Simulation of Radio Signal Propagation for UHF RFID Technology in an Indoor Environment Using Ray Tracing (Graphics) Method

Abstract

RFID systems are often used in industry to reduce costs, increase process efficiency and minimize human intervention. The challenge is to design an RFID system before it is implemented in a specific environment in the shortest possible time and at minimum cost while maintaining the accuracy of the results. In this paper, a new approach to predicting indoor UHF RFID signal coverage is presented. It is based on a graphical ray tracing method. Simulations are performed based on spatial analysis of the illumination of a 3D indoor environment created from a 2D floor plan. The results show a heat map representing the predicted RSSI radio signal levels using a color range. The approach is validated by comparison with the results of the empirical Multi-Wall model. The time complexity of the approach is presented. The proposed approach is able to generate a heat map with the accuracy of the empirical Multi-Wall model. The interior room equipment required to refine the results ought to be investigated in the future.

Keywords

• 3D visualization
• indoor propagation prediction
• ray tracing
• RFID
• signal representation
• simulation