Low Radio Frequency Identification Research Articles

Automated monitoring of brush use in dairy cattle.

Access to brushes allows for natural scratching behaviors in cattle, especially in confined indoor settings. Cattle are motivated to use brushes, but brush use varies with multiple factors including social hierarchy and health. Brush use might serve an indicator of cow health or welfare, but practical application of these measures requires accurate and automated monitoring tools. This study describes a machine learning approach to monitor brush use by dairy cattle. We aimed to capture the daily brush use by integrating data on the rotation of a mechanical brush with data on cow identify derived from either 1) low-frequency radio frequency identification or 2) a computer vision system using fiducial markers. We found that the computer vision system outperformed the RFID system in accuracy, and that the machine learning algorithms enhanced the precision of the brush use estimates. This study presents the first description of a fiducial marker-based computer vision system for monitoring individual cattle behavior in a group setting; this approach could be applied to develop automated measures of other behaviors with the potential to better assess welfare and improve the care for farm animals.

Online feeding behavior monitoring of individual group-housed grow-finish pigs using a low-frequency RFID electronic feeding system.

Early identification of animals in need of management intervention is critical to maximize animal health and welfare and minimize issues with productivity. Feeding behavior, captured by automated feeding systems, can be used to monitor the health and welfare status of individual pigs. Here, we present a framework for monitoring feeding behavior of grow-finish pigs in real time, using a low-frequency radio frequency identification (RFID) system. Using historical data, an autoregressive linear model for predicting daily time at the feeder was developed and utilized to detect anomalous decreases in feeding behavior associated with health status of the pig. A total of 2,826 pigs were individually monitored with our warning system over the entire grow-finish period, and health warnings were compared to caretaker diagnoses. The system detected 55.7% of the caretaker diagnoses, and on average these events were detected 2.8 d earlier than diagnosis by the caretaker. High numbers of potentially spurious health warnings, generated by the system, can be partly explained by the lack of a reliable and repeatable gold standard reference data set. Results from this work provide a solid basis for monitoring individual animals, but further improvements to the system are necessary for practical implementation.

A correlated-variables model for monitoring individual growing-finishing pig's behavior by RFID registrations

Feeding and drinking behavior of individual growing-finishing pigs can be used for health and welfare monitoring by real time warning systems. The objective of this study was to develop and test a model detecting deviating feeding and drinking behavior of individual growing-finishing pigs based on Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) registrations. Feeding and drinking behavior of growing-finishing pigs was recorded through low frequency RFID readings via ear tags. In three 16-week batches, twelve pens containing each twelve pigs were equipped with one drinker and two feeders. Four readers (each with eight antennas) recorded feeding and drinking activity of each individual pig in the pens. All tag readings were combined into visits, and subsequently visits into meals. The analyzed variables were number of meals per day, average interval between meals and maximum interval between meals per day for both feeding and drinking. A correlated-variables model with a Kalman filter was developed, generating alerts when the daily level was deviating from the expected level. For illustration of model results, the model was validated with culling recordings, which included all pigs that died or were euthanized during the experiment. Most cases of culled pigs corresponded with alerts given by the model, but sensitivity was hard to determine due to low number of cases and specific circumstances of the culled pigs. The specificity of the model was similar for feeding and drinking behavior, and was highest for number of meals (93–99%), followed by the average interval between meals (90–96%) and the maximum interval between meals (86–97%), depending on desired confidence interval. The developed model is promising for early detection of health problems in growing-finishing pigs, but further validation should occur on a bigger scale in order to increase accuracy of results and improve knowledge required for practical implication of the model.

Experimental Investigation and Statistical Analysis of Low Frequency RFID System

In today’s era RFID system plays a key role in the field of asset tracking but its maximum read range or detectability may get degraded due to the challenges which are being provided by varying atmospheric conditions. So, to study the effect of these challenging atmospheric conditions, experimental investigation and statistical analysis of RFID system detectability has been carried out. Varying surrounding temperature, humidity and the presence of soil layer thickness in between RFID reader and tag and its five different grain sizes were considered as input parameters. All these observations were carried out for three different soils i.e. sandy soil, Silt and clay. Execution of test was carried out according to the MINITAB 17 tool. According to ANOVA analysis as well as from interaction plot it was found that soil layer thickness have more impact on RFID system read range and R2 value was found to be 96.91%, 99.64% and 99.78% for RRSS, RRS and RRC respectively. Composite desirability of optimization was found to be 0.8425. Optimum values of process parameters Temperature, Soil Layer Thickness, Relative Humidity and Soil Grain Size were found to be 303.3°K, 2.5 cm, 40.1 %, 1.92 mm respectively. Best values of responses were found to be 10.94 cm for (Read Range in presence of Clay); 11.02 cm (Read Range in presence of Silt) and 10.97 cm (Read Range in presence of Sandy Soil).

Design and Implementation of RFID Controller using Verilog HDL

Manual monitoring consumes more time, man power and shows inaccurate results. So, automation is the solution to cover the problems stated. Barcode and RFID are two different forms of automated technology that are used for reading and collecting data. The RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology is a well-known wireless application for traceability, logistics and access control. The RFID controller is constructed in to demonstrate access control through the use of low-frequency RFID tags. These tags contain identification number which is read by the reader, sent to a database where it is compared with stored values. It works on the principle that If the tag’s identification number is in the system database, it gives access. If the data is not in the system database, it doesn’t give access. To implement these various blocks, include RFID transmitter, RFID receiver, Baud clock generator, Database are designed. The RFID Controller is designed using Verilog HDL in Xilinx ISE tool.

Read Range Optimization of Low Frequency RFID System in Hostile Environmental Conditions by Using RSM Approach

Read Range Optimization of Low Frequency RFID System in Hostile Environmental Conditions by Using RSM Approach

A study of low frequency RFID system

A study of low frequency RFID system

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Integrated System for Security Measures in IoT Applications

This study presents a low frequency RFID (LF-RFID) sensing system integrated with Internet of Things (IoTs) to detect and characterize corrosion. The LF-RFID sensing sys-tem comprises of a tag and reader inductively linked with each other. Tag interacts with corroded metal through eddy currents and measure changes in corroded surface conductivity and per-meability. Sensitivity and impedance of LF-RFID sensor varies with distance between tag to reader; which is adjusted to find the optimum working range. The static and transient features of LF-RFID sensor signal is used to characterize corrosion at low com-putational rate. The size of commercial low frequency tags is very small compared to structures in practice. So, IoTs is used to make a wireless sensor network of proposed sensing system. Re-sults showed an enhancement in sensitivity to corrosion charac-terization at optimum distance between tag and reader. Using IoTs, several sensors are cascaded to make WSN and enable monitoring a wide structural area.

A novel approach for RFID based distributed security against physical access of university data

A customized distributed security system has been designed by using RFID to achieve a reliable high-end communication system for universities. In this work, an overview of the existing problems related to distributed security has been introduced first and then the proposed systems are designed using RFID in detail. The problems related to security breeching in the universities are very common. A detailed study has been done considering the security breaching and access in case of the universities. Keeping in mind the present scenario of high-end securities for the corporate industries, banks etc., we have designed a distributed security system using Low frequency RFID technology for universities. The system has been practically implemented in laboratory, and the experimental data shows that this system can be used widely in the universities efficiently to maintain the confidentiality

A cashless payment transaction (CPaT) using RFID technology

<span>Virtual money is an actual money that a person own but in a form of a plastic card, an online account and a token or a ticket. Referring to the cash-base system, it is full of fraud and money scam activity. It even happens in a smaller division of a human population which are among family members. For example, when a child decided to do a money scam towards their parents by asking for extra money for what they actually needed to pay for school internal fee and with today’s technology, they can easily recreate a receipt of the payment based on the amount of money they have scammed. In this Cashless Payment Transaction (CPaT) in a school based on Low Frequency (LF) RFID Technology system, the system offers a virtual money transaction in the plastic card form and allows the transaction to be monitored by parents with the help of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, MySQL database and Email notification system. The MySQL database is paired with the PHP prgramming language where the calculation for deduction credit will be done before being updated to the RFID card and MySQL database. As a result, the system will allow a cash-free transaction for school payment activity and allow parents to monitor their child spending activity and nutrition intake via MySQL database that are designed based on Graphical User Interface (GUI) within one minute after the transaction is successfully done.</span>

Low-Frequency RFID Signal and Power Transfer Circuitry for Capacitive and Resistive Mixed Sensor Array

This paper presents a contactless measurement system for a mixed array of resistive and capacitive sensors exploiting a low-frequency radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based approach. The system is composed of a reader unit which provides power to and exchanges measurement data with a battery-less sensor unit. The sensor unit is based on a transponder operating at 134.2 kHz and a microcontroller. The microcontroller sequentially measures the elements of the sensor array composed of n capacitive and m resistive sensors which share a common terminal. The adopted technique measures the charging time of a resistor–capacitor (RC) circuit, where the resistor or the capacitor can be either the sensing element or a reference component. With the proposed approach, the measured values of the resistive or capacitive elements of the sensor array are first-order independent from the supply voltage level. A prototype has been developed and experimentally tested with resistive elements in the range 400 kΩ–1.2 MΩ and capacitive elements in the range 200 pF–1.2 nF showing measurement resolution values of 1 kΩ and 5 pF, respectively. Operative distances up to 3 cm have been achieved, with readings taken faster than one element of the array per second.

Guest Editorial Special Issue on IEEE RFID 2018 Conference

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a generic term for a variety of active and passive RF technologies that wirelessly convey object identification information. RFID technologies encompass multiple frequency bands and different mechanisms of information transfer: Low Frequency (LF) and High Frequency (HF) RFID tags typically use inductive coupling, Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) and microwave RFID typically use electromagnetic wave propagation although they often operate in near-field application scenarios as well. RFID transponders have varying degrees of sophistication and their design is often a tradeoff between functionality and cost. At one end of the spectrum, there are active RFID tags that offer on-board battery and memory, sensor integration, active RF transmitter and hence communication range up to kilometers albeit at increased costs. At the other end, passive RFID tags rely on a simple load modulation to backscatter ID back to the reader. The tiny ICs of those passive tags are very complex: they contain more transistors than the Intel 80386 processor in the 1985 IBM PC-AT (that processor had about 275,000 transistors) but have lower power consumption than a honeybee’s brain (which consumes about 10 microwatts) and thus can be RF-powered. These tags are range limited to the order of several meters but, at a price point of several cents per tag, are well suited for large-scale, low-cost automatic identification.

An RFID-Based Smart Nest Box: An Experimental Study of Laying Performance and Behavior of Individual Hens.

This study designed a radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based Internet of Things (IoT) platform to create the core of a smart nest box. At the sensing level, we have deployed RFID-based sensors and egg detection sensors. A low-frequency RFID reader is installed in the bottom of the nest box and a foot ring RFID tag is worn on the leg of individual hens. The RFID-based sensors detect when a hen enters or exits the nest box. The egg-detection sensors are implemented with a resistance strain gauge pressure sensor, which weights the egg in the egg-collection tube. Thus, the smart nest box makes it possible to analyze the laying performance and behavior of individual hens. An evaluative experiment was performed using an enriched cage, a smart nest box, web camera, and monitoring console. The hens were allowed 14 days to become accustomed to the experimental environment before monitoring began. The proposed IoT platform makes it possible to analyze the egg yield of individual hens in real time, thereby enabling the replacement of hens with egg yield below a pre-defined level in order to meet the overall target egg yield rate. The results of this experiment demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed RFID-based smart nest box in monitoring the egg yield and laying behavior of individual hens.

Low Frequency RFID system for identification and localization in smart cities - Comparison with UHF RFID

Low Frequency RFID system for identification and localization in smart cities - Comparison with UHF RFID

Low frequency (LF) RFID sensors and selective transient feature extraction for corrosion characterisation

In this paper, Low Frequency (LF) RFID sensing system is used to characterise marine atmospheric corrosion on steel samples. Considering the conductivity and permeability variation in the corrosion layer, optimisation of sensing sensitivity and communication distance of commercial RFID tags placed on both coated and uncoated samples (exposure duration between 1 and 12 months) for impedance matching and appropriate operation frequencies are analysed. To balance the communication distance between RFID reader and tag and to match the impedance variation of RFID tags on metallic samples, a concept of wireless power transfer (WPT) through strongly coupled magnetic resonance (SCMR) method at RFID is applied. Static and transient features are extracted and selected to characterise corrosion. To enhance the sensing sensitivity to corrosion characterisation, further experimental studies have been carried out using ferrite sheets. The proposed LF RFID sensing system has been validated using commercial RFID tags with different feature extractions and selection of features for corrosion characterisation.

Quantifying detection performance of a passive low-frequency RFID system in an environmental preference chamber for laying hens

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems are widely used in production livestock systems for identification, traceability assurance, and animal registration. An RFID system was implemented and evaluated for use in a four-compartment, two-tier, environmental preference chamber (EPC) to detect hens transiting between compartments. Eight RFID antennae were located near the passages between compartments and each hen wore an RFID tag on one of its legs. The RFID system’s performance was assessed by determining detection ranges in a controlled test and by comparing the number of entries into and duration in each compartment as detected by the RFID system to manual assessment of recorded video. The RFID system detection range was revealed to cover a radius of approximately 29cm from the antenna, excluding a portion of the compartment furthest from the antenna. During a choice-test study, successful detection rates based on duration of stay in compartments were 91.0±2.6% (mean±SD) for trials with groups of birds, and 85.8±8.0% for trials with individual birds. Based on number of entries into compartments, successful detection rates were 62.6±11.2% for trials with groups of four birds, and 51.3±18.4% for trials with individual birds. Sources of entry misdetection included: (i) RFID tag being out of the detection range during sampling; (ii) conflicts caused by multiple RFID tags within the same detection zone; and (iii) visits of duration less than the RFID antenna scan interval. The delay between hen entry and RFID system detection averaged 42.3±35.7s and 6.4±5.2s in trials with individuals and with groups, respectively. Detection times were within the antenna scanning interval of 15s (a hen entered a compartment and was immediately detected by the next antenna scan) in 60.3% of the events with individuals and 98.1% of the events with groups. Despite the difference between detected and actual entries (P=0.008 [groups]; P=0.05 [individuals]), no significant differences were found between total duration of compartment occupancy over a 24h test period or average compartment visit duration, as calculated from RFID data and video observations. The RFID system was suitable for characterizing the amount of time birds spent in each EPC compartment, but not reliable for determining number of entries into a compartment.

On BFSA Collision Resolution in LF, HF, and UHF RFID Networks

RFID (radio frequency identification) technology has gained popularity in a number of applications. Decreased cost of hardware components along with wide adoption of international RFID standards have led to the rise of this technology. One of the major factors associated with the implementation of RFID infrastructure is the cost of tags. RFID tags operating in the low frequency spectrum are widely used because they are the least expensive, but have a small implementation range. This paper presents an analysis of RFID performance across low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), and ultra-high frequency (UHF) environments. The authors' evaluation is theoretical, using a passive-tag BFSA based simulation model that assumes 10 to 1,500 tags per reader and is created with OPNET Modeler 17. Ceteris paribus, the authors' results indicate that total census delay is lowest for UHF tags, while network throughput performance of LF tags is highest for large scale implementations of hundreds of tags in reader's range. A statistical analysis has been conducted on the findings for the three different sets.

PEBBLES TRACKING THANKS TO RFID LF MULTI-LOOPS INDUCTIVELY COUPLED READER

The Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) Low Frequency (LF) serial loops structure is proposed to improve TAGs detection when a TAG coil-antenna rotates by any angle, due to the tagged pebble moving. The detection zones of two types of TAGs (the token and glass TAG) and two types of reader coils, in function of the TAG size, TAG orientation and shape of the reader coils are tested. The effect of the proposed multi-coil inductively coupled is confirmed by measurement using a commercial LF RFID system.

The Application of RFID at Leasing Management of Coal Mining Equipments

Giving each hydraulic prop sets of the only equipment number is a problem of the management of coal mining equipments, the article has presented a method of using RFID technology to affix with a electronic tag for each hydraulic prop, through theoretical analysis and experimental research, basing on the equipment identification and identification distance reliability, confirm that the low frequency RFID electronic tags can be used as a hydraulic prop, and design the installation method of the hydraulic prop RFID chip. The paper also uses the C language compiled a RFID chips identification and transmission program, and use the RFID application system in the actual equipments leasing management information system.

Setups for in vitro assessment of RFID interference on pacemakers

The aim of this study is to propose setups for in vitro assessment of RFID (radiofrequency identification) interference on pacemakers (PM). The voltage induced at the input stage of the PM by low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) RFID transmitters has been used to quantify the amount of the interference. A commercial PM was modified in order to measure the voltage at its input stage when exposed to a sinusoidal signal at 125 kHz and 13.56 MHz. At both frequencies, two antennas with different dimensions (diameter = 10 cm and 30 cm, respectively) were used to generate the interfering field, and the induced voltage was measured between the lead tip and the PM case (unipolar voltage), and between the tip and ring electrodes (bipolar voltage). The typical lead configurations adopted in similar studies or proposed by international standards, as well as lead paths closer to actual physiological implants were tested. At 125 kHz, the worst-case condition differs for the two antennas: the 10 cm antenna induced the highest voltage in the two-loop spiral configuration, whereas the 30 cm antenna in the 225 cm2 loop configuration. At 13.56 MHz, the highest voltage was observed for both the antennas in the 225 cm2 loop configuration. Bipolar voltages were found to be lower than the unipolar voltages induced in the same configurations, this difference being not as high as one could expect from theoretical considerations. The worst-case scenario, in terms of the induced voltage at the PM input stage, has been identified both for LF and HF readers, and for two sizes of transmitting antennas. These findings may provide the basis for the definition of a standard implant configuration and a lead path to test the EMI effects of LF and HF RFID transmitters on active implantable devices.