Evaluation of New Technology for Controlling Interrogation zones in RFID Daniel D. Deavours (PI), Mutharasu Sivakumar

1. Evaluation of New Technology for Controlling Interrogation zones in RFIDDaniel D. Deavours (PI), Mutharasu Sivakumar deavours@ittc.ku.edu TheTechnology Information Steering • New technology by Seknion, Inc. • Tags respond to reader’s command • Guard signal dominates interrogation signal except the required direction • Power broadcast zone is the same but Information broadcast zone of the reader is limited • Information broadcast zone can be steered by adjusting mix between interrogation and guard signals(φ1, φ2) Need for Evaluation Advantages • Large number of readers can be operated in close proximity • Does not require complicated and expensive antenna arrays to broadcast narrow beams of power • Comparatively stable in the presence of scattering of RF signals and multi path effects • Can be used with existing readers and tags • Presence of concrete and metallic surfaces in reader’s proximity creates multi path signals. • Guard beam overcomes reads from outside the interrogation zone due to multi path but, multi path may result in poor read rates in the interrogation zone. • Involves expensive off the shelf RF components