Tutorial and Workshop Day

Attend the tutorial and workshop day on Tuesday, April 30. Curious about RFID and want to learn from an expert? Sign up for the tutorial and workshop day where you can do just that. There will be three closed-door sessions offered. The cost for the full day (including the morning tutorial, an afternoon workshop, coffee breaks, lunch, and handouts) is $150.00.

Registration is an add-on to the regular registration or the All-Access Pass. Click here to see the registration options.

Tutorial: 5.8 GHz and Above for RFID and Sensors

Organizer: Greg Durgin (Georgia Tech)

Date/Time: Tuesday, April 30 from 8:30am to 12:00pm.

This half-day tutorial will explore current issues and research in backscatter and energy-harvesting systems that operate in microwave bands. The higher bandwidths and smaller tag footprints at these frequencies hold great promise for applications in RFID, sensing, and tracking. The content focuses on microwave-specific issues that arise in the design and implementation of these systems, including propagation modeling, backscatter modulation, multi-antenna techniques, modulation and reader design issues, and cutting-edge sensor concepts. The material is well-suited to any interested technical professional with minimal background in RFID.

Topics:

  • Regulations for Upper ISM Bands
  • Microwave Antenna Design for Tags and Readers
  • Indoor Microwave Propagation Modeling
  • Microwave Energy Harvesting and Circuit Design
  • Multiple Tag Antennas for Backscatter
  • Reader Design Issues for 5.8 GHz and Above
  • Modulation Techniques
  • Issues with Semiconductor Fabrication at Microwave Frequencies
  • Sensing Concepts Using Microwaves
  • Location Techniques
  • Case Studies and Applications

Workshop: Enhancing Near-Metal Performance of RFID

Organizer: Isaac Ehrenberg (MIT)

Date/Time: Tuesday, April 30 from 1:00pm to 4:30pm.

Workshop presentations will explore technical issues relevant to the operation of RFID tags in close proximity to metal surfaces. Billions of metallic objects in warehouses and throughout the global supply chain go untagged as metals’ conductive influence seriously degrades RFID tag and system performance. Many strategies have been developed to circumvent the negative effects of metals on tags — such as innovative antenna designs and specialized substrate materials — but the improved performance often comes at a premium. While this means RFID’s metal problem may be solved for certain high value markets, both performance enhancements and disruptive technologies are needed to decrease costs and increase adoption to larger, lower value markets. This workshop will highlight both the current state-of-the-art in several RFID bands as well as the challenges facing further innovation.

Topics and Speakers

  • Use of AMC’s for UHF RFID, Isaac Ehrenberg, Auto-ID Labs, MIT
  • The Object is the Antenna: Use of Ferrites in On-Metal RFID Tags, Cherish Bauer Reich, NDSU, University of Minnesota
  • Challenges and Advances in Antennas for Metal Mountable UHF RFID Tags, Leena Ukkonen, University of Tampere
  • RFID Single and Dual Tag Performance Near Different Mediums, Blake Marshall, Georgia Tech

Workshop: RFID for Bio-Medical Sensing Applications

Organizers: Dr. Richard Fletcher (MIT) and Dr. Radislav Potyrailo (GE Global Research)

Date/Time: Tuesday, April 30 from 1:00pm to 4:30pm.

The small size, low-cost, and low-power capabilities of RFID devices, has generated various applications in the biomedical field. RFID technologies now find use in a variety of biomedical applications ranging from location markers for surgery to real-time physiology monitoring for humans and animals. In this workshop, we will provide a brief overview of the technologies used in biomedical fields, present some emerging technologies and identify current research challenges.

Topics and Speakers

  • NFC Technology: Where Are We After 10 Years? Richard Fletcher, Tagsense
  • RFID Sensors for Monitoring of Critical Parameters in Single-Use Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing, Tim Wortley, GE Research
  • An RFID Sensor Based on a Single-layer Spiral Inductor, Keat Ghee Ong, Michigan Technological University
  • Smart Sensors and Actuators for Biomedical Applications, Zhongyang Cheng, Auburn University
  • RFID-Enabled Inkjet-printed Wearable Solutions for Biomonitoring Applications, Manos Tentzeris, Georgia Tech
  • Ozone Dosimetry Using Fully Passive SAW RFID Tags, Ryan Westafer, GTRI