Active RFID Problems to Solve - Enhancing Tag Location Accuracy

1. Project: IEEE P802.15 Working Group for Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) Submission Title:[Active_RFID_Problems_to_solve] Date Submitted: [11 Mar, 2009”] Source:[Dalibor Pokrajac] Company [Guard RFID Solutions] Address [Add address Street, City, PC, Province/State, Country] Voice:[Add telephone number], FAX: [Add FAX number], E-Mail:[dalibor.pokrajac@guardrfid.com] Re: [Response to 802.15.4f Call For Applications] Abstract:[Active RFID use case examples and challenges to resolve] Purpose:[To be considered during 802.15.4f standard development process] Notice: This document has been prepared to assist the IEEE P802.15. It is offered as a basis for discussion and is not binding on the contributing individual(s) or organization(s). The material in this document is subject to change in form and content after further study. The contributor(s) reserve(s) the right to add, amend or withdraw material contained herein. Release: The contributor acknowledges and accepts that this contribution becomes the property of IEEE and may be made publicly available by P802.15. NOTE: Update all red fields replacing with your information; they are required. This is a manual update in appropriate fields. All Blue fields are informational and are to be deleted. Black stays. After updating delete this box/paragraph. Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

2. Active RFID – Problems to solve Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

3. Active RFID - Problems NOT to solve • High data rate exchange • Covered by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth • Power consumption is 2 orders of magnitude too high • Sensor applications • Covered by Zigbee • Power consumption is an order of magnitude too high • Close distance, no line of sight object detection • Covered by passive RFID • Cannot satisfy locating requirements, low range, sensitive to Tag orientation • Line of sight detection • covered by barcode Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

4. Active RFID - Problems to solve • Tag Location • Tag Perimeter detection • Tag Density • Tag Operating Environment • Tag and System Cost • Tag Size • Tag Battery Life Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

5. Tag Location – Accuracy • Accuracy requirements depend on application and can vary greatly • > 10 meters • Locate to have a general idea where something is (on a floor, within a department, left or right wing of a warehouse, etc.) • Application examples: • Locate large container in a yard • Where is key government personnel in case of emergency (building, floor) • In which warehouse is the metal rack XYZ – In Iowa or in Mexico? • 3 – 10 meters • Locate to find an object (once when in a location area, visually identify the object) • Application examples: • Find a wheelchair • Where is my compressor on a factory floor? • Patient has fallen and needs help • Baby Tag has been removed in attempt to steal the baby Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

6. Tag Location – Accuracy (cont’d) • 1 - 3 meter • Locate to find an object (asset utilization, people flow, etc.) • Application examples: • How long the patient have spent in operating room? • How was piece of equipment used accross different work stations? • Where are the bottlenecks on a car assembly line? • How many times nurse Jim visited patient Judy over the last 3 days? • < 1 meter • Locate an object (on a shelf (2-D and 3-D), asset utilization, people flow, higher accuracy applications) • A container with screws XYZ has been taken from the shelf A – restock • How long the customer in a grocery store spends near the shelf X? Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

7. Tag Location – Accuracy (cont’d) • Room discrimination • On which side of the wall is the object? • Difficult problem to solve cost effectively and reliably • If it is less than 99% - it is more or less useless • Increase in locationaccuracy usually has negative impact on system cost(need for more Tag Readers) Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

8. Tag Location – Update Rate • Some objects move very rarely or don’t move at all • Furniture, IT equipment, tools, etc. • Why update location frequently? Once a day may be enough • For some objects real time location is a paramount • Tracking people and asset movement in real time • “Real Time” requirements vary from seconds to minutes • Update Rate usually has negative impact on Tag Density (channel saturation due to frequent transmissions) and Battery Life (obvious reasons) • In many applications dynamically adjustable (e.g. Update Rate dependant on object movement) Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

9. Tag Perimeter Detection • Detection at a portal (choke point) • Important feature of active RFID, many times neglected in RTLS • Perimeter protection (people and assets) • Egress detection (loading docks, manufacturing zoning, etc.) • Need for fast detection (<< 1s) • Security applications (e.g. the door must lock in time when fast moving abductor carrying a baby is detected near the door) • High number of Tags moving through the portal at a high speed (hundreds of items on a pallet which is carried by a forklift) • Can be used for location purposes • Low cost location systems based on area entry/exit • Can be solved very effectively by methods outside MAC and PHY • Low Frequency (near field), Infrared, Ultrasound, etc. Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

10. Tag Density • System size can vary: • Tens of Tags (e.g. people and asset security systems) (LAN) • Thousands of Tags (e.g. asset location in healthcare, warehousing, manufacturing) (LAN) • Tens of thousands Tags (e.g. warehousing, container management) (LAN and WAN) • Millions of Tags (e.g. container management ) (WAN) • Thousands of Tags can be within a range of a single Tag Reader requiring “real time” location • Importance of minimizing channel occupation by any given Tag • Communication reliability can be traded for Tag density and system cost (not every Tag message needs to be received in many applications) Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

11. Tag Operating Environment • RF environment in which a Tag operates can vary: • Attached to people (human body RF signal absorption, shielding) • Attached to powered up assets (EMI issues) • Attachment to objects made of various materials (metal, plastics, wood, human or animal tissue, etc.) • Surrounding environment can vary. Some examples: • Tags attached to babies in hospitals • Tags attached to objects on a pallet stacked N-deep and high • Tags attached to large metal containers and racks in extremely RF hostile manufacturing or transportation environment • The impact of environment on Tag Location accuracy should be minimized due to: • Movement of surrounding objects • Architectural solutions • Tag orientation while at the same location Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

12. Tag and System Cost • For many applications Tag Cost is the major factor of acceptability • People and high value asset location and protection • $20 - $100 is acceptable cost (number of Tags is small, object value is high) • Asset location and tracking in healthcare and manufacturing: • Thousands and tens of thousands of Tags – Tag cost becomes a significant factor • $10 - $20 usual cost in order to achieve acceptable ROI • Patient flow and protection • Disposable Tags in order to prevent bio-hazard • Sub $10 range is required to achieve ROI Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

13. Tag and System Cost – Cont’d • Supply chain management in manufacturing and warehousing: • Tens of thousands to millions of Tags per application • Tag cost is extremely critical. Must be <$10 in order to achieve ROI • Infrastructure cost matters when defining MAC and PHY: • In a healthcare environment for location systems – the cost of $1 per square foot is considered borderline of acceptability • Too sophisticated and expensive infrastructure may present a problem • Tag cost matters when defining MAC and PHY: • Too sophisticated and expensive silicon and RF components (due to high processing power and RF front end) may present a problem Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

14. Tag Size • Some application don’t care or prefer larger and more robust Tags (e.g. large container management) • Some application do care but can tolerate larger Tags (e.g. manufacturing, container tracking) • For some applications, Tag size is critical: • Infant protection and patient flow, protection and location • Asset location and tracking in healthcare and general office environment • Warehousing applications • MAC and PHY relevant factors that affect Tag size: • Power consumption dictated by RF and network protocol • Antenna size • RF parameters distortion in proximity of metal Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

15. Tag Battery Life • Always a critical factor. Requirements range among various applications: • Few days to few months (e.g. disposable Tags in healthcare) • Few months to few years (e.g. residential homes perimeter protection, some asset location and tracking, manufacturing, etc.) • More than few years (e.g. asset location and tracking, warehousing, container tracking, etc.) • Battery replacement is rarely an option. • Cost prohibitive for large scale Tag deployments • Impractical due to method of attachment or bio-hazard • Batteries are usually coin cell, not standard AA or AAA • It is critical for many Tag applications to be able to declare Battery Low (and some other Tag parameters) • Tag Battery Life has significant impact on Tag size. Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

16. Modes of operation • Need for two sets of requirements: • Mandatory mode: • Covers baseline of Tag requirements to optimize Tag parameters where it is necessary (e.g. cost, size, battery life, density, etc.) • One-way communication (Tag to Tag Reader only) • Locate in “real time” based on Tag ID (could be MAC address) • Communicate Tag status • Optional mode: • Two way communication (and everything that goes with it) • Data storage • Small amount of application data (e.g. sensor applications) Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

17. Active RFID General Observations • Most of active RFID applications are extremely sensitive to Tag parameters (size, range, battery life, cost, etc.). • This was the reason why multiple attempts in the past to standardize active RFID (ISO, ANSI) didn’t yield appropriate results • Active RFID is not necessarily technology driven market. • In many applications reliability and cost is the most important parameter, not bleeding edge of technology • Active RFID is solving problems that cannot be effectively solved by passive RFID, barcode, wireless sensors. • Supply chain and warehousing markets are opening up for active RFID • Very large number of Tags per application (millions) Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

18. Ultimate active RFID Goals • A Standard that can enable interoperability • Companies will specialize in building Tags or building infrastructure, the same way as passive RFID industry works today. • This will drive Tag cost down what is one of major factors of technology adoptability • Cost convergence with passive RFID • Cost of passive RFID in realistic industrial and warehousing applications is NOT $0.20. It is in $2 - $4 range • Cost of active RFID in sub $6 range is reality today. • For similar price, active RFID can do much more Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions

19. Thank You! Dalibor Pokrajac, Guard RFID Solutions