IoT Antennas for Industry 4.0 – Design and Manufacturing with an Example

Automation and Internet-of-Things (IoT) open doors to achieve increased productivity and efficiency. Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is a type of Auto-identification technique that identifies, locates, authenticates, and engages with other IoT devices to efficiently perform one or more tasks. The concept of the digital twin is enhanced by UHF RFID for the fourth-generation industrial revolution, Industry 4.0. UHF RFID antennas are one of the key endpoint components that are deployed throughout factories, facilitating automation. Antennas predominantly used in industrial environment requires enormous durability to handle vibration, shock, impact, and thermal shocks without trading-off the radiofrequency (RF) performance. This article proposes a novel durable dual-virtual patch antenna design and manufacturing technique for industrial UHF RFID application. The durability of the antenna is offered by the non-conventional RF substrate, galvanized steel backplate and the polyurethane resin-filled plastic radome. The antenna is designed to be assembled by full and semi-robotic process automation.