RFID-based location tracking system using a peer-to-peer network architecture

Abstract

In recent years, the Global Positioning System (GPS) has been commonly employed for outdoor positioning and location tracking. On the other hand, there has also been growing interest in developing indoor location tracking systems. Advancements in radio frequency identification (RFID) technology make it a promising technology for use in indoor location tracking systems. While RFID technology has been designed for identification purposes, it can also be used for location tracking purposes. In this research, we present an RFID-based location tracking system using a peer-to-peer (P2P) network architecture and investigate location estimation methods for the system, which can provide flexibility for system implementation and cost-effectiveness for system maintenance. The proposed system employs active RFID technology to estimate the location of users/objects, and ZigBee to build a P2P network for communication purposes. It can be used for various purposes, such as asset management and customer relationship management. In summary, this research makes four major contributions. First, the proposed system using a P2P architecture can facilitate system setup and management. Second, a communication protocol for ZigBee and RFID is presented. Third, we investigate some position estimation methods using radio signal strength, reference tags, and a simple formula with dynamic parameters calibration for the positioning system. Lastly, we present experimental results, which give valuable insights into the design of an RFID-based position estimation system.