Tag performance evaluation and optimisation of Gen 2 reader communication for radio frequency identification deployment in supply chains

Abstract

Successful deployment of radio frequency identification (RFID) in supply chain applications depends on several critical factors that affect the RFID system performance. In this paper, we address two important considerations, namely tag performance evaluation and optimisation of reader communication settings, and present our findings based on an RFID system deployment in Intel's supply chain and additional experiments conducted at the University of Wisconsin–Madison RFID Lab. Technical issues and challenges in designing RFID read points for singulation and localisation of the RF interrogation zone are studied. Results from UHF Gen 2 tag evaluation based on readability, tag sensitivity and tag backscatter link frequency error are presented. Further, we also discuss how Gen 2 reader communication parameter settings can be optimised to maximise performance in multi-tag environments. This research helped Intel enhance RFID system performance in its supply chain resulting in improved inventory visibility. The research results and solutions to technical issues described in this paper will also benefit researchers and potential users seeking to maximise RFID system performance in supply chain applications.

Keywords:

• UHF passive RFID
• Gen 2 communication parameters optimisation
• tag performance evaluation
• RFID deployment issues
• supply chain inventory visibility

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank J. Greenwood for technical assistance with backscatter frequency measurements and Alien Technology Corporation for providing oscilloscope graphs of signal noise. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge Impinj Inc. for useful discussions pertaining to RFID system performance.