Researchers at the University of Glasgow have made a breakthrough by developing a new RFID tracking system that can track the behavior of elderly or high-risk people at home without requiring them to wear any RFID tags. This innovative technology is named "Transparent RFID Tag Wall" (TRT Wall) and has been patented.
The core of the TRT Wall system lies in its unique working principle. Traditional RFID-based tracking systems usually rely on capturing and identifying RFID tags worn on the human body, such as badges or wristbands. However, the research team at the University of Glasgow took a completely different approach. They installed RFID interrogators on one wall and arranged multiple RFID tags on the opposite wall to form a 3×5 grid array. These tags use machine learning and artificial intelligence technology to identify when someone is in the room, as well as their location and movement.
The system does not directly identify when the RFID tag is read, but infers the presence and activity of a person by analyzing when and how the tag reading is interrupted. When someone moves between walls, their body slightly interferes with the transmission of the RFID signal. The degree and manner of this interference are enough to be captured and analyzed by the system to identify the person's walking speed, sitting posture, standing posture, and even falling movements.
The advantage of the TRT wall system is its non-invasive and non-contact nature. It overcomes the limitations of wearable devices and camera-based systems and provides a real-time monitoring solution that is both safe and privacy-friendly. For the elderly or high-risk groups who need special attention, this tracking method without wearing any equipment is undoubtedly more convenient and comfortable.
Advantages of transparent RFID tag wall
Compared with other detection methods, transparent RFID tag wall has a series of unique advantages such as good privacy protection, cost-effectiveness, strong reliability, short training time, good compatibility, and non-line-of-sight sensing. The following is a detailed analysis of these advantages:
Good privacy protection: Transparent RFID tag wall does not require users to wear any equipment, thus avoiding the privacy leakage problem that may be caused by wearing equipment. This feature is particularly suitable for places with high privacy protection requirements, such as homes, nursing homes and hospitals.
Cost-effective: The system uses a minimum of battery-free UHF tags and a single antenna, which significantly reduces costs. Compared with traditional wearable devices, RFID tags are cheaper to deploy and maintain, and do not require regular charging or battery replacement.
Expected to be applied to more fields
In addition to being used in home environments, the transparent RFID tag wall system also has a wide range of commercial application prospects. For example, in office meeting rooms, the system can indicate which chair people tend to sit in by analyzing signal changes, thereby providing useful data support for facility planning. Similarly, in parking lots, RFID systems can identify which spaces are occupied by vehicles and improve the efficiency of parking management.
In addition, the research team at the University of Glasgow is further exploring the potential of the transparent RFID tag wall system. They are developing sensors that can detect physiological data such as personal heart rate and breathing rate, and combine infrared sensors and artificial intelligence technology to identify the typical patterns of specific individuals. This means that in the future the system will not only be able to track people's location and activities, but also be able to identify individuals based on physiological characteristics.
Although the transparent RFID tag wall system still faces some challenges, such as multi-person detection and the distinction between interference factors such as pets, the research team at the University of Glasgow said they will continue to work hard to improve this technology and look forward to its application and promotion in more fields.
The emergence of the transparent RFID tag wall system has brought a new revolution to RFID tracking technology. It not only improves the accuracy and convenience of tracking, but also pays more attention to privacy protection and user experience. With the continuous development and improvement of technology, the transparent RFID tag wall system is expected to play a greater role in the future and bring more convenience and safety to people's lives.
This paper is from Ulink Media, Shenzhen, China, the organizer of IOTE EXPO (IoT Expo in China)
