asymmetric Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) digital signatures has been developed for the authentication of low-cost RFID tags. In addition to this, the paper categorizes RFID threats to categories as presented in IETF RFC 4949 and analyzes how using asymmetric cryptography-based digital signatures protects against described threats and attacks suitable for low-cost RFID tags that do not use additional security mechanisms. CONCLUSIONS: This paper finds that asymmetric cryptography and digital signatures are suitable for low-cost RFID tags and that usage of them gives additional security, especially against physical data modification and impersonation attacks. The research underlines that IETF RFC 4949 is suitable for categorization of threats and attacks towards RFID technology. In addition to this, systematic threat and attack categorization and analysis enables the specification of further threats.

An RFID-based Variable Rate Technology Fertilizer Applicator for Tree Crops

Variable Rate Technology (VRT) fertilizer application could reduce pollution through leaching and volatilisation. A VRT fertilizer applicator for band application of granular fertilizer on tree crop was designed, developed and tested. The applicator was equipped with a long-range Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader to detect the stored tag ID on the available passive RFID tags attached on the trees. When the control program received the RFID tag ID on the tree, it related the tag ID to the information in a database and triggered the VRT fertilizer applicator system to apply precise amount of fertilizer to that particular area. Based on the experimental evaluation of the response time of the VRT applicator, it was found to take 2-3 sec to changes in application rate depending on the magnitude of the change. The VRT applicator has a field capacity of 7.22 and 7.71 ha h-1 with field efficiencies of 0.54 and 0.52 at the travelling speed of 4.43 and 4.92 km h-1, respectively. The use of RFID technology has proven to be able to serve as alternative solution for geo-location determinations for the fertilizer applicator in the plantations where the presence of tree canopies has hindered the use of GPS technology.

Automating Evidence Collection at the Crime Scene Using RFID Technology for CBRN Events

Abstract In forensic management, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has a potential to improve the chain of evidence, automate the control of exhibits moving out from a hot zone, help locate exhibits in the property control unit (PCU), and reduce human errors and the amount of paperwork due to duplicate data entry. The goal of this paper is to experimentally investigate the efficacy of RFID technology for evidence gathering in a hot zone and for controlling entry to and exit from the hot zone of first responders and exhibits. We performed three evaluation exercises where forensic technicians had a chance to experiment and evaluate the technology as it applied to their duties. Long-range passive RFID technology in the ultra high frequency (UHF) range was used. Based on our observations and the interviews with the forensic technicians who participated in the exercises, we conclude that the technology is suitable for tagging the exhibits and that it has a good potential for controlling the exit...

Field experiments for evaluating the incorporation of RFID and barcode registration and digital weighing technologies in manual fruit harvesting

In this paper two methods are proposed for automatically matching bins containing harvested fruits with corresponding trees, during harvesting in orchards, where GPS data may be unavailable due to foliage. Both methods use a long-range radio frequency identification (RFID) antenna located on the harvesting platform for tree identification. Bin registration is accomplished in the first method by passive RFID tags attached to the bins, whereas the second method uses a barcode reader located on the platform, and low-cost barcode tags on the bins. Additionally, a digital scale is used with both methods to measure the yield distribution in the field, during the loading of the bins. An experimental evaluation of these methods was performed during peach and kiwi harvesting in two different fields in Northern Greece. The aim was to estimate the tree and bin detection accuracies of both methods and their effect on the bin loading time. Statistical analysis of the data showed that when compared to the current standard harvesting procedure, RFID bin registration did not affect the amount of time to stack a bin on the platform (loading time), whereas barcode bin registration increased this time by 14%. It was also found that the use of the particular scale increased the loading time by almost 33% in both bin registration methods. Finally, the detection accuracy for the trees was 100% in all experiments and for the bins it was almost 100% for the RFID and 100% for the barcode reader. The results suggest that barcode technology can be used reliably for bin registration, without delaying the harvesting. Tree detection with long-range RFID technology was reliable; however tree growth combined with other factors such as wind, sunlight, etc., might decrease the tree detection accuracy over long periods of time. Finally, the bins had better be weighed at the packinghouse in order to generate the yield map, unless a much faster scale can be used in the field.

A yield mapping system for hand-harvested fruits based on RFID and GPS location technologies: field testing

It is proposed that radio frequency identification (RFID) technology be used to overcome the limitations of existing yield mapping systems for manual fresh fruit harvesting. Two methods are proposed for matching bins—containing harvested fruits—with corresponding pairs of trees. In the first method, a long-range RFID reader and a DGPS are mounted on an orchard tractor and passive low-cost RFID tags are attached to the bins. In the second method, the DGPS is not used and RFID tags are attached to individual trees as well as bins. An experimental evaluation of the accuracy and reliability of both methods was performed in an orchard. The first method failed in half of the trials because the tree canopies interfered with the GPS signal. The RFID reader miss ratio for the detection of the bins was 0.32% for both methods. However, the attachment of RFID tags on suitable tree branches (to achieve 100% detection), in the second method, is not a well-defined procedure; some trial is demanded to determine the best positions and orientations of the tree tags in order for the RFID reader to successfully detect them. The first method seems more promising if robust tractor location under foliage can be achieved.

Design of an RFID-Based Battery-Free Programmable Sensing Platform

This paper presents the wireless identification and sensing platform (WISP), which is a programmable battery-free sensing and computational platform designed to explore sensor-enhanced radio frequency identification (RFID) applications. WISP uses a 16-bit ultralow-power microcontroller to perform sensing and computation while exclusively operating from harvested RF energy. Sensors that have successfully been integrated into the WISP platform to date include temperature, ambient light, rectified voltage, and orientation. The microcontroller encodes measurements into an electronic product code (EPC) Class 1 Generation 1 compliant ID and dynamically computes the required 16-bit cyclical redundancy checking (CRC). Finally, WISP emulates the EPC protocol to communicate the ID to the RFID reader. To the authors' knowledge, WISP is the first fully programmable computing platform that can operate using power transmitted from a long-range (UHF) RFID reader and communicate arbitrary multibit data in a single response packet.

Design of a High-Performance Microstrip Array Antenna with Coplanar Corporate Feed Network for Long-range RFID System

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a technology deployed in all areas of automatic data capture which allows contact-less identification of objects via Radio Frequency (RF). The Current applications range from industrial automation to access control, from animal identification to e-Passport, from medical applications to ticketing and inventory tracking. RFID technology solutions are acquiring much attention in research and development projects of large corporations. RFID is a major growth area in auto identification applications, providing the technology behind contact-less smart card, production automation and the electronic supply chain. In this paper a 16-element (4×4) transmitting array antenna and 4 element (1×4) receiver array antenna with their printed feed network on same plane is designed for high-performance long range RFID Reader operating at 2.403GHz ISM band. The Receiver receives the back scattered signal from RF Tag i.e. 4806 MHz, and the predicted radiation patterns, return-loss, VSWR, directivity and gain are presented, good agreement with measured results are obtained. The design is verified by fabricating the array antenna on a PTFE Glass Fiber -RT Duriod 5870(εr =2.33) with a thickness of 62 mils (1.575 mm).