A New Vision for Smart Objects and the Internet of Things: Mobile Robots and Long-Range UHF RFID Sensor Tags

TL;DR

This paper proposes a novel IoT framework where mobile robots interact with long-range RFID sensor tags to enable remote sensing and monitoring across various environmental and infrastructural applications.

Contribution

It introduces a new vision integrating mobile robots with RFID sensor tags for embodied intelligence and demonstrates potential applications through experimental interactions.

Findings

Mobile robots can effectively interact with RFID sensor tags for environmental sensing.

The system enables remote monitoring of soil, water, and infrastructure.

Feasibility of deploying RFID sensor tags in real-world scenarios is demonstrated.

Abstract

We present a new vision for smart objects and the Internet of Things wherein mobile robots interact with wirelessly-powered, long-range, ultra-high frequency radio frequency identification (UHF RFID) tags outfitted with sensing capabilities. We explore the technology innovations driving this vision by examining recently-commercialized sensor tags that could be affixed-to or embedded-in objects or the environment to yield true embodied intelligence. Using a pair of autonomous mobile robots outfitted with UHF RFID readers, we explore several potential applications where mobile robots interact with sensor tags to perform tasks such as: soil moisture sensing, remote crop monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, water quality monitoring, and remote sensor deployment.