Performance testing of RFID systems with RF-harsh materials

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has been adopted to track items in supply chain, healthcare, and manufacturing applications. Hospitals and factories, however, are difficult environments for radiowave propagation. Cinder block walls with steel rebar, metal obstructions, and RF noise present significant obstacles to RFID system performance. Tagging lossy materials in these environments, such as metals and liquids, can also degrade the performance of RFID systems. In a previous paper [1] we simulated the RF-harsh conditions prevalent in these environments to evaluate UHF RFID system performance. In this paper, we utilize the same laboratory environment to measure RFID system performance when RF-harsh materials are tagged. These tests serve to examine the effect of water and plastic car parts on RFID system performance in an RF harsh environment. We show that the problems posed when tagging RF-harsh materials can be mitigated with either the strategic placement of tags on the item, or the careful choice of tags. While UHF RFID systems can be used in the presence of RF-harsh circumstances, the system architecture must be carefully tested in order to minimize the effects of performance-hindering RF obstacles.