The MONITOR Project: RFID-based Robots enabling real-time inventory and localization in warehouses and retail areas

Inventory is one of the most problematic tasks in warehouses and retail areas. It is a challenging activity which still suffers from item losses, by producing waste in terms of time, materials, and profits. To solve this big problem, the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology can be profitably employed, with great advantage if combined with robots by allowing the implementation of an automatic inventory system, without the need of operator actions. Besides, a localization system can be designed by exploiting a synthetic-array approach, with no additional cost, as proposed within the MONITOR Project here presented. In particular, this paper describes the main design criteria to implement an autonomous inventory and localization system through a UHF-RFID Robot.