Cognitive Testbeds
Tech. news from Microwave Engineering Europe
Until recently, radio chips have been used primarily for the identification of products. Researchers have now developed a transponder which measures temperature, pressure and humidity. The chip enabled with sensor functions could find numerous applications in the logistic of temperature or humidity sensitive goods.
With extended RFID technology, a development of the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IMPS located in Dresden, special storage for temperature sensitive medical goods could be monitored during transport between the pharmaceutical supplier and the ultimate customer. If the temperature rises unexpectedly during refrigerated transport, the sensor RFID chip could report the temperature variations to a reader.
The researchers have fitted the small RFID labels with sensors. The new transponder transmits not only data, such as batch or identification numbers, but also temperature, pressure or humidity levels.
The UHF transponders transmit signals in a frequency range between 860 MHz and 2.45 GHz, and have a larger transmission range than conventional RFID transponders.
A microcontroller integrated on the module ensures that the data measured by the sensors is compressed and partially processed. This reduces the data transmitted to the reader, decreasing the tag’s energy consumption. This also enables the reader to transmit commands to control the sensors. Basic elements have been built that can be adapted to specific applications, thank to a chip that permits the transponder module and the sensor module to be coupled.
Apart from conventional batch documentation, the tags could be used to monitor the cold chain of blood products or vaccines. But, plasters could also be provided with the transponders. Moisture and temperature could provide information on the progress of wound healing.
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