UHF RFID Tag Performance Measurements for SLCs Applications Using DIY-Positioners

With this paper, we present cost-effective techniques to characterize UHF RFID performance with regards to small load carriers (SLC). A self-developed turntable-positioner is used to measure the antenna pattern of tags attached to empty SLCs, as well as SLCs filled with scrap metal. With the tag-positioner we presented in a recent publication, read range degradation of various tags near dissipative and conductive electro static discharge (ESD) protective material was investigated. We also measured the sensitivity of around 80 different tags in front of an SLC made of ESD protective material and compared their performance to operation in free-space propagation. To conduct the measurements themselves, we use commercial off-the-shelf readers like the R420 from Impinj, which we control via low level reader protocol (LLRP) commands, implemented in Python.