1. RFID Introduction

2. Introduction What is RFID
An automatic identification technology that relies on radio waves to encode and decode information on a microchip or other storage device. RFID allows computer systems to capture data stored on a special tag without direct contact or line of sight acquisition.
RFID technology was invented in 1948, but it was not mainstreamed for commercial applications until 1980.
RFID started during World War II when Great Britain attached transponders to their aircraft so they could tell the difference between “Friend and Foe” aircraft.
The first United States patent for RFID was granted in 1973.
RFID technology was invented in 1948
The first United States patent for RFID was granted in 1973
RFID consists of Tags, Tag Readers, Edge Servers and Application Software

3. How RFID Works: Tags Readers Local software and Infrastructure
Enterprise application and integration
Tag options include the following:
•Passive or active
•Read-only, Read-write, or write once
•Short range or long range
Each option has certain advantages and disadvantages. For example, active tags cost more and are larger, but are a better choice for use with high value goods and/or those that require continuous identification and location. Read-write tags, while expensive compared to read-only, are a good choice for monitoring for security, quality assurance, and/or theft deterrence.
Data gathered for purposes of processing information for and about the tagged RFID item/object may include:
Description (EPC)
Time
Location
Physical parameters (temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.)
Applications enabled be RFID systems are limited only by the imagination, but generally fall into the following categories:
Metering applications such as electronic toll collection
Telemetry, telematics, and sensor applications
Inventory control and tracking such as merchandise control
Asset tracking and recovery such as computing equipment monitoring
Tracking parts moving through a manufacturing process
Tracking goods in a supply chain
Payment systems

4. RFID Standards ISO Standards:
ISO & These standards regulate the Radio frequency identification of animals in regards to Code Structure and Technical concept
Carrier frequency for animal identification is: kHz
2 protocols in use to communicate between tag & reader:
Full Duplex (FDX or FDX-B ) uses ASK and Half Duplex HDX uses FSK modulation
ISO 14223/1 - Radio frequency identification of Animals, advanced transponders
Part 1: Air interface
Part 2: Code and command structure
Part 3: Applications
ISO Known as Mifare tags (HF)- Contactless integrated circuit cards
ISO Known as iCode tags (HF)- Standard for vicinity cards
(cards which can be read at greater distance)
ISO For UHF tags•- describes a series of diverse RFID technologies, each using a unique frequency range.
EPC Global and Gen2:
Family of coding schemes for Gen 2 RFID tags
EPCglobal has standards for supply chain for companies worldwide
ISO specifies the structure of the identification code. ISO specifies how a transponder is activated and how the stored information is transferred to a transceiver (the characteristics of the transmission protocols between transponder and transceiver)
ISO Advanced transponders is an international standard that specifies the structure of the radio frequency (RF) code for advanced transponders for animals. The technical concept of advanced transponders for animal identification described is based upon the principle of radio frequency identification (RFID) and is an extension of the standards ISO and ISO This part of the standard describes the air interface between transceiver and advanced transponder.
Apart from the transmission of the (unique) identification code of animals, application of advanced technologies facilitates the storage and retrieval of additional information (integrated database), the implementation of authentication methods and reading of the data of integrated sensors, etc. This standard consists of three parts as described in the foreword:
Part 1: Air interface
Part 2: Code and command structure
Part 3: Applications
The Electronic Product Code, (EPC), is a family of coding schemes for Gen 2 RFID tags. It is designed to meet the needs of various industries, whilst guaranteeing uniqueness for all EPC-compliant tags. The EPC accommodates existing coding schemes and defines new schemes where necessary.
The EPCglobal gen 2 standard was approved in December 2004, and is likely to form the backbone of RFID tag standards in the future. EPC Gen2 is short for EPCglobal UHF Generation 2. EPC standardisation is headed to become adopted by ISO, e.g. in accordance with complementary standardisation based on the ISO standard

5. RFID Standards
In order for communication to occur between a tag and a reader, they must be tuned to the same frequency. RFID systems can be configured to operate in a variety of frequencies from low to ultrahigh frequency (UHF) or even microwave. Being that RF propagation is different at different frequencies due to power and wave form properties, RFID system configuration must be considered in accordance with the applications that the system is designed to support. For example, low frequency tags are a good choice for applications in which the distance between tag and reader is small (typically less than a foot) as opposed to UHF, which supports applications at greater distances (up to about 20 feet).
Figure shows key requirements for common RF-enabled applications and the typical RF technology used for the application

6. RFID Standards
The main bodies governing frequency allocation for RFID are:
Europe: ERO, CEPT, ETSI, and national administrations
USA: FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
Canada: DOC (Department of Communication)
Japan: MPHPT
China: Ministry of Information Industry
Australia: Australian Communications and Media Authority.
New Zealand: Ministry of Economic Development
There is no global public body that governs the frequencies used for RFID. In principle, every country can set its own rules for this. The main bodies governing frequency allocation for RFID are shown.
Low-frequency (LF: kHz and kHz) and high-frequency (HF: MHz) RFID tags can be used globally without a license.
Ultra-high-frequency (UHF: 868 MHz-928 MHz) cannot be used globally as there is no single global standard. In North America, UHF can be used unlicensed for MHz, but restrictions exist for transmission power. In Europe, UHF can be used in the MHz band.
For Australia and New Zealand, MHz are unlicensed, but restrictions exist for transmission power.
These frequencies are known as the ISM bands (Industrial Scientific and Medical bands).

7. Security Requirement
figure illustrates the range of security requirements of different RF-enabled applications and technologies.
Understanding the differences between RFID and RF-enabled smart card technologies is critical in order to correctly assess each technology’s fit with a specific application’s security and privacy requirements. RFID and RF-enabled smart card technologies comply with different standards, have different operating ranges and widely varying ability to support security features needed by RF-enabled applications

8. RFID System Architecture
In traditional RFID application development, the main server holds the complete application and gets its data feed from a middleware layer. That middleware layer resides either on the server or in "edge servers" ... so named because they reside near the RFID readers
With traditional RFID apps, middleware resides between the application and the readers, aggregating data from the multiple readers, providing the conversions from the different reader interfaces to finally pass the "purified data" upstream to the app. The advent of smart readers and a common reader interface, however, have greatly marginalized the value of traditional middleware.
RFID middleware is today morphing into more of a 'business rule engine" and development platform. RFID middleware plays a key role to achieve the maximum benefit of RFID technology. RFID middleware, simply put, is a software layer residing between the RFID hardware and the existing back-end system or application software. It extracts data from the RFID interrogators (readers), filters it, aggregates it and routes it to enterprise applications such as a warehouse management system (WMS), enterprise resource planning (ERP) software or a manufacturing execution system (MES). Many RFID middleware focused on various features like reader integration and coordination, EPC track and trace tools, baseline filtering capabilities, but these are just a subset of many features the complete RFID middleware platforms must provide.

9. RFID Applications
In 2010, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) says that of our planet's 5,490 mammals, 79 are extinct or extinct in the wild, 188 are critically endangered, 449 are endangered and 505 are vulnerable. Researchers and scientists use RFID to track animals so they can learn more about their habits. Data gathered are used as part of their efforts to fight extinction and protect the planet's biodiversity. Researchers and scientists use RFID to track animals and learn about their habits as part of their efforts to fight extinction and protect the planet's biodiversity.
tracks chronic wasting disease (CWD), a degenerative neurological illness endemic in Colorado and some other states. CWD is viewed as a very serious threat to both captive and wild cervids - elk and deer - and the state wants an automated system to track and isolate any CWD outbreaks to protect elk herds.
with handheld readers able to get test results from the elks’ ear tags from a distance of up to eight feet.

10. RFID Data Processing

11. What is RFID Data Stream?
Data Stream: Continuous flow of RFID data, due to multiple simultaneous readings of RFID tags.
Example:
RFID Tags: bytes
RFID Tags per store: 700,000
RFID Data per store: 544TB
Chain of 50 stores: 2,720TB

12. Types of RFID Data Stream?
Temporal RFID Data Collection: Temporal data collection refers to RFID data collected periodically, or when a predefined event occurs, such as removing a product from a store shelf, or purchasing a product at the point of sale.
Real-time RFID Data Collection: Real-time data collection does not wait for a periodic interval, or predefined event to occur to generate the data stream; rather the data stream is generated on a continuous basis.

13. Challenges to RFID Stream
False-Negative RFID Readings:
RFID Tag reader fails to read a nearby RFID tag.
False-Positive RFID Readings: Additional unexpected RFID data (Noise) added to the data stream.
Duplicate RFID Readings:
Multiple RFID readings of the same RFID tag.

14. Solutions for RFID Data Stream Processing
Eliminate False RFID Tag Readings.
Increase scanning cycles
Smart RFID Tags for redundancy.
Network RFID Tag Readers.
Data 'Sharing' among Tag Readers.
Filter RFID Data Stream.
Baseline Denoising Algorithm.
Lazy-Denoising Algorithm.
Eager Denoising Algorithm.

15. Solutions for RFID Data Stream Processing

16. Solutions for RFID Data Stream Processing

17. Solutions for RFID Data Stream Processing
*Denotes the time at which a RFID tag is confirmed as non-noise.

18. Solutions for RFID Data Stream Processing
Window Buffer
Tag Reading
Sliding Window Loop
Noise Determination

19. Data Integration

20. Tag to Application
Imagine if an application was plugged into all the device drivers of all connected readers….
What would your application developer have to do to make it work?…
Data Integration (Tag to Application)
If an application was provided with all the device drivers of all connected readers it will be a hard job to manage and interface each of the devices.
The application developer will need to understand all the hardware specific internals and operations.
The application when provided with the huge amount of raw tag data reported by the readers will have difficulty processing data in real time.
RFID middleware provides a standardized way of dealing with flood of information, which process the raw data and provides the application with clean and filtered data.

21. RFID Middleware
Software or devices that connect RFID readers and the data they collect to enterprise information systems.
Middleware Definitions:
Middleware refers broadly to software or devices that connect RFID readers and the data they collect to enterprise information systems.
It serves in managing the flow of data between tag readers and enterprise applications.
It hides the RFID hardware details from Applications
It handles and processes the raw RFID data before passing it as aggregated events to the applications
It provides an application level interface for managing RFID readers and querying the RFID data.
Middleware Functions (with data captured by a reader and then provides data to back-end applications)
Filtering
Formatting
Logic
Middleware Responsibilities
Quality – usability of the information
Connectivity to readers
Context based filtering and routing
Enterprise / B2B integration
Where Middleware can live
Directly in RFID readers
RFID appliances

22. Classic RFID Middleware – Host Side
Application Interface Layer:
I'm buddies with the Applications and I have the APIs they need.
Data Processor and Storage Layer:
I work hard. I filter, aggregate and transform the data.
Reader Interface Layer:
I'm buddies with the Hardware and I know all the Protocols.
Generic Components of RFID Middleware
Reader Interface Layer (Middleware must provide a common interface to access different kinds of hardware offering different features)
Lowest Layer of the RFID Middleware.
Handles interaction with RFID Hardware
Maintains the device drivers of all devices supported by the system.
Manages Hardware related parameters
Reader Protocols
Air Interface
Host-Side communication
Data Processor and Storage Layer (Real-Time handling of incoming data from the RFID readers: The middleware should handle the huge amount of data captured by the connected readers in real time without read misses)
Responsible for processing and storing the raw data coming from the reader.
Examples of processing logic carried by this layer:
Data filtering
Aggregation
Transformation
This layer also processing the data level events associated with a specific application
Application Interface Layer (The middleware should be capable of interacting with multiple applications simultaneously, by catering to all requirements of the application with minimal latency.)( - The application developer should only use the generic set of interfaces provided by the middleware independently of the type of hardware connected to the system.)
Provides the application with an API to access, communication and configure the RFID middleware.
It integrates the enterprise applications with the RFID middleware by translating the applications requests to low level middleware commands.
Middleware Management Layer (intelligent scheduling and synchronization among all the processes of the middleware. This minimizes the latency and improves the efficiency of the middleware.)( Scalability - must allow easy integration of new hardware and data processing features)
Manages overall configuration
Capabilities:
Add, configures and modify connected RFID readers
Modify application level parameters such as filters and duplicate removal timing window
Add and remove services supported by the RFID Middleware
Middleware Management Layer: I’m Management

23. RFID Appliance Solutions
Savant
WinRFID
WebSphere
Sun JAVA
Middleware Appliance Solutions
Savant Middleware
Auto-ID has developed a middleware component call Savant that collects, accumulates and process Electronic Product Code (EPC) data.
A Savant sits between tag readers and an enterprise application.
Users a modular structure that allows innovation to be promoted by independent groups of people.
Key Element of Architecture
Event Management System (EMS)
Provides Java API for different types of readers
Collects Reader Events
Allows adapters to be written for various types of readers and collecting
Real-time in Memory Data Structure and Event Database (RIED)
Is an in-memory database that can be used to store event information
Same interface as a database with better performance
Task Management System (TMS)
Manages tasks
Provides an interface for task management
Savant manages and moves information in a way that does not overload existing networks
Savant has a hierarchical architecture that directs the flow of data by gathering, storing and acting on information and communication with other Savants
In a Savant system, lower level savants process, filter and direct information to the higher level ones and consequently, massive flow of information and network traffic is reduced
WinRFID middleware
WinRFID was developed at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
Uses web services and enable rapid RFID application development.
Multi Layered Middleware
Hardware layer
Deals with hardware abstraction
Protocol Layer
Ability to support multiple tag protocols and add new ones
Data Layer
Processing data streams
Apply rules and handles inconsistencies
XML Framework Layer
Formats cleaned tag data
Provide data in a suitable format to the application layer for decision making
Data Presentation Layer
Presents data per the requirements of application
Provides portal and database connect for the application
WebSphere
Designed by IBM
Components:
RFID devices
WebSphere Premises Server
Websphere Business Integration Server
Sun Java RFID
Conceived by Sun Microsystems and was one of the early entrants into the RFID market.
Java Based and supports EPC, ISO, Gen2 passive and active tags and devices.
Components
Event Manager
Jini-based event management system
Captures, filters and eventual storage of events generated by readers.
Management Console
Provides a browser based management interface
Allows configuration of various attributes and parameters of the middleware
Information Server
Responsible for storing and querying data
Manages inter Enterprise handling of data
Software Development Kit

24. Appliance Solutions Issues:
Savaunt, WinRFID, WebSphere and Sun Java aim for designs that provide a scalable solution for gathering, filtering and providing clean RFID data.
Issues:
Raw RFID data is not valuable until it’s aggregated and transformed.
Applications with higher security requirements are using RFID.
Leak proprietary information
Ability to track private information such as the spending history of a consumer
Research gap – are the classic solutions any good?
Savaunt, WinRFID, WebSphere and Sun Java aim for designs that provide a scalable solution for gathering, filtering and providing clean RFID data.
Issues with solutions:
Savant middleware architecture provides features for cleaning data and interfacing with different kinds of readers but it has limited built0in functionality for addressing business rules management, dealing with all types of sensor devices and providing data dissemination, filtering and aggregation.
None of the WinRFID and IBM WebSphere considers the business pules policies implementation, especially the ones concerned with security and privacy.
Enterprise IS and data warehouse Emerged in 1980s intended to deal with discrete, aggregated data, not continuous, real time, single-item data.
Raw RFID data is not of significant value until it is aggregated with other data to obtain appropriate inference and transformed into a suitable form for application level interaction.
Applications with higher security requirements are using RFID.
Leak proprietary information
Ability to track private information such as the spending history of a consumer

25. Design Considerations
Software or Devices that connect RFID readers and the data they collect to enterprise information systems.
A major differentiator among RFID middleware products is where they reside in IT architecture:
Server Software
Middleware bundled into the reader. AKA moved intelligence to the edge of the network.
Design considerations
A major differentiator among RFID middleware products is where they reside in IT architecture:
Server Software
Middleware bundled into the reader to move intelligence to the edge of the network

26. Edge Intelligence RFTagAware GlobeRanger Edge Intelligence
RFTagAware – Purchased by BEA ORCAL
ConnectTerra’s primary product
Devices such as RFID readers are abstracted – similar to how a database is abstracted by SQL
A piece of software deployed on or near a device
This software processes the raw tag information and based on any number of outstanding queries it will deliver qualifying results to any number of subscribing applications.
Components:
Data Filtering and aggregation
Monitoring and managing the RFID infrastructure
Integrating data with enterprise applications
Rapid application development
Architecture mirrors architecture framework that is used by EPCglobal in its standards.
GlobeRanger
Focused on providing an edgeware platform
Build on Microsoft .NET framework
Considers ALE and EPICIS specifications
Edge Device Management
Edge Process management
Enterprise Management Console
Visual Device Emulator

27. Questions