RFID localization using single reader antenna. (c2014)

Abstract

In today‟s modern world it is very important to wirelessly track assets whether small items such as bananas, patients in hospital, to massive mining machines. Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) was recognized as a very effective and easy way to quickly identify such assets. RFID became very popular since it is very cost effective and allowed for automating the process of collecting information about the asset and its. RFID like all other wireless technologies has its short coming when it comes to range and susceptibility to noise. These short coming have made the RFID usage somewhat limited when it comes to its use for Localization. Most extant Localization scheme use Angle of Arrival methodology that results in accurate Localization at an extra cost to the Reader. The use of RSSI has proven to be a cheap solution to the Localization problem since no additional hardware is required, other than the receiver itself. RSS Localization schemes are based on the use of multiple Stationary Antennas and a Single tag placed on the asset. These attempts have been plagued by susceptibility to noise and failed approaching the accuracy of Angle of Arrival method. In this work we propose a novel RFID based Localization methodology. Our scheme is based on Power Map Matching algorithm. The proposed method employs the use of a Single Stationary Reader Antenna and multitags placed on the asset. Unlike conventional Power Map Matching schemes which create the map from actual measurements; the proposed Power Map is automatically generated based on a model. In this work we will justify the proposed Localization scheme analytically and provide numerical and experimental data to substantiate our methodology.