RFID and Wireless Sensors

Docent Li-Rong Zheng

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH),
164 40, Kista
(lrzheng@imit.kth.se, 08-790 4104)

Outline
The World of Ubiquitous Intelligence
RFID Applications in Logistics
Futute Trends on RFID and Wireless sensors

RFID Technologies Overview

The World of Ubiquitous Intelligence

Scenario: Enjoy Your Living Room in 2012

2002

2012

Ubiquitous Intelligence
- embedded smart systems in almost everything, virtually talk to each other
- interact with people adaptively, cleverly hidden, user (human) -centric
- ad hoc spontaneous networks, much larger than todays internet
- The next driving force after internet
- convergence of wireless, IT, nano, bio-,
- new applications, new business opportunities, $$, ee, ,

Key Technologies

Wireless, low power,

security, robustness,
network, deployment &
managment, communication
process, interoperability...

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Content-aware, Locationaware, Identification,

sensor, Seciruty/Trust,
Autonomous, low power ....

Ubiquitous Intelligence
Smart World

nt
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Us ntera
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Usability, robustness,
interactive, integration,
embedded, invisiable,
environmentally friendly, ...

Ubiquitous Intelligence for Paper and

Packaging

iSwaddle:
comfortable
iFashion: fun & cool

iArtifacts: novel

iLogistics:
efficient &
secure

iPack for food

& pharmacy:
safer

iBook: easy to keep, fun

What is RFID ?
R F ID is a n A D C (a u to m a tic d a ta c a p tu re )
te c h n o lo g y th a t u s e s ra d io -fre q u e n c y w a v e s
to tra n s fe r d a ta b e tw e e n a re a d e r a n d a
m o v a b le ite m to id e n tify , c a te g o riz e , tra c k ...
R F ID is fa s t, re lia b le , a n d d o e s n o t re q u ire
p h y s ic a l s ig h t o r c o n ta c t b e tw e e n
re a d e r/s c a n n e r a n d th e ta g g e d ite m

RFID Principle

Contactless (RFID)
Read and Write
Low voltage & (Battery-Free)

Transceiver
Tag Reader

RFID
Tag
antenna

antenna

Smart Package Based on RFID

Mass check out Track

products through their
entire lifetime.
Postal package tracking
Security tracking

RFID Application Example

Process mass of goods simultaneously

Low power, sensitive
Tracking goods information
Miniaturized size, hidden in goods package
Recycle concern: environmentally friendly

RFID Applications in Logistics

RFID has been used for a decade in

Vehicle manufacture, Security, Smart Card

Becomes a Topic Since

retil giants like Wal-Mart and Metro announced to introduce
this technology in their supply chain

Close the gap between

physical flow of goods and information flow in IT systems

This Logistic Revolution (smart label) still

At the beginning of its development

Current R&D Directions

Cost Reduction of Transponders:
Chipless (1 bit) transponder: < 1 Eurocent (already widely
used in anti-theft devices)
Passive tag with simple chip: ~40 Eurocents
Active tag with signal processing: 20-15 Euros
Main costs distribution:
Integrated Circuits (high performance complex tag)
Packaging (bonding the chip on polymer, simple tag)
Integration
Flexible substrates/carrier (paper, textile, polymers )
Flexiable silicon (chip < 20um thickness)
Organic electronics
Sensors integration: temperature, open, damage, ...

Future Trends
More Intelligence
More interactive properties, sensors
(all those texts printed on the packaging, and more ),
Temperature, moisture, light, Direction (e.g. this side up),
pressure/vibration (fragile)
Biological interactions and sensor:
detect bacteria, protein, bio-chemical ...(for smart foods
packaging, pharmaceutical packaging)
Integration with flexible/paper displays
Integration with communication network
Ubiquitous intelligence
(smart objectives talk to each other, ad-hoc spontaneous
network that is orders of magnitude lager than todays internet )

Sensing, Memory, Computing, Display, and

Communication on Smart Package

I am
50% off

Help! I am
kidnapped!

Date: 2004-6-1
Temp: 21C
Date: 2004-6-5
Temp: 39C

Tracking your package anytime and anywhere

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Example: Disappearance of Electronics

E-books (not eBooks) or iBook: Evolutionary book
-- text to speech and video functions --

Paper display

Computer

Disappearance of Electronics (cont)

Intelligence and electronics/hardware are smartly
hidden behind the products

RFID Technologies Overview

Automatic Identification
Technologies

OCR (Optical Character Recognition)

Magnetic Stripe
Barcode
2D Code
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)
Biometrics (Vioce, Fingerprint,...)
New chipless methods (SAW, Radar ...)

1972- the start of Barcode

32 Years Later

History of RFID

First Bar code patents 1930s

First use of RFID device 2nd world war Brittan used RFIDlike technology for Identify- Friend or Foe
Harry Stockman October 1948 Paper Communication by
means of reflected power ( The proceedings of the Institute
of Radio Engineers)
First RFID Patent - 1973
Auto-ID center founded at MIT 1999
Standardization effort taken over by EPC Global (Electronic
Product Code)

Current thrust primarily driven by Wal-Mart and DoD

Automate Distribution:
Reduce cost (man power, shipping mistakes)
Increase sales (keep shelves full)
DoD Total Asset Visibility Initiative

Source of data: EDN October 2004 - Reading Between the Lines Brian D

Current Status of RFID

What constitutes an RFID

System ??
Antenna

RF Module
Tag
Reader
Host Computer

Interrogation Unit
Micro
Computer

Computer Network

Tx/Rx

Antenna

One or more RF tags

Two or more antennas
One or more interrogators
One or more host computers
Appropriate software

What is an RF Tag ?

Chip

Tag
CPU I/O
RAM ROM
Radio Tx/Rx
Pwr Supply

CPU

Antenna

I/O

RAM ROM
Radio Tx/Rx
Pwr Supply

Chip + Antennae + Packaging = Tag

Generic Tag Architecture

(Highly Simplified)

Write Path

Antenna
Antenna

Receiver
Receiver
D

Memory
Memory

S
Protocol
Protocol
Engine
Engine

Smallest RFID Chip

Hitachi
stores a 128-bit number

-Chip
March 14, 2003

Implantable Human RFID Tags

VeriChip
FDA Approved
Last about 20 Years
Controversy

Variations of RF Tags
Basic types: active vs. passive
Memory
- Size (16 bits - 512 kBytes +)
- Read-Only, Read/Write or WORM
Arbitration (Anti-collision)
Ability to read/write one or more tags at a time
Frequency : 125KHz - 5.8 GHz
Physical Dimensions
- Thumbnail to Brick sizes
- Incorporated within packaging or the item
Price ($0.50 to $150)

Possible UHF Reader

DAC

MicroController

Power Control

Host Device

Crystal
VCO

Baseband
&
Protocol

PA

Coupler

PLL
Coupler

RFID READER
RF Module

DAC
FPGA

Regulation

ADC

AGC

Filters

I/Q
Demod

Filter

Coupler

Power
Detect

Transmit path

Receive Path

Frequency Synthesizer

Digital

Smallest RFID Reader

SkyeRead M1-mini
1 inch in diameter
0.1 inch thin

Intel Research Seattle

Handheld RFID Reader

Frequency of RFID

RFID Frequencies
Regulating Authority : ITU and Geo Organizations
Frequency
125-150 kHz

13.56 MHz

433 MHz

860-960 MHz

2450 MHz

Regulation
Basically
unregulated
ISM band, differing
power levels and
duty cycle
Non-specific Short
Range Devices
(SRD), Location
Systems
ISM band
(Increasing use in
other regions,
differing power
levels and duty
cycle
ISM band, differing
power levels and
duty cycle

Range

Data Speed

Comments
Animal identification
and factory data
collection systems
Popular frequency for
I.C. Cards (Smart
Cards)

? 10 cm

Low

<1m

Low to
moderate

1 100 m

Moderate

DoD Active

Moderate to
high

EAN.UCC GTAG,
MH10.8.4 (RTI),
AIAG B-11 (Tires),
EPC (18000-6)

High

IEEE 802.11b,
Bluetooth, CT,
AIAG B-11

25m

12m

EPC Standards

Electronic Product Code

Header - Tag version number

EPC Manager - Manufacturer ID
Object class - Manufacturers product ID
Serial Number - Unit ID
With 96 bit code, 268 million companies can each categorize 16 million different
products where each product category contains up to 687 billion individual units
Note: 64 bit versions also defined, 256 bit version under definition

Traditional RFID Market Segments

Auto Immobilizers

Automated Vehicle Id

Isolated systems
Simple reads
Slow growth

Animal Tracking
Access Control

RFID Application
Tag wirelessly sends bits of data when
it is triggered by a reader
Power source not required for
passive tags a defining benefit
Superior capabilities to
barcode:
Non Line of Sight
Hi-speed, multiple reads
Can read and write to tags
Unit specific ID

Frequency

Distance

Example
Application

LF

125khz

Few cm

AutoImmobilizer

HF

13.56Mhz

1m

Building
Access

UHF

900Mhz

~7m

Supply Chain

wave

2.4Ghz

10m

Traffic Toll

RFID Applications (contd)

Batch

Fixed Station

W ireless

RFID: A Long Simmering Market Accelerates

$M
$1 800
$1 600
$1 400
$1 200
$1 000
$800
$600
$400
$200
$0

2005 VDC RFID

Reader Forecast:
Before Wal*Mart
Announcement

2005 Updated
VDC Forecast
(Just Released)

$683M

2005 Baird
Equities RFID
Reader Fcst
(Just Released)

$1.6B

$371M

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2007 RFID Reader Market Fcst tripled

achieving $1.6B in revenues