An analysis on the use of LF RFID for the tracking of different typologies of pebbles on beaches

In this paper we propose a further development of the STONE project, a research project based on Low Frequency RFID technology for the monitoring of coastal erosion. In the STONE project Passive Low Frequency transponders were embedded inside marble pebbles: these so called "Smart Pebbles" were positioned on a beach in Marina di Pisa, near Pisa, Italy, both on the beach, on the beachface and underwater. After a span of time and a number of storms, the Smart Pebbles were recovered using a waterproof reader through a scan of the beach and of the portion of sea close to the beach. The STONE project gave very good results and in this paper we describe the next steps of the project: first of all the use of new kinds of transponders has been experimented, in order to ease the insertion of the tag inside the pebble and to use this technique also with differently shaped kinds of pebbles. In particular we focused on the use of this technique on pebbles of very limited dimensions. Subsequently we analyze the performances of the system with pebbles of different materials, in order to widen the use of this system to new multi-material environments.