2024 has just passed, and RFID has made important progress and innovation in many aspects. Today we will take stock of it:
New foreign RFID patent: can detect human activities without wearing tags
In July, researchers at the University of Glasgow recently made a breakthrough. They developed a new RFID tracking system that can track the behavior of elderly or high-risk people at home without these people wearing any RFID tags. . This innovative technology is named "Transparent RFID Tag Wall" (TRT Wall) and has been patented for the system.
The system does not directly identify when an RFID tag is read, but instead infers a person's presence and activity by analyzing when and how tag reading is interrupted. When someone moves between walls, their bodies can slightly interfere with the transmission of RFID signals. The degree and mode of this interference are enough to be captured and analyzed by the system, thereby identifying a person's walking speed, sitting posture, standing posture, and even falling.
Many European countries have approved rfid technology to use the 915-921MHz frequency band, and the global compatibility of RFID has been significantly improved.
In the past, UHF RFID systems have faced global challenges because RFID in different countries uses different frequency bands, and a product designed for one bandwidth may not be approved for operation in another country. In some cases, this has inhibited the development of global RFID technologies and solutions.
In recent years, Europe has made significant progress in the field of ultra-high frequency RFID technology. Recently, 11 European countries have approved the use of RFID in the 915-921 MHz frequency band. The latest countries to join are Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Latvia, Malta, and Montenegro. as well as Poland, Romania, Sweden, Serbia and Turkey, bringing the total number of participating European countries to 35.
University of California launches new passive RFID sensor
On November 5, a research team from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, San Diego presented their research at the 22nd ACM Conference on Embedded Networked Sensor Systems (SenSys 2024) in Hangzhou, China: using RFID tags to achieve battery-less transmission. I feel that this breakthrough research not only broadens the application range of sensors, but also opens up a new path for the future of data collection. Traditional passive sensing methods mostly rely on analog-to-digital converters. Although these converters can measure stimuli and convert them into computer-readable digital values, they are power-hungry and require additional battery support. Bhat and Bharadia are trying to explore a way to directly use the chip to sense stimuli without a converter.
They found that an analog sensing interface was the key to solving this problem. Unlike digital interfaces, analog interfaces can directly convert voltage/current changes generated by sensors into parameters of wireless signals, thereby enabling wireless transmission of data. As a commercial, low-cost and easily accessible sensor device, RFID tags are an ideal choice to achieve this goal. Bhat and Bharadia's sensor is not only low-cost but also has the ability to sense and report stimuli in real time. This means that this battery-free RFID sensor can provide more accurate and timely data, whether in areas such as agricultural management, sports performance indicators or occupancy detection.
Pure paper rfid tags without chips will be piloted soon, with costs halved and profit margins increased by 30%
PulpaTronics has come up with an innovative solution - completely chipless and metal-free paper smart labels. This technology is not only an innovation of traditional RFID technology, but also an in-depth implementation of the concept of sustainable development. Compared with traditional metal RFID tags, PulpaTronics' paper smart labels reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 70% during the manufacturing process and reduce the cost by half. The key to this technological breakthrough is the use of laser technology to induce conductive circuits directly from the substrate, converting the carbon component of the paper into a conductive carbon-based material closer to graphite or graphene. In this way, PulpaTronics simplifies the entire manufacturing process and the final product is just a piece of paper, which is both environmentally friendly and economical.
In terms of specific market promotion plans, PulpaTronics has formulated a detailed 18-month development plan. Everything from finalizing product specifications to in-house production, piloting with retail and packaging partners, designing large-scale production lines and working with suppliers was carefully planned. So said PulpaTronics will be the first to bring to market its hybrid products, which can be seamlessly integrated into existing infrastructure and operate in the same way while providing greater cost-effectiveness and sustainability.
Qualcomm says it is integrating RFID functionality into mobile phone chips
In December, Qualcomm announced plans to integrate UHF RFID functions into its mobile device chipsets. In fact, Qualcomm has been working closely with partners such as Impinj, the manufacturer of UHF RFID chips, and the retailer Decathlon to jointly promote the use of RFID technology in mobile phones and Integrated apps on mobile devices. All parties are working together to overcome technical obstacles and promote the popularization and development of RFID technology. Qualcomm plans to focus on launching enterprise mobile devices equipped with RFID technology within several quarters, with consumer devices expected to follow.
This paper is from Ulink Media, Shenzhen, China, the organizer of IOTE EXPO (IoT Expo in China)
