A Low-Cost, Scalable Platform for Sub-Centimeter UHF RFID Positioning

Abstract

High-precision localization is a technology that has started to make areas from autonomous vehicles to packing robots more efficient and accurate. While there are many approaches to localization, RFID micro-location is a growing technology that has been shown to be fast and robust, and can leverage the existing infrastructure of billions of RFID tags. However, many prior RFID positioning systems lack portability, scalabiltiy, and cost-effectiveness. In this thesis, I explore how low-cost software-defined radios can be leveraged to overcome those three key issues with RFID localization. I contribute a low-cost, scalable, and portable RFID micro-location platform that can overcome real-world deployment issues such as RFID orientation. Finally, I conclude with a characterization of the platform and a novel application of the system for robotic grasping.