Analysis of large-scale UHF-RFID use-cases utilizing full-wave simulation techniques

Abstract

UHF-RFID is a mature and widespread technology that has the potential to increase the reliability and efficiency of processes in logistics and production environments. However, complex interference effects in indoor environments pose challenges to the implementation of reliable wireless communication systems like RFID. This work proposes a method for tag performance evaluation utilizing a coherent two-stage rating process. This enables the abstraction of physical quantities and facilitates the interpretation of tag readability. For this purpose, two well-established full-wave techniques are utilized to perform deterministic simulations of a logistical UHF-RFID use-case. The setup of large-scale simulation environments is discussed and important quantities to be considered in RFID-systems are derived. Based on the simulation results and the proposed rating method, the RFID use-case is evaluated. Results are visualized in full-3D, facilitating the identification of critical spots. Furthermore, a subsequent cross-validation of the simulation results is performed, verifying the validity of the simulation results. By performing a priori propagation analysis, issues can effectively be revealed beforehand and costly modifications after system deployment can be avoided.