Broadband and flexible textile RFID tags for tires

A flexible, passive UHF RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag antenna is presented and tested for automotive tire applications. RFID tags on tires can be adapted to provide information on the tire health, retreading interval, pressure and temperature among others. However, typical tags are narrowband. In this paper, we propose a broadband tag that retains its functionality as the surrounding material and location of the RFID tag vary. The tag is fabricated on conductive textiles and embedded into polymer to improve its flexibility and bonding with the tire rubber. Experimental results show that the proposed tag antenna achieves excellent performance when mounted on tires.