An Optimal Q-Algorithm for the ISO 18000-6C RFID Protocol

Author

Maguire, Yael ; Pappu, Ravikanth

Author_Institution

ThingMagic, Inc., Cambridge, MA

Volume

6

Issue

1

fYear

2009

Firstpage

16

Lastpage

24

Abstract

Passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems based on the ISO/IEC 18000-6C (aka EPC Gen2) protocol have typical read rates of up to 1200 unique 96-bit tags per second. This performance is achieved in part through the use of a medium access control algorithm, christened the Q-algorithm, that is a variant of the Slotted Aloha multiuser channel access algorithm. We analyze the medium access control algorithm employed by the ISO/IEC 18000-6C RFID air interface protocol and provide a procedure to achieve optimal read rates. We also show that theoretical performance can be exceeded in many practical use cases and provide a model to incorporate real-world data in read-rate estimation.

Keywords

Q-factor; access protocols; radiofrequency identification; EPC Gen2 protocol; ISO 18000-6C protocol; Q-algorithm; Slotted Aloha multiuser channel access algorithm; air interface protocol; medium access control algorithm; passive radio-frequency identification; Gen2; ISO 18000-6C; Multiple-access; analysis; anti-collision; optimal; radio-frequency identification (RFID);

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Automation Science and Engineering, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1545-5955

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TASE.2008.2007266

Filename

4694001