Mobile Platform for Networked RFID Applications

RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology is widely used for supply chain management and inventory control. Furthermore, RFID has been recognized as a tool to realize a ubiquitous environment. The typical architecture of RFID applications comprises RFID tags, which are embedded in or attached to an object, an RFID reader, and IS (information services) server. The RFID reader reads the code in the RFID tag and interprets it by communicating with the IS server via a proper communication network. This is the typical architecture defined by EPCglobal. The RFID reader can be stationary or mobile. A mobile RFID reader affords more applications than the stationary one. In this paper, we describe the core components for realizing a mobile RFID application, such as a mobile RFID reader, platform architecture, and the corresponding network architecture. Although there are several types of mobile RFID readers in the market, we propose a specially designed mobile RFID technology that has several positive features including security, network architecture, operation scenario, and code resolution mechanism. Furthermore, we analyze the characteristics of the proposed technologies.