University of Florida: UF's RFID test portal

The University of Florida's new Research Center for Food Distribution and Retailing now includes five radio-frequency identification portals.

Different reader and antenna configurations are tested for tracking specific food products.

Tags in crates transported through RFID portal

Representing a $100ꯠ investment, the first of UF's five RFID portals is shown in a simulated test using empty plastic crates that contain numbered tags. A true test would contain actual food products such as strawberries. This particular arrangement comprises four readers as well as a PC and software (also called middleware). When a small pallet of crates is moved through the portal, the readers detect the tags, which appear individually on the system's PC monitor. UF's RFID studies include testing the sensitivity of the RFID tags (also called antennas) and readers to a combination of heights and distances.

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