2.4GHz RF based active RFID localization in industrial environment

This paper documents the implementation of a zone-based localization in an industrial environment based on active RFID system by observing the RSSI values. The active RFID system uses signal strength information to classify which zone the RFID tags are located in. The zoning classification uses Rules-based algorithm to determine the RFID tag allocated zone. The experiment testbed is divided into 4 zones and the number of readers is placed based on the activity coverage for the zone. The active RFID reader characteristics was also studied to determine its range and coverage in the industrial environment. The reader was found to cover 40 m × 70 m read range in the current setup. The Rules-based zone localization is verified with the zone profiling throughout the movement around the testbed.