Using the RFID technology to create a low-cost communication channel for data exchange

This paper proposes a methodology to use the RFID technology (more specifically the RFID tags) as a novel “communication channel”, to support data exchanges in high pervasive environments, analogously to more traditional short-range communication technologies (WiFi, ZigBee, Bluetooth). To this aim, the further research issue of creating so called RANs (RFID-Area Networks - in analogy with LANs, Local Area Networks, PANs, Personal Area Networks, etc.) is addressed. These are made up of groups of RFID readers into which the functionality for exchanging data over the introduced “RFID virtual channel” within the generic RAN, in either a broadcast or a unicast modality, is embedded. From initial studies on its functional behavior, it emerges that the proposed method may actually allow to exploit a further (currently largely wasted although available “at no cost”) channel in future scenarios populated by tagged everyday-life objects.