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Modeling of the Passive UHF RFID Multipath Channel for Tag Read Region Estimation

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Abstract

The estimation of tag read and no-read zones is the most important preliminary planning step in radio-frequency identification (RFID) system installations. Today, in the ultra-high frequency band (UHF: 860–960 MHz), this estimation is based on either a free-space or a simplified multipath channel model for the signal propagation in the wireless link between the interrogator and the tag. Using measurements in a standard multipath indoor environment, this paper proves that recent approaches are not able to estimate tag read regions in a given passive UHF RFID system setup with high reliability. A modified multipath channel model is presented, that considers environmental and setup specific properties as well as an arbitrary number of signal paths to achieve a more accurate estimation. It includes the orientation of the tag antenna and the interrogator antenna, their polarizations and their three-dimensional gain patterns, as well as complex reflection coefficients for the reflected signal paths. The presented model equations are ready to use and are implemented into a flexible, easy-to-use, and easy-to-setup simulation environment with low computing times. It predicts the tag read regions separately for the downlink and the uplink and then combines the results for an overall estimation. The comparison of read region simulations and tag readability measurements shows that the our model delivers a 87.2 % reliability in the prediction of the tag read regions. The results of the estimation can be used to optimize RFID system setups in a way that read regions are maximized.

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Notes

  1. Ultra-high frequency (860–960 MHz).

  2. Receive signal strength.

  3. The RMS (root mean square) delay spread is the difference between the time of arrival of the earliest multipath component and the latest multipath component.

  4. The tag sensitivity is the minimum receive power at the tag antenna that is needed to activate the tag.

  5. The line-of-sight is the direct path between the interrogator and the tag.

  6. Integrated Circuit.

  7. Amplitude Shift Keying.

  8. The tag and the interrogator antennas are assumed to be in unobstructed free-space (no multipath) with correct alignment and matching polarizations. Additionally, the receive antenna has to be in the far-field region of the transmit antenna.

  9. Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power.

  10. The interrogator IC sensitivity is minimum receive power that is needed to enable the transceiver IC to decode the received tag signal.

  11. Effective Radiated Power.

  12. The signal is reflected once on the way from the interrogator antenna to the tag antenna.

  13. The transmitted signal has traveled through air (permeability \(\mu _r \approx 1\), permittivity \(\epsilon _r \approx 1\)) and is reflected at a non-magnetic material (\(\mu _r \approx 1\), \(\underline{\epsilon }_2\)).

  14. Considering an interrogator that transmits a QUERY command with amplitude modulation (90 % modulation depth) and pulse interval encoding, we can calculate that the power level of the CW signal from the interrogator in the uplink is 2.3 dB higher than the power of the modulated signal in the downlink.

  15. Although a passive UHF RFID tag only reflects the signal that is transmitted by the interrogator, we use the term ‘transmit’ for the tag.

  16. FEKO is a computational electromagnetics software product developed by EM Software and Systems—S.A. (Pty) Ltd.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partly funded by the EU under the framework of EFRE ‘Investigation for the future’ IKT NRW ZIEL2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. London South Bank University, London, United Kingdom

    Markus Cremer & Anjum Pervez

  2. Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Cologne, Germany

    Uwe Dettmar & Rainer Kronberger

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  1. Markus Cremer
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  2. Uwe Dettmar
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Correspondence to Markus Cremer.

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Cremer, M., Dettmar, U., Kronberger, R. et al. Modeling of the Passive UHF RFID Multipath Channel for Tag Read Region Estimation. Int J Wireless Inf Networks 22, 188–204 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10776-015-0278-8

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