Initiation of the RFID Laboratory
ME54015 – Research Assignment
Initiation of the RFID Laboratory
ME54015 –Research Assignment
Theme 2 – Intelligent Control for Transport Technology
ByRyan Adriansyah Mulkan
Student Number: 4624025
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science
in Mechanical Engineering track Transport Engineering and Logistics at the Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology
FACULTY MECHANICAL, MARITIME AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING
Department Maritime and Transport Technology Mekelweg 2 2628 CD Delft the Netherlands Phone +31 (0)15-2782889 Fax +31 (0)15-2781397 www.mtt.tudelft.nl
This report consists of 50 pages. It may only be reproduced literally and as a whole. For commercial purposes only with written authorization of Delft University of Technology. Requests for consult are only taken into consideration
Specialization: Transport Engineering and Logistics Report number: 2018.TEL.8243
Title: Initiation of the RFID Laboratory Author: Ryan Adriansyah Mulkan
Title (in Dutch) Initiatie van het RFID-laboratorium
Assignment: Research
Confidential: No
Supervisor: Dr. ir. Yusong Pang
Preface
This report is a documentation for the initiation of the RFID Laboratory, intended as an assignment for the course ME54015 Research Assignment in the Delft University of Technology. This report is a requirement to complete Masters of Science study in the track of Transport Engineering and Logistics. The main objective of this report is to examine the differences between several RFID devices in terms of their performance characteristics and distinctive features so that they can be implemented to conduct further research.
I would like to thank Dr. ir. Yusong Pang, as well as Peter van Es and Hielke van Oostrum from Easy Logic for giving me the opportunity to work on the topic. I appreciate the support and assistance from all the people around me while working on the report; especially Vittorio, Dominique, and Daan whose helped me at some points during the making of this report. Lastly, I would like to grant my special gratitude to Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan Republik Indonesia (LPDP-RI) for trusting me with a scholarship and giving me the chance to study here in The Netherlands.
Ryan Adriansyah Mulkan Delft, May2018
Summary
The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology had gained considerable attention in the transport and logistics sector since 2005 when substantial retail companies started to require their suppliers to store the goods along with RFID tags. The implementation of the technology varies from identification, tracking, monitoring, as well as data acquisition. This research is intended to initiate the RFID Laboratory under the Department of Maritime & Transport Technology of TU Delft. It consists of instructions on how to install and operate several RFID devices and evaluations of their performance. The outcome of this research is a recommendation for potential future research.
The RFID technology can operate in various ranges of frequency, depending on the specification of the devices. The devices in this research operate in the ultra-high frequency (UHF). There are three kinds of UHF RFID readers and nine different kinds of UHF RFID tag. Each of them has their performance characteristics.
The instruction starts with a network setup to connect the readers to a host computer. Then, the capabilities of each device are evaluated. This is done by conducting some basic tests with the provided demo software as the host applications. The reading ranges of the provided tags are also examined. Finally, the instruction is closed with the steps to make a developing environment for the host applications.
The first reader being evaluated is the Zebra FX9600. The reader has four external antenna ports, which are connected to four circularly-polarized antennas with medium gain. The multiple antennas allow the reader to read the tags at four different points. This reader can be implemented to track movement along a line or to monitor a closed space. It is recommended to use this reader to simulate a smart assembly line.
The Nordic ID AR85 is the second reader. This reader has multiple built-in antennas which are dual linearly-polarized. It has the longest reading range of all the readers. It can detect real-time movement of the tags with the radar function of this reader. A concept of using this reader as a monitoring/coordinate system for the AGV laboratory is proposed as a suggestion for the future research.
The last kind is the Nordic ID Sampo S1. There are three Sampo S1 devices: the long-ranged, medium-ranged, and close-ranged variants. These readers are the most versatile, as they can be implemented in various ways. A concept of a smart retail store is proposed, with each of the reader variants have different roles. A critical aspect of this concept is how the readers communicate their obtained information with each other.
List of abbreviations
API Application Programming Interface
ASK Amplitude Shift Keying
DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
DRM Dense Reader Mode
EMDK Enterprise Mobility Development Kit
EPC Electronic Product Code
GPI/O General Purpose Input/Output
IDE Integrated Development Environment
IP Internet Protocol
IoT Internet of Things
ISO International Organization for Standardization
JDK Java Developer Kit
JRE Java Runtime Environment
LAN Local Area Network
LED Light-Emitting Diodes
PoE Power over Ethernet
PR-ASK Phase-Reversed Amplitude Shift Keying
RFID Radio Frequency Identification
RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator
TID Tag Identification
UHF Ultra-High Frequency
UPC Universal Product Code
USB Universal Serial Bus
WAN Wireless Area Network
Table of Contents
Preface ... i
Summary ... ii
List of abbreviations ... iii
Table of Contents ... iv
List of Figures ...v
Chapter 1 Introduction ... 1
1.1 Problem statement and approach ... 2
1.2 Structure of the report ... 3
Chapter 2 Device Overview ... 4
2.1 RFID Tag ... 4
2.2 RFID Reader ... 5
2.2.1 Zebra FX9600 ...6
2.2.2 Nordic ID AR85 ...7
2.2.3 Nordic ID Sampo S1 ...7
2.3 RFID Host Application ... 7
Chapter 3 Device Installation and Configuration... 8
3.1 Network setup ... 8
3.2 Zebra FX9600 ... 10
3.2.1 Configuring and testing the FX9600 via a web browser ... 10
3.2.2 Configuring and testing the FX9600 with SessionOne ... 12
3.3 Nordic ID Fixed Readers ... 14
3.3.1 Accessing the AR85 via a web browser ... 15
3.3.2 Testing and configuring Nordic ID fixed readers via Nordic ID RFID Demo ... 16
3.3.3 Distinguish the Sampo S1 devices ... 22
3.4 Tag types and characteristics ... 23
Chapter 4 Setting a Development Environment for the Host Application ...27
4.1 Development environment for the FX9600 application ... 27
4.2 Development environment for the Nordic ID application ... 30
4.3 How to create a project for developing the host application... 34
Chapter 5 Conclusion ...36
5.1 Conclusion ... 36
5.2 Future research directions ... 37
List of Figures
Figure 1.1 The number of publications on RFID ... 1
Figure 2.1 A typical RFID system ... 4
Figure 2.2 The structure of an EPC ... 5
Figure 3.1 Network setup ... 8
Figure 3.2 Accessing router interface to determine IPs of the network client ... 9
Figure 3.3 Access window and region settings of the FX9600 web browser configuration ... 10
Figure 3.4 The ‘Read Points' menu of the FX9600 web browser configuration ... 11
Figure 3.5 Read RFID tags with the FX9600 ... 12
Figure 3.6 SessionOne main window ... 13
Figure 3.7 SessionOne settings window ... 14
Figure 3.8 Logging into the AR85 web interface ... 15
Figure 3.9 AR85 web interface ... 15
Figure 3.10 Wireless connection settings for AR85 ... 16
Figure 3.11 'Connection' menu of the Nordic ID RFID Demo software ... 17
Figure 3.12 Easy Inventory of the Nordic ID RFID Demo... 18
Figure 3.13 Advanced Inventory of the Nordic ID RFID Demo ... 19
Figure 3.14 Tag Write of the Nordic ID RFID Demo ... 20
Figure 3.15 Channel Scanner of the Nordic ID RFID Demo ... 21
Figure 3.16 Radar View of the Nordic ID RFID Demo ... 22
Figure 3.17 Testing read range of the Sampo S1 devices ... 23
Figure 3.18 The tags and their EPCs ... 24
Figure 3.19 Tag experiment setup ... 24
Figure 3.20 Read counts vs. transmitted power for long-ranged tags ... 25
Figure 3.21 Read counts vs. transmitted power for mid-ranged tags ... 25
Figure 4.1 Zebra EMDK for Java installation window ... 27
Figure 4.2 How to import the FX9600 sample application package to Eclipse ... 28
Figure 4.3 How to link external libraries to the application package ... 29
Figure 4.4 FX9600 sample application window ... 29
Figure 4.5 Initial steps to import a project into Eclipse ... 30
Figure 4.6 Copying Nordic ID's repository to the clipboard ... 31
Figure 4.7 Cloning Nordic ID's repository to a local directory ... 31
Figure 4.8 Importing Nordic ID's application samples into Eclipse ... 32
Figure 4.9 The application samples and one of the application code... 33
Figure 4.10 Source code for setting up a connection to the reader... 33
Figure 4.11 Creating a project folder for the application ... 34
Figure 5.1 A scheme for a smart assembly line with the FX9600 ... 37
Figure 5.2 AR85 for the AGV laboratory ... 38
Chapter 1
Introduction
The world has only made its initial steps towards automation and intelligence. These two technological aspects proved to help labors doing a massive number of tasks and dangerous jobs. From another point of view, automation and intelligence have helped various industries ___ including the transport and
logistics sector ___ to increase their capacity and productivity while also reducing the operation cost.
Automation and intelligence rely heavily on the availability of information. The act of monitoring, as well as data acquisition and communication, are the driving factors of automation and intelligence. There is a vast number of monitoring technology nowadays; and trends have shown that due to their flexibility, those with wireless communication scheme are more preferred. One of the wireless monitoring technology that has become a hot topic in recent years is the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.
In the transport and logistics sector, RFID technology has been proven to increase the productivity of large and complex systems by maximizing the visibility of goods, services, and information. As shown in Figure 1.1, the exponential increase in the number of publications regarding RFID technology is followed by the number of RFID publications that fall under transport/logistics/supply chain category.
Figure 1.1 The number of publications on RFID [1]
The history of RFID technology can be traced back to the late 1940s when Stockman published his paper on the “Communication Scheme by Means of Reflected Power.” However, the widespread commercial use of RFID started just between the 80s and the 90s [2]. Even though the technology had been invented long-time before, some sources indicated that it gained considerable attention in 2005 after huge retailers such as Walmart, Metro, and Tesco announced that their suppliers need to supply
the goods along with RFID tags [3]–[5]. Since then, other companies, such as Procter & Gamble, Gap, Marks & Spencer, and DHL started to consider the capabilities of RFID technology [1]. In fact, the emerging Internet of Things (IoT), which can be referred as a network of interconnected objects that can interact with each other and cooperate to achieve common objectives, was associated with the RFID technology brought by Auto-ID Labs 15 years ago [5], [6]. Nowadays, the IoT concept does not belong exclusively to the RFID technology, but also to all technology that has identification, sensing, communication, and semantic capabilities. However, due to its small size, low cost, and robustness, RFID remains as one of the primary driving technology for the IoT [5], [7].
Implementation of the RFID technology varies in a wide range of industries. Early development of the technology was intended only for animal tagging, asset tracking, and automation in production plants [2]. Ngai et al. [4] made an extensive review on RFID research between the year 1995-2005 and found that nowadays the area of implementation includes: inventory tracking, retailing, animal detection, security, logistics and supply chain management, manufacturing industry, aviation industry, construction, and many more. The broad area of implementation is one of the reasons why the RFID technology has gained considerable popularity recently, as indicated both in [4] and [1].
1.1
Problem statement and approach
Corresponding to this trend, TU Delft has been given a chance to experiment with various kinds of RFID devices. While these devices enable the possibility of setting up an RFID laboratory, each of them has their own performance characteristics that make them suitable for a particular kind of implementation. Accordingly, this research aims to evaluate the performance characteristics of each RFID devices as an initial step to establish the RFID laboratory.
Therefore, the research question to be answered at the end of this report is defined as follow:
“What are the suitable implementations of the RFID devices concerning the differences in their performance characteristics and distinctive features?”
Four sub-questions are made to underpin the main question. These questions are listed below: a) How does a user install and operate these RFID devices?
b) What are the variables that affect the performance of these devices?
c) What are the differences between these devices regarding their performance characteristics and distinctive features?
d) Knowing the capabilities, what are the recommendations for the future research regarding the implementation of these devices?
This research starts with getting an understanding of RFID systems and the components. Then, instructions on how to install and operate the available RFID devices are gathered from the manufacturers’ websites. These instructions are used to evaluate the performance of these devices. Some basic tests are also conducted to compare the performance of several devices.
1.2
Structure of the report
This report should act as a starting point to work in the RFID Laboratory. Therefore, it is arranged and organized as an instruction on how to install, setup, and operate the RFID devices. Chapter 2 describes the overview of RFID system and the available devices. Chapter 3 consists of steps for installation and necessary tests to evaluate the performance of the devices. Chapter 4 explains how to set up a developing environment for the RFID host application. Finally, Chapter 5 concludes the report and suggests recommendations for future implementation of the devices.
Chapter 2
Device Overview
RFID is a technology to achieve identification and information exchange using radio waves communication between a receiver ___ which is connected to a host application ___ and a sender
mounted on an object to be identified. An RFID system will include a tag, a reader with an antenna, and a host system [3], [8]. The scheme of the system is shown in Figure 2.1.
Figure 2.1 A typical RFID system [8]
The communication between the reader and the tag occurs in a regulated frequency channel in which the communication protocols are standardized [3], [9]. There are three classes of frequency channel: a) low frequency (125 kHz and 134 kHz), b) high frequency (13.56 MHz), and c) ultra-high frequency (UHF; ranges from 850-950 MHz). Each channel has its advantages and disadvantages, corresponding to how the waves behave in the corresponding frequency. Higher frequency channel provides more extended read range, faster data transmission rate, and reduced signal collisions. However, it is more prone to signal interference from the environment [8], [10].
Nowadays, UHF system is more preferred in the transport and logistics sector, since the tags are easy to produce at a relatively low cost [10], [11]. The development of the technology has also allowed the system to be used around liquids or metals. In fact, all the devices available in the laboratory are UHF RFID devices. Hence, this report will focus on UHF RFID system.
This chapter provides a general description of the UHF RFID technology and the devices used in this research. Section 2.1 discusses the RFID tag, while Section 2.2 explains the RFID reader. Finally, Section 2.3 describes the RFID host application.
2.1
RFID Tag
RFID tags are capable of storing information or data inside its memory. By default, the information stored in the memory is a unique identification code, which will allow the user to identify and track the tags. Generally, there are four different memories inside a tag: a) EPC memory, b) TID memory, c) reserved memory, and d) optional user memory [12]–[14]. EPC refers to Electronic Product Code, which is a unique serial number associated with the tag for the identification purposes [14]–[16]. EPC is an
improvement of the Universal Product Code (UPC), and it was designed in such a way so that transition from UPC-based system to EPC-based system can be quickly done. The structure of an EPC is standardized by the organization EPCglobal [14], [17], which is shown and explained in Figure 2.2. In case the EPC memory is not enough, the user can use the optional user memory. The tag identification (TID) memory is for the manufacturer’s code, so it cannot be modified. The reserved memory is for kill/access passwords, which can be used to either disable the tag permanently or turning off the write capability of the tag.
Figure 2.2 The structure of an EPC (source: images.google.com)
There are three main types of the RFID tag: 1) passive tag, 2) active tag, and 3) semi-active tag. They differ in the way they obtain the power to operate. Passive tags receive power transmitted from the reader, while the active ones have integrated power supplies. Semi-active tags are hybrid of these two, designed for specific usages. These tags are classified from class 0 – 4, depending on the memory and how they are powered. [3], [8], [10]
The tags available for this research are all EPC Class 1 Generation 2 tags. These tags come in different sizes and materials for their specific uses. Their differences will be elaborated further in Section 3.4. Class 1 Generation 2 means that the tag has Write Many Read Many (WMRM) capability and at least 256 bits of memory, in which 96 bits of them are for the EPC. Optional functions for tags in this class is user memory, password access, and tag re/decommissioning [14]. Generation 2, or Gen2 for short, denotes the air-interface protocol standard issued by EPCglobal in 2004 [18], [19]. Later in 2006, this standard was included in the ISO18000 [20], which regulates the operation of UHF RFID technology worldwide [21]. The regulation of UHF RFID technology may vary depending on the region of operation. European UHF RFID system operates in around 860-868 MHz, while North American system uses 902-928 MHz as its channel.
2.2
RFID Reader
The reader is responsible for generating and transmitting signals and power to the tags, receiving the signals from the tags, and decoding these signals before forwarding them to the host application. There
are many variants of RFID reader nowadays. It can be fixed on a wall/ceiling, mounted on a traveling vehicle, or even a handheld device; depending on its application. It has three main components: the UHF interface, the antenna, and the control unit. The interface generates the radio wave signal, modulates/demodulates the transmitted/received signals, as well as transmits and receives the radio wave signal to and from the tags. The antenna is for broadcasting the generated signal and receiving the replay signals from the tags, while the control unit is for coding/decoding the signals, encryption/decryption of the data transferred, execution of the anti-data collision protocol, and communication to the host application.
A reader can have either an integrated antenna, an external antenna, or both. In the case of using an external antenna, a coaxial cable would be needed to connect the UHF interface and the antenna. Most antennas are designed to be used in a specific frequency range. The size of the antenna and its polarization direction affects the performance and reliability of the system. Big antennas have longer read ranges than the smaller ones. Linearly-polarized antennas have longer read ranges, but the RFID tags should be correctly oriented with respect to the antenna’s polarization direction. With circularly-polarized antennas, the orientation of the tags does not matter that much. However, with the same gain, the reading range of a circularly-polarized antenna is half of those of the linearly-polarized ones. [22], [23]
There are two things need to be considered when using an external antenna: a) the antenna gain and b) the signal loss. The antenna gain determines the maximum read range of the reader. The higher the gain, the more distance the signal will travel. However, higher gain also means narrower beamwidth, which leads to smaller area coverage.Concurrently, the signal loss due to the cable length needs to be taken into account when using the RFID system, as this signal loss may affect the accuracy of the measurements. [22]
This research will evaluate the performances of several UHF RFID readers. Therefore, the following paragraphs will discuss the overview of these readers.
2.2.1 Zebra FX9600
This fixed, industrial-rugged reader does not have an integrated antenna. The model available for this research has four external antenna ports, and the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth adapters were removed in prior. The price of this device starts from €1200 [24]. The manufacturer claims that this reader is most suitable for outdoor uses due to its rugged and reliable design, and provides a one-year warranty for it. [25]
This research uses the Poynting X-Patch 25 as the external antennas for the FX9600. These antennas operate in the UHF frequency range. They are water-resistant, which makes them suitable for outdoor
uses. They also have medium gain and circular polarization to enhance the reading performance. The complete specification can be found in [26]. The cables used to connect the FX9600 with the antennas are Bedea RG58 with different lengths. The specification of the cables is given in [27].
2.2.2 Nordic ID AR85
The Nordic ID AR85 is a fixed reader that has multiple built-in antennas. It is more highlighted for indoor uses. The reader is claimed to be able to cover 120 m2 of floor space with the integrated
operation of its built-in antennas. The antennas are dual linearly-polarized, so the read range is enhanced while the tag orientation problem diminishes. This device worth around €1700 [28] depending on the variant. The one available for this research has three options for its reader-to-host connection: wired connection, Wi-Fi, and Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection. The manufacturer provides a two-year warranty for this product. [29]
2.2.3 Nordic ID Sampo S1
This series serves as the most versatile fixed reader in the Nordic ID product line. The price ranges from €500 to €800, depending on the variants [30]. All readers in this series are equipped with capacitive sensors (light and tapping sensors) to enable triggered reading. Three Sampo 1 devices are provided for this research: one with an Ethernet port and the other two with mini-USB ports. The difference between these three devices will be discussed further when the readers are tested (Section 3.3.3). [31]
2.3
RFID Host Application
After being processed by the control unit of the reader, the received signals are forwarded to the host application. The communication between the reader and the host computer is done by either a local area network (LAN) connection, wireless connection (e.g., Wi-Fi or Bluetooth), or a serial connection. The host application acts as an interface for the user of the RFID system. It uses the information and data transferred from the tag for a specific task. It can be inventory tracking based on the EPC of the tags, determining the position of the tags based on the received signal strength indicator (RSSI), and many other tasks. The development of the host application depends on the implementation of the system, as a certain kind of implementation must have a unique working algorithm. In fact, software development for RFID system is an essential matter in the future development of the technology. This chapter has explained the basic things a user needs to know about the UHF RFID technology. In addition to the description of the main components and how they work, this chapter also gives a quick look at the RFID devices that are available for this research. These will be used as the foundations for setting up and testing the devices, which are covered in the next chapter.
Chapter 3
Device Installation and Configuration
This chapter instructs how to install and configure the UHF RFID readers in a working space. This chapter also includes some necessary tests to determine the performance characteristics and distinctive features of each RFID readers and tags. As a starting point, Section 3.1 explains how to set up a private network for the RFID readers so that they can communicate with a host computer. After the network installation, Section 3.2 and Section 3.3 will explore the capability of the readers by testing their performance. As some readers operate with the same host application, the instruction on these readers will be as general as possible. Lastly, Section 3.4 will evaluate the performance of the tags.
3.1
Network setup
A private network has to be made to ease up the installation and configuration of these readers. This network will connect all readers to a computer. In this way, multiple readers can be operated and configured simultaneously. A regular router is sufficient to serve this function. Note that it is important to be connected not only to the private network but also to the internet for the further configuring steps. However, most routers will not be able to share internet connection from an 802.1x authenticated connection, which is the case in the TU Delft network. To solve this problem, the computer should be connected to the router’s private network via an Ethernet cable, while still getting internet access from the TU Delft network (eduroam) via the computer’s built-in wireless adapter. This setup is shown in Figure 3.1. The internet connection might need to be prioritized in the computer’s network management.
This experiment uses TP-Link TL-WR841N. This router is capable of transferring data in a rate of 300Mbps, and it has five Ethernet ports: four of them are for wired LAN while the other one is for wireless area network (WAN) input.
Installation of the readers can be started once the computer is connected to the established network. To begin the installation, place the fixed RFID readers in position. Plug one end of the Ethernet cables into the corresponding ports of the readers, and place the other ends into the router. The FX9600 and AR85 can be powered over Ethernet connection (PoE and PoE+ support), but since this research uses a router that doesn’t support this function, they will not be turned on. So, turn on the readers by connecting the corresponding power supplies. Each reader has its light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to indicate a connected power supply.
As all readers are now connected to the network and have their Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, they are ready to be accessed from the host computer. The IP addresses of the readers can be obtained by accessing the router’s IP address from a web browser (in this case it is 192.168.0.1; it can also be 192.168.1.1) and checking the Dynamic Host Communication Protocol (DHCP) clients of the router from its interface. These steps are shown in Figure 3.2.
The following sections will elaborate how to configure and test the readers. This can be done either from a web browser or by using a dedicated demo software. Section 3.2 will cover the Zebra FX9600 individually, while Section 3.3 will focus on the Nordic ID fixed readers (AR85 and Sampo S1s).
3.2
Zebra FX9600
There are two options for testing and configuring this reader. The first one does the job via a web browser, while the other one utilizes the SessionOne demo software.
3.2.1 Configuring and testing the FX9600 via a web browser
The following steps require the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) software [32] to be installed in the host computer and a Java-supported web browser (note that the latest version of Google Chrome does not support Java, use Internet Explorer/Safari instead). Some of the steps also require an internet connection.
Enter the IP address of the FX9600 to the address bar of the web browser. A login page will show up. Write “admin” into the username field and “change” into the password field. The browser page will shift to the Reader Administration Console page as shown in step 3 of Figure 3.3. In the left side of the page lies the main menu, while the right side of the page explains the options of the main menu. This section will only focus on the main configuration of the reader and how to test the reader performance. Therefore, some functions provided in this interface will not be discussed further.
To configure the reader, firstly drop down the ‘Configure reader’ menu, and choose ‘Region’ from the menu. Select the desired ‘Region of Operation’ in this window. There are options of the frequency channels to be used in the communication between the reader and the tags. The reader also supports frequency hopping, which reduces data collisions when multiple readers are operated in the same working space. To test the reader, check the ‘Frequency hopping’ and ‘I understand’ boxes, and click on the ‘Set properties’ button.
The next step is to configure the antennas from the ‘Read points’ menu, which is shown in Figure 3.4. The top of the window shows the antenna number and status. A green indicator means that the antenna is enabled, while yellow indicator means that the antenna is disabled. It is important to note that enabling an antenna without having it connected to the reader will damage the reader. The ‘Refresh Interval’ value determines how frequent this page should be refreshed to update the antennas’ status. There is also the ‘Advanced’ sub-menu under the ‘Read Points’ menu, in which a user can determine the signal transmission power of the antenna.
Figure 3.4 The ‘Read Points' menu of the FX9600 web browser configuration
To configure an antenna, click on the desired antenna indicator or choose a read point under the ‘Antenna Configuration’ part. The ‘User Configuration’ option allows the user to enable or disable the chosen antenna. The ‘Cable Loss’ and ‘Cable Length’ options allow the user to take into account the signal loss due to the cable used to connect the reader and the antenna. These values can be obtained from the specifications of the cables and antennas. The cable specification states an attenuation of 0.537 dB/m operating at 1000 MHz [27], while the antenna specification points out a signal loss of 0.85 dB/m at 900 MHz [26]. Click the ‘Set Properties’ button once the configuration is finished, and go to the ‘Commit/Discard’ menu to save all the changes. Remember to conduct this last step for every change made in the configuration. Otherwise, the changed settings will not be implemented.
To test the reader, go to the ‘Read tags’ menu. Once the page loads the Java application as illustrated in Figure 3.5, click ‘Start Inventory’ to test the reader. The reader will continuously scan RFID tags that are in the antenna’s signal range, and list them on the given table along with their information. ‘Total Unique Tags’ counts how much tags are detected in the range. ‘EPC Id’ notes the EPC of the tags.
‘TagSeen Count’ counts the number of times the tags are detected by the antenna. The ‘RSSI’ shows the signal strength from the tags. ‘Antenna Id’ notes which antennas are detecting the tags. The ‘FirstSeen’ and ‘LastSeen’ columns are the timestamps of when the tags are first and last seen in the range. To clear the list, click the ‘Clear Tag List’ checkbox. To stop the inventory process, click ‘Stop Inventory.’
Figure 3.5 Read RFID tags with the FX9600
3.2.2 Configuring and testing the FX9600 with SessionOne
There is two demo software available for the FX9600: SessionOne and PowerSession [33]. They are fundamentally similar in their function, but the latter has the capability of operating multiple readers simultaneously. For the sake of simplicity, this research will only cover the SessionOne software. The installer of the software can be found in [34]. Once installed, click on the software launcher icon and the ‘Main’ tab window will show up as illustrated in Figure 3.6. The left side of the window shows the number of tags read, the read rate, and the tag table. The tag table consists of information of the tags, including a) ‘EPC,’ b) ‘Read counts,’ c) ‘RSSI,’ d) ‘Last seen timestamp,’ and e) ‘First seen timestamp.’ The right side of the ‘Main’ window consists of four parts. The first one is the ‘Reader’ part, where the user can establish a connection to the reader. To find a connected reader, click the ‘Find Reader’ button, and the reader will be shown on the list. Choose the reader from the drop list, and press the ‘Connect’ button. To start scanning tags, press the ‘Start’ button. The summary and history of the scanning rounds can also be saved as .csv files by choice or automatically.
Figure 3.6 SessionOne main window
Once connected to the reader, some quick settings will appear under the ‘Antenna’ part. Here the user can enable or disable the antennas and set the radiated power for each antenna individually. On the right side of the part is the pie chart for the read count percentage of each antenna. Under the chart is the LED configuration, and down this part is the General-Purpose Input/Output (GPI/O) settings. The ‘Tag details’ part shows the contents of the tag memory, where the user can also write into the tag memory. If the scanning process is running and a tag is chosen, this part will show the ‘RSSI/Direction/Zone’ part, which shows the RSSI value of the tag as a dynamic graph. Down under the ‘Tag details’ part is the status report bar.
The other functions of this software lie under the ‘Settings’ tab. This tab is for configuring the operation of the reader. Figure 3.7 illustrates the window of this tab. Some of the functions under this tab that is relevant to this research are described below:
• Appearance ___ here the user can modify the description of the items being read. It is also
possible to turn on auto-scroll for the tag list.
• Antenna colors ___ this part is only for changing the color of the antenna in the software
• RSSI monitoring ___ this configures the refresh rate and window time span of the RSSI values
• Read settings ___ this part concerns about the communication between the reader and the tags.
By default, Class 1 Gen2 tags are in state A if they have not been read recently. When they are read, they change their state into B. The session settings determine the amount of time the tag keeps its B state after they lose power. With session 0, the tag turns back into state A after it loses power. With session 1, the tag holds in state B for 500ms – 5s. Session 2 and 3 hold the tag for over than 2s. The exact amount of time depends on the tag used. With the State
Aware A option checked, the reader can only read the tags when they are in state A; while with State Aware B, the reader can only read the tags when they are in state B. In dual target mode, the reader automatically changes its target mode after one inventory round. Here the user can also determine the estimated tag population and tag transit time.
• Product pictures ___ by using an external dataset, the picture of the item mounted with the tags
can be shown. This part deals with this configuration.
• Filters ___ this part serves to filter the outcome of the scan based on the tags’ EPCs and RSSI
values.
• Tag Match Settings ___ here the user can configure an inventory process for a given external
tag list. If a particular tag does not belong to the list, the tag would not be included in the inventory process.
• Tag direction ___ this part is for enabling the directionality of the tags. The movement directions
of a tag will be shown in the ‘Main’ tab if the ‘Determine tag direction’ box is checked. The ‘Minimum trend’ and ‘Average’ values determine the RSSI values that need to be considered in determining the tag direction.
• Start/Stop reading configuration ___ in this part, the user can determine specific actions that
will start/stop the scan. It is also possible to use the GPI/O for this purpose.
Figure 3.7 SessionOne settings window
3.3
Nordic ID Fixed Readers
There are four Nordic ID fixed readers available for this research: an AR85 and three Sampo S1s. The AR85 can be configured via a web browser, while the Sampo S1s do not have this capability. Though, all the devices can be accessed with the Nordic ID RFID Demo software.
3.3.1 Accessing the AR85 via a web browser
The browser window might give an unsafe connection warning when the IP address of the AR85 is entered on the web browser’s address bar (Figure 3.8). Proceed regardless this insecurity, and a pop-up window will show and ask for username and password. Put “admin” in both fields, and click OK.
Figure 3.8 Logging into the AR85 web interface
The window will shift into the same window shown in Figure 3.9, which shows the performance indicator of the AR85. The reader can be configured from the options on the top menu of the page.
Since the AR85 most likely will be mounted somewhere and therefore hard to reach, it would be convenient to set a wireless connection between the AR85 and the router. To set this up, click the ‘Networking’ tab on the top menu, and choose ‘Wi-Fi’ from the drop list. The window will change into what is shown in Figure 3.10. The right side of the window listed all the ‘Available Network’ in the environment, while the left side of the window, under ‘Profile Settings’ is for connecting to a particular network. To set the connection, enter the name of the private network (in this case it is ‘DIFR’) and the respective security options and password. Once finished, click the red ‘Save Profile’ button on the lower right side of the window.
Figure 3.10 Wireless connection settings for AR85
3.3.2 Testing and configuring Nordic ID fixed readers via Nordic ID RFID Demo
Both the AR85 and Sampo fixed readers can be tested with the Nordic ID RFID Demo software [35] [36]. This software requires Microsoft .NET Framework, which will be automatically downloaded along with the installation of the RFID Demo software. Specifically for the AR85, Microsoft XNA Framework is also necessary for the Radar View application. This framework will be automatically installed while accessing the application with the AR85 connected to the software.
The RFID Demo consists of several applications, depending on the device used with the software. These applications include: a) Connection, b) Easy Inventory, c) Advanced Inventory, d) Tag Write, e) Channel Scanner (only for Sampo S1), f) Radar View (only for AR85), and g) Debugger. These applications demonstrate the setting and functions that can be performed by the Nordic ID fixed readers. Therefore, they are very suitable to give an idea of how these devices can be implemented in a real working environment. Each of the applications, except the Debugger, will be elaborated below. Instruction on how to develop an application with similar functions will be elaborated further in Section 4.2.
a) Connection
The first window of the software will be the ‘Connection’ application, as shown in Figure 3.11. This page shows all Nordic ID readers that are connected to the network and identified by the software. Highlight the corresponding address of the reader, and click the ‘Connect’ button on the bottom of the window. The status indicator will turn to green and says ‘Connected’ once the software has successfully accessed the reader. In case the readers are not identified or do not show on the list, choose TCP/IP from the drop-list under ‘Connection Settings’ and enter the IP address of one of the Nordic ID readers. It is also possible to establish the connection via USB.
Figure 3.11 'Connection' menu of the Nordic ID RFID Demo software
b) Easy Inventory
Once connected to one reader, click the ‘Easy Inventory’ button on the left side of the window to access the corresponding application. The window will shift to the one illustrated in Figure 3.12. Select the region of operation, and choose the maximum read range available to test the reader. The available read ranges will depend on what device is connected. With the ‘Single Read’ option, the reader will perform a single inventory round once the ‘Start Inventory’ button is clicked; in which the reader transmit power to the tags and receive data from the tags in only one cycle. ‘Continuous Read’ option will perform inventory rounds continuously, which serves better to test the reader. Click ‘Start Inventory’ to start scanning nearby RFID tags, and this button will automatically change into ‘Stop Inventory’ when the reader is reading continuously. The detected tags are shown in icon view in three different colors which indicate the last timestamp of the tags. The right side of the window shows information about the reading parameters and the tags.
Figure 3.12 Easy Inventory of the Nordic ID RFID Demo
c) Advanced Inventory
The ‘Advanced Inventory’ application serves similar functions with the Easy Inventory application but it provides more settings that will affect the performance of the reader. The window for this application is shown in Figure 3.13. There are four main tabs: 1) RFID Parameters, 2) Filters, 3) Configure Sensors, and 4) Configure Antennas. The ‘RFID Parameters’ tab is where the inventory process can be executed. The ‘Region’ setting and the ‘Single/Continuous Read’ options are similar with the ‘Easy Inventory’ application. Other settings are elaborated below:
• Link Frequency ___ determines the channel used for tag-to-reader communication. Higher value
means faster data transmission speeds, but more sensitive to bit errors.
• RX decoding ___ there are two options: FM0 and Miller-8. The latter is more reliable in an
environment with high level of noise, but has lower data transmission rate.
• TX modulation ___ affects the output spectrum of the transmitted signal. Phase-reversed
amplitude shift keying (PR-ASK) has narrower output spectrum ___ hence slower transmission
rate ___ than the regular amplitude shift keying (ASK). PR-ASK is very useful for multiple readers
to operate together in a limited space. This mode of operation is called dense reader mode (DRM).
• TX level ___ this setting determines the output power of the reader. Note that the output power
is different from the radiated power, as the latter needs to consider the gain obtained from the antenna as well.
• Q ___ the value of this setting relates with the number of slots in which the tag places their
answer to the reader. The number of slots, which is determined by the formula 2Q, should be
double the number of tags inside the working environment.
• Rounds ___ this defines the number of query rounds performed inside one inventory round.
Query rounds are additional rounds that need to be conducted due to data collisions during the inventory round.
• Sessions and Target ___ by default, Gen2 tags are in state A if they have not been read recently.
When they are read, they change their state into B. The session settings determine the amount of time the tag keeps its B state after they lose power. With session 0, the tag turns back into state A after it loses power. With session 1, the tag holds in state B for 500ms – 5s. Session 2 and 3 holds the tag for over than 2s. The exact amount of time depends on the tag used. With target setting A, the reader can only read the tags when they are in state A; while with target setting B, the reader can only read the tags when they are in state B. In dual target mode, the reader automatically changes its target mode after one inventory round.
It is also possible to apply filters for the inventory process by the configuration under the ‘Filters’ tab. The filter can be based on the EPC strings or the RSSI values of the tags.
The ‘Configure Sensors’ tab is for configuring the behavior of the reader due to the change detected by the capacitive sensors on Sampo S1 devices. ‘Scan tag’ performs a scan on only one tag in the reading range. ‘Inventory’ scans multiple tags in the reading range. The amount of time for this inventory round can be defined with the timeout setting. The ‘Configure Antenna’ tab is used to determine which antenna should be used by the reader. Note that turning on the external antenna without having it connected to the reader might damage the reader.
d) Tag Write
The ‘Tag Write’ application demonstrates how to read/write into and from the tags. The window for this application is shown in Figure 3.14. To try reading and writing to a tag, click on the ‘Refresh List’ button on top of the left part of the main window. A list of tags that are inside the reading range will be shown in the table below the button. Under the table are some basic settings for the inventory process. Choose one tag from the list, and click ‘Read Tag.’ The right part of the window will show the contents of the tag’s memory. There are four memory banks shown on the tabs: Reserved, EPC, TID, and User. Choose a specific bank to modify its content. It is also possible to put a password on the EPC bank.
e) Channel Scanner
The ‘Channel Scanner’ application is available only for the Sampo S1 devices. This application is quite handy to check signal disturbance within a working space. Figure 3.15 shows the window of the application. Choose the region of operation and click ‘Start Scanner’ to check for existing frequency channels in the working space. Measurement of the signal is done at the antenna input of the reader which might affect the accuracy of the measured frequency.
Figure 3.15 Channel Scanner of the Nordic ID RFID Demo
f) Radar View [37]
This application is available only for the AR85, and Figure 3.16 illustrates the application window. The window mainly shows the radar divided in 3x3 boxes, with each box indicates the beam covering the area. The reader will scan each beam area at a time continuously when an inventory round is started. The numbers in the boxes denote the number of tags inside the area. There are three main tabs on the right side of the window: ‘EPC,’ ‘Statistics,’ and ‘Config.’ The color of the tags shown in the radar can be changed under the ‘EPC’ tab. The Statistics tab shows the reading parameters. Some settings are available under the ‘Config’ tab, which is described below:
• TX level ___ determines the transmitted power from the antennas, which affect the reading
• Movement sensitivity ___ Low sensitivity means that small movement of the tags would not be
shown in the radar, while high sensitivity means that the movement is not filtered at all. • Accuracy ___ Slow means that the reader will continuously scan one beam if new tags are found,
while fast means that the reader will continue to scan the next beam area if the number of tags found in the current beam is below 100.
• Heat map ___ turn on to show the heat map in the beam areas.
• Round report ___ determines whether the tag positions are updated after reading each antenna
or after all the antennas have been read.
• Inv. Rounds ___ determines the number of inventory rounds performed before a result is
returned to the demo software.
• Enabled beams ___ Check the boxes to enable the beams and uncheck them to disable the
beams.
Figure 3.16 Radar View of the Nordic ID RFID Demo
3.3.3 Distinguish the Sampo S1 devices
Apart from their connectivity ports, the provided Sampo S1 devices are all similar in appearances. In terms of their behavior, only the one with an Ethernet port makes a sound when turned on; which might indicate the buzzer feature of the device as stated in its datasheet [38]. They all also show the same settings in the RFID Demo software.
A simple experiment is made to check if there is any difference in their performance. The experiment uses the Easy Inventory application in the RFID Demo software. All three devices are tested to read the same tag in the same settings and working environment. The read range of those three are all set to ‘Maximum (500mW)’ in the software settings, and all devices are lied down on a table with their antenna facing upwards. The tag will be positioned at different heights with respect to the readers in order to investigate the maximum reading range of each reader. This setup is shown in Figure 3.17.
Figure 3.17 Testing read range of the Sampo S1 devices
The results showed that the maximum read ranges of these devices are different. Though it sometimes detects the tag at a higher position, the one that has Ethernet port has shorter maximum range, as it started to lose the tag in its scan at the height of 10 cm from the surface of the reader. Meanwhile, the other two are more difficult to distinguish, as both can read the tag at the highest position of the experiment setup (around 130 cm). However, one of them was able to detect other tags that are put far enough from the experiment setup, which might indicate that it has higher maximum read range. The differences in their maximum read range correspond with the three antenna variants of the Sampo S1, which is mentioned in [38].
3.4
Tag types and characteristics
This experiment is supplied with various kinds of RFID tag. They are shown in Figure 3.18. Two of them have their specification sheets [39], [40], while the others do not. Each kind of tag has its own performance characteristics. This section will examine the differences between these tags concerning the read counts and received signal strength. A group of tags, consisting one of each kind, is selected; and their EPCs are recorded by reading them one by one. The EPCs are also shown in the figure below.
Figure 3.18 The tags and their EPCs
The reader and software used for this experiment are the FX9600 and SessionOne. The experiment setup is given inFigure 3.19. All tags are positioned under an antenna mounted on the ceiling with a maximum height of 134.5 cm from the tags. The length of the cable used between the reader and the antenna is 8 meter. The cable loss per length is set to 42.3 dB/ft with respect to the antenna and cable specification (refer to Section 3.2.1 for an explanation of cable loss). The RSSI values and read counts of the tags will be recorded while the transmitted power from the antenna is being varied from the maximum value (29.2 dBm) to the minimum value (10 dBm).
Figure 3.19 Tag experiment setup
With the maximum height, only three tags are detected along the inventory process. These tags are the Xerafy tag, the HID flex tag, and the Smartrac label tag. With maximum transmitted power from the antenna, these three tags give RSSI values of just below -60 dB and 4500 read counts in 30
seconds. However, at some points when the transmitted power is reduced, the read counts of the HID flex and Smartrac label tags start to decrease. This phenomenon indicates that these two tags have reached their saturated read range. Consequently, the read count of the Xerafy tag increases when those of the other two decrease. This indicates that the reader maintains its reading rate. Figure 3.20 shows the graph. Meanwhile, the RSSI values stay the same for all the tags along the test.
Figure 3.20 Read counts vs. transmitted power for long-ranged tags
To evaluate the other tags, these three long-ranged tags are removed from the system, and the distance between the antenna and the tags is reduced by 8 cm by putting a box as a platform under the tags. Then, the rest of the steps are repeated. Two tags are detected in this second configuration, with RSSI values of around -58 dB: the Omni ID Flex tag and the tissue tag. The Omni ID tag always has a slightly lower RSSI value than the tissue tag, which is possibly due to the material where the Omni ID tag circuit is attached to. Its read count also decreases at a higher level of power, as illustrated in Figure 3.21.
Figure 3.21 Read counts vs. transmitted power for mid-ranged tags 15.24 13.49 11.75 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 10 15 20 25 30 Read count s Transmitted power (dBm)
Read counts vs transmitted power (d = 134.5 cm)
HID Flex Tag Smartrac Label Tag Xerafy Tag
20.47 18.15 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 15 20 25 30 Read count s Transmitted power (dBm)
Read counts vs. transmitted power (d = 126.5 cm)
The other four tags are the short-ranged tags. Because their circuits are encased in metals, the radio signals are always interfered. The biggest tag, which has mounting holes on its sides, is the most long-ranged. With maximum transmitted power, the reader starts to detect this tag at a distance of 52.5 cm from the antenna, with an RSSI value of -50 dB and 7408 read counts. These parameters start to decrease at a transmitted power level of 18.30 dBm. On the other hand, the smaller metal tags are very short-ranged; not only because of the material but also due to their constrained antenna size. This chapter has evaluate the performance of the readers and the tags. These evaluations will be the backbone for the recommendation on how to implement these devices in the future. Meanwhile, the next chapter will explain how to start to create a host application for the RFID system.
Chapter 4
Setting a Development Environment
for the Host Application
As the RFID system can be implemented in many ways, the host application development has become one of the primary research directions for the system implementation. In fact, all the devices for this research are given along with the access to source codes of the sample applications from the manufacturers. These source codes are provided in different programming languages, e.g., Java and C++. This chapter elaborates the steps to set up an environment for developing a host application for the UHF RFID devices. This research uses Java programming language and the Eclipse software [41] as the integrated development environment (IDE) for developing the host application. Therefore, it is essential to have the Java Developer Kit (JDK) [42], and Eclipse installed on the computer. Though the computer used in this research is operated under macOS, these steps also apply to Windows computer. While Section 4.1 is dedicated for the host application development of the Zebra FX9600, Section 4.2 addresses those for the Nordic ID fixed readers.
4.1
Development environment for the FX9600 application
The resources for developing a host application for the Zebra FX9600 can be found in [34]. The package needed for setting a Java application development environment is the ‘EMDK for Java.’ EMDK stands for Enterprise Mobility Development Kit, which is a term commonly used for the resources to develop software for a specific device. The latest version (per May 2018) of this EMDK is v1.3, which supports the FX9600 devices. There are two available packages; one is for a 32-bit computer while the other one is for a 64-bit computer. Click one of the link to start downloading the needed installation package. Once downloaded, open the installation package, and click ‘Next’ until the installation path window appears (Figure 4.1). Choose a directory, and proceed with the installation. Click the ‘Finish’ button to close the installation window.
To open the installed EMDK, open the Eclipse software. Choose ‘File > Import…’ from the main menu bar. A window will show up as shown in Figure 4.2. Drop the ‘General’ folder, and choose the ‘Projects from Folder or Archive.’ Click ‘Next,’ and the window shifts to the next page. Click ‘Directory…’ to choose the path to the installed EMDK. Once chosen, the folders to be imported will be listed in the main column. Deselect the ‘Zebra EMDK for Java’ option, and click ‘Finish.’ The sample application package will show up under the name ‘J_RFIDSample3’ in the Package Explorer.
Figure 4.2 How to import the FX9600 sample application package to Eclipse
Even though the sample application package has already been installed and can be accessed in Eclipse, it still has some errors. These errors are shown under the ‘Console’ part down under the Eclipse window. To fix these issues, right-click the sample application package in the ‘Package Explorer’ part, and choose ‘Build Path > Configure Build Path…’. A window will appear as shown in Figure 4.3. Choose the ‘Libraries’ tab, and highlight the ‘swt.jar’ and ‘Symbol.RFID.API3.jar’. These archives need to be re-added. Click ‘Remove’ to delete these archives from the list, and Click ‘Add External JARs…’. Navigate to the EMDK installation path, and go to ‘…/Zebra EMDK for Java/RFID/bin/’ for the archive ‘Symbol.RFID.API3.jar’. The ‘swt.jar’ lies in ‘…/Zebra EMDK for Java/RFID/eclipse/’. However, the provided archive will not work with the computer used in this research. In case this happens, open a web browser and navigate to the SWT Source Library [43]. Download the required SWT Binary Source, corresponding to the
computer’s operating system and architecture (32-bit or 64-bit). Extract the downloaded file, and copy the ‘swt.jar’ and ‘swt-debug.jar’ archives to the directory ‘…/Zebra EMDK for Java/RFID/eclipse/’. Then, go back to the Eclipse window and add these two archives as external libraries to build the sample application.
Figure 4.3 How to link external libraries to the application package
Now, the sample application is ready to be executed. Highlight the ‘J_RFIDSample3’ package on the left, and click the play button on the main toolbar of the Eclipse window. Click ‘Proceed’ regardless the identified error. A small application window will show up as illustrated in Figure 4.4. This window is the sample application, and due to the outdated version of the code, the window cannot be resized. Therefore, it is not possible to try to operate the FX9600 with the sample application without alteration of the provided code.
4.2
Development environment for the Nordic ID application
Nordic ID provides application samples that can be used by the users to develop their application. These samples can be obtained from [44].
To start setting up the developing environment, open the Eclipse software. Click ‘File’ from the menu bar, and choose ‘Import…’. The ‘Import Wizard’ menu will show up as shown in Figure 4.5. Drop the list from the ‘Git’ folder, choose ‘Project from Git’, and click ‘Next’.
Figure 4.5 Initial steps to import a project into Eclipse
There are two options in the new window: ‘Existing local repository’ and ‘Clone URL’. Leave the Eclipse window for a while, go to the provided Git repository [44] via the web browser, and open the ‘nur_sample_java’ folder (Figure 4.6). Click the ‘Clone or Download’ button, and click the ‘Copy to clipboard’ button on the right side of the provided URL. Go back to the Eclipse window, choose ‘Clone URL’, click ‘Next’, and the text fields inside the next window will be automatically filled with the content of the clipboard (Figure 4.7). Click the ‘Next’ button twice.
Figure 4.6 Copying Nordic ID's repository to the clipboard
Figure 4.7 Cloning Nordic ID's repository to a local directory
As illustrated in Figure 4.8, enter the directory where the application samples should be stored. Click ‘Next’, choose ‘Import existing Eclipse projects,’ and click ‘Next’ once more. In the next window, click ‘Select All’ and then ‘Finish.’ The ‘Import Wizard’ window will close, and all the application samples will appear on the left side of the Eclipse main window under ‘Package Explorer.’
Figure 4.8 Importing Nordic ID's application samples into Eclipse
These application samples, which are shown inFigure 4.9, will perform similar functions with what has been shown in the RFID Demo software. To access the application code, double-click on one folder and open the file with path ‘src/com.nordicid.testapplication/Example.java.’ Each of the application samples has its own application codes. There are twelve different samples that perform different functions, which are elaborated below:
a) Connection ___ The application code shows how to create a connection between the computer
and one of the reader.
b) SimpleInventory ___ This sample performs a single inventory process.
c) InventoryStream ___ This sample performs a continuous inventory process.
d) InventorySelect ___ This sample shows how to put an EPC string filter on a single inventory
process.
e) InventoryRead ___ Instead of only reading the EPC, this sample enables users to read the other
memory banks of the tags in a single inventory process. However, the reading rate will be reduced by half.
f) ReadTag ___ This sample shows how to read the memory banks of a targeted tag in a tag
population.
g) WriteTag ___ This sample shows how to write to a targeted tag in a tag population.
h) Settings ___ This sample gives the source code for the reading parameter setup.
i) Diagnostics ___ This sample gives the source code to get the diagnostic report of the reader.
j) NurApiSerialTransport, NurApiSocketTransport, and SamplesCommon ___ These three packages
are the source codes for setting up a connection to the reader. The other application samples will refer to the codes of these three packages.
Figure 4.9 The application samples and one of the application code
Note that in every application samples, as shown in Figure 4.9, the code starts with ‘Create and connect new NurApi object’ task. This part uses the source from the ‘SamplesCommon’ package as stated at
the beginning of the code. Open this source code
(SamplesCommon/src/com.nordicid.samples.common/SamplesCommon.java) to see the content of the code. As illustrated in Figure 4.10, there are two options to connect to the reader: 1) by using IP address and 2) by using serial ports. Replace the IP address on the code with the one of the readers. Now the application samples are ready to be executed.
4.3
How to create a project for developing the host application
To create an application, click File > New > Java Project from the menu bar. The ‘New Java Project Wizard’ will show up. Enter the name of the project, choose the directory inside Eclipse’s workspace where the project should be stored, and click Finish. Now the project folder will appear under the ‘Package Explorer’ along with the samples. These steps are shown in Figure 4.11.
Figure 4.11 Creating a project folder for the application
The newly created project needs some external libraries and source files from the manufacturers. These external libraries contain the Application Programming Interface (API) of the readers. To add these archives to the project, right click on the project folder, choose ‘Build Path’ and click on ‘Add External Archive.’ A window will appear and ask for the location of the archive files. Two archives contain the API of the FX9600, and these archives are the same ones with those discussed in the third paragraph of Section 4.1. For the Nordic ID readers, navigate the window to the local Git repository. Four archives need to be added, and their locations are listed below:
i) NurApi.jar ___ located in ‘nur_sample_java/import’
ii) NurApiSerialTransport.jar ___ located in ‘nur_sample_java/transports/jars’
iii) NurApiSocketTransport.jar ___ located in ‘nur_sample_java/transports/jars’
iv) RXTXcomm.jar ___ located in ‘nur_sample_java/transports/NurAPISerialTransport/rxtx/win_x64’
Note that there are two options for the last archive, depending on the specification of the computer (32-bit or 64-bit).
Apart from these archives, the newly created project also needs the ‘SamplesCommon.java’ file as its source to create a connection to the Nordic ID readers. To add the file into the project, copy the folder ‘com.nordicid.samples.common’ under the ‘SamplesCommon’ package, and paste it under the ‘src’ folder of the newly created project. Once this file is added along with the archives, the user can start developing an application for both the FX9600 and the Nordic ID fixed readers.
Chapter 5
Conclusion
The initiation of RFID Laboratory corresponds to the growing number of RFID system implementation in the transport and logistics sector. This research aims to give instructions on how to install and operate three kinds of UHF RFID fixed readers along with several kinds of RFID tags. The main research question has been stated at the beginning of this report right after the background of this research. Several sub-questions are made as foundations for the main question. While the previous chapters have answered the first three sub-questions in details, this chapter reviews these answers and recommends how to implement the RFID devices for further research.
5.1
Conclusion
As an effort to understand how an RFID system works, Chapter 2 provides basic knowledge on RFID system and its components. All the available devices operate at ultra-high frequency channels which are regulated differently across the world: 860-868 MHz in the EU region and 902-928 MHz in the US region. The communication protocols and unique identification scheme are standardized by EPCglobal and included in the ISO18000. The tags are all EPC Class 1 Gen 2 tags. Three UHF RFID fixed readers in this research are Zebra FX9600, Nordic ID AR85, and Nordic ID Sampo S1. The Nordic ID fixed readers are equipped with integrated antennas, while the Zebra FX9600 needs external antennas. All the antennas have either circular polarization or dual linear polarization direction, so the orientation of the tags is less important in this research.
Instructions on how to install, configure, and operate the RFID devices are given in Chapter 3 to answer the first sub-question. A private network with internet access is required to operate the devices simultaneously. Once all the devices are connected to the host computer via this network, the devices can be configured and tested by using the demo software as the host application. The demo software allows the user to configure the operating parameters of the RFID readers, e.g., the read range, and see how these parameters affect the performance of the system. This also answers the second sub-question.
In addition, the distinctive features of each device are evaluated to answer the third sub-question. With four external antenna ports, the Zebra FX9600 can be used either to monitor the movement of the tags at multiple points or to perform inventory in a closed working space. The Nordic ID AR85 can detect real-time 2D movement of the tags with its radar function. On the other hand, there are three antenna variants for the Sampo S1 devices; which makes them suitable to be used in many kinds of way. The read ranges of each of the provided tags are also tested. The most long-ranged one is the Xerafy tag, and the most close-ranged ones are the small metal tags.
