![]() Notice the use of the word “tool”, because that’s exactly what wireless tracking is – an enabling tool and not an entire solution. The terms "Internet of Things" and “IoT” were not commonly used back then.įrom a 10,000-foot view, the technological nuances of wireless tracking can be intimidating, but once the basics are understood, it can be an extremely powerful tool. I was blown away by the fact that a paper thin electronic sensor could essentially make anything in the physical space identifiable in the digital world. The US Department of Defense has been using this type of tag for many years.As a young electrical engineering student intrigued by all things wireless, my first encounter with radio frequency tracking was during a research assistantship at the University of Maryland, where I evaluated technologies for improving supply chain automation. The tag may also be set to transmit a periodic beacon to let an interrogator know of its existence or send the signal when moved or handled. This is typically used within a large container yard where you want to track the movement of the container from one zone to another. During this transmission, it may also transmit the identity of the device that awakened it. This signal awakens the tag, and then the tag transmits its data at higher frequency and longer range. At the lower of the two frequencies, they work in receive only mode and use this mode to receive a signal from a nearby transmitter. Some active tags work at two different frequencies. This reduces the power usage from the battery and extends battery life. ![]() ![]() When it receives a specific signal, it awakens and transmits its data. It can be set to a sleep mode in which it uses only a small amount of power and does not transmit data. An active tag can be designed to broadcast its data using broadband or spread-spectrum technologies to enhance its data communication performance. It does not communicate with passive or semi-passive tags. Temperature, pressure, relative humidity, acceleration, vibration, motion, altitude, and chemical sensors can all be placed on a tag.Īn active tag can communicate with other active tags with or without the presence of an interrogator. Frozen food storage conditions can be easily monitored using this type of tag. Therefore, when a case of temperature-sensitive drugs is transported, you can collect a record of how long the case was subjected to the temperatures beyond certain set limits and dynamically calculate its expiry date or its potency. This is a valuable prospect, because, for example, it allows you to collect the temperature experience of the object automatically as the object moves around during its lifecycle. ![]() The sensors on the tag can collect data and transmit that data along with the identifying number when the tag is interrogated. Therefore, if a battery is added to the tag, the sensors and the tag IC can use that power, which is available all the time. In addition, when it gets the power inside the IZ, it is very limited-not enough to power an onboard sensor. The passive tag cannot have reliable and continuous power because it gets power only when it is in the IZ, which is not the case most of the time. Environmental sensors require reliable continuous power to operate, and they require a higher power level than the tag IC. The second reason to have a battery on the tag is to attach an environmental sensor to the tag. ![]()
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