RFID Entity Locating System for Indoor Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current emergency response systems lack the ability to rapidly and accurately locate individuals within three-dimensional environments, such as buildings and underground structures, due to limitations in GPS and cell phone-based solutions, which are not reliable in metropolitan areas or during power outages.
Innovation Solution
An RFID entity locating system using portable transmitters/receivers and passive or active RFID tags, where the tags are placed at predetermined intervals within structures, allowing real-time tracking and logging of an entity's location, with a base unit computer processing and displaying this information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS technology is used to locate personnel, then location capability is provided, but accuracy is insufficient in high rise buildings and signal does not reach deep underground
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces RFID tags as intermediary objects placed throughout the building structure (including underground areas) to mediate location detection. These tags act as local reference points that enable precise positioning in environments where GPS signals cannot penetrate, effectively bridging the gap between satellite-based positioning and indoor/underground location needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the location detection function into distributed RFID tags placed at specific intervals throughout the structure. Rather than relying on a single centralized GPS receiver, the location capability is divided into multiple localized detection points, each providing accurate positioning information for its immediate vicinity, including areas below ground level.
2Ease of operation
If cell phone-based systems are used to locate personnel, then location tracking is enabled, but signal loss occurs within buildings and underground, and system depends on external power and communication networks
Solution Approach 1:
The RFID tags are designed as self-contained units that generate and maintain their own electromagnetic fields for communication. Passive tags harvest energy from the reader's electromagnetic field, while active tags have their own power sources. This self-service capability eliminates dependence on external power grids and communication networks, ensuring operation during power outages and in remote locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from three-dimensional space-based GPS positioning to a two-dimensional surface-based RFID tag network embedded in building structures. This dimensional shift allows location tracking to occur along the surfaces and within the structural elements of buildings, providing reliable positioning in environments where volumetric satellite-based positioning fails.
3Measurement precision
If stationary receivers are deployed throughout the structure to improve location accuracy, then measurement precision increases, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional RFID architecture by placing passive tags (simple, low-cost components) throughout the structure and using a portable active reader (complex, expensive component) that moves with the personnel being tracked. This inversion eliminates the need for multiple stationary receivers, reducing system complexity while maintaining high location accuracy through the portable device's continuous movement and scanning.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate and rapid location of entities within structures, reducing costs by minimizing the need for expensive stationary receivers and ensuring functionality during power outages, with potential for widespread adoption in emergency situations.
Implementation Method 1
a portable RF transmitter/receiver transported by the entity within the structure... Each RFID tag may comprise a passive or active device that transmits its location to the transmitter/receiver
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides an RFID system for locating an entity within a structure, the system comprising a portable RF transmitter/receiver transported by the entity within the structure, a base unit, and a plurality of passive RFID tags, wherein the RF transmitter/receiver records the location of an RF tag and broadcasts the location of the RF tag to the base unit.