Portable RFID Terminal Visual Scan Trace Localization
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Solution Overview
Problem
RFID reading terminals face challenges in localizing scanned items due to insufficient correlation between the position and orientation of the RFID reader and the location of RFID tags, leading to inefficient inventory management in applications like retail and manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
A portable RFID reading terminal equipped with a processor, memory, imaging device, and display, which captures images of physical structures, decodes optical indicia to identify objects, and determines its spatial position relative to the structure, displaying a visual RFID scan trace defined by the intersection of the RF signal coverage shape and a chosen plane, allowing for accurate tracking of inventory items.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If RFID reading terminal uses traditional RFID scanning without visual feedback, then the device complexity is low, but the localization precision of scanned items is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines RFID reading functionality with visual display capabilities by integrating a display device that shows the intersection of RF signal coverage shape and scanned item locations. This merging allows the system to maintain simple RFID hardware while adding visual feedback through software processing of spatial data, thereby improving localization precision without significantly increasing physical device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms three-dimensional RF signal coverage data into a two-dimensional visual representation on the display device. By projecting the intersection of the 3D RF coverage shape with the plane containing scanned items onto a 2D display, the system provides intuitive visual localization feedback while keeping the underlying RFID hardware relatively simple.
2Productivity
If RFID reading terminal provides visual indication of scan trace, then the inventory management efficiency is improved, but the use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent displays only the essential visual information needed for inventory management - specifically the intersection of RF coverage and item locations - rather than rendering complete three-dimensional coverage data. This partial action approach provides sufficient visual feedback to improve inventory management efficiency while minimizing the computational and energy resources required for graphic processing and display.
3Measurement precision
If RFID reading terminal correlates reader position with tag location, then the measurement precision of item location is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a visual display as an intermediary between the RFID reading terminal and the operator. Instead of directly increasing the complexity of the RFID correlation algorithms and position tracking systems, the display intermediary translates complex spatial correlation data into intuitive visual representations, thereby improving measurement precision perception without proportionally increasing system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An RFID reading terminal can be configured, responsive to receiving a user interface action, to capture an image of at least one part of a physical structure sustaining a plurality of inventory items, locate and decode optical decodable indicia into a message comprising an identifier of the physical structure. The RFID reading terminal can be further configured to retrieve from a database, using the identifier of the physical structure, a reference image and/or a description of the physical structure. The portable RFID reading terminal can be further configured, while being moved to follow an imaginary trajectory within the physical structure, to repetitively capture an image of the physical structure using the imaging device, determine orientation and the current spatial position of the RFID reading terminal relative to the physical structure responsive to identifying one or more objects within each captured image, and displaying the RFID scan trace.