Chipless RFID tags for low-cost inventory management.

What is it about?

A 12-bit frequency coded retransmission type chipless RFID system is presented. The system consists of a fully printable tag and a pair of reader antennas for wireless measurements. The tag integrates a pair of antennas with the data capturing circuit to improve the reading range. A wide frequency band is exploited to capture multiple data bits. Data are encoded into frequency spectrum using a multi-resonant circuit. The system offers the advantages of tunable frequency operation, enhanced data capacity, negligible resonance detuning, and a reading range of more than 20 cm. Moreover, the proposed system is amenable for on-metal deployment provided metal-insensitive broadband antennas are utilized. The presented research stacks well against the reported work in the literature and is a valuable contribution for the applications requiring low-cost item-level tracking.

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Why is it important?

Radio frequency identification (RFID) utilizes radio waves for the automatic and unique identification of objects. The benefits such as non-line of sight scanning, high data rate capability, and robustness make RFID highly desirable for a multitude of applications ranging from asset management to healthcare. However, barcode remains to be the preferred choice for low-cost item-level identification and management due to the high price of conventional chip-based RFID tags. The challenge of making RFID solutions economically viable is expected to be met by chipless RFID tags in which the identification code is generated by a circuit instead of an expensive silicon chip. The proposed research work is important in this perspective.