(2) oy os) 0) en @ 6s) oy (2 658) 650) 200 United States Patent Nikitin et al. METHOD AND SYSTEM TO DETERMINE THE POSITION, ORIENTATION, SIZE, AND MOVEMENT OF RFID TAGGED OBJECTS Inventors; Pavel Nikitin, Martinez, Seattle, WA (US Ramamurthy. Seattle, WA (US): Kys Rao, Bothell, WA US) Assignee: Intermee LP Corp., Everett, WA (US) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the team ofthis pateat is extended of adjusted under 35 USC. 154(b) by 669 days. Appl. No 121495,732 Filed: Jun, 30,2000 Prior Publication Data $ 201010328073 AL Dee. 30,2010) Int Cl. 019 22 Gos 1318 GoIs 1300 Us.cl. (2006.01) (2006.01) (2006.01) 40/10.1; $40/10,32: 34008727 340/10-4 342174; 342081; 342085; 342/99 87 Field of Classification Search 3273 See application file for complete search history References Cited US. PATENT DOCUMENTS 6204768 BL 32001. Brady eta. 76786 B2 11/2002 Cand Yn0761 BE |A2006 Bedell ta FA1b398 B2 102006 Bridgeal eta Ziman we "V007 rogoisla St 12007 Sei US008248210B2 (10) Patent No. 4s) Date of Patent: US 8,248,210 B2 Aug. 21, 2012 20070073513 AL 32007 Posamentice aou7i1o9i28 AL $2007 Fuleta 20070197229 AL 82007 alla a Sourioadions Al 103007 Oral etal Souniznsto AL 112007 Migosht eal, OTHER PUBLICATIONS ~Assosameat ofthe Physical later e of UAE Passive Tags fr Loe ization, Yanakiev et al, Furasip RFID 2007 workshop. Automated Robot Docking Using Diretion Sensing RFID", Kimet al, 2007 TEE Interational Conference om Robots and Aviom “Localization and Hacking of Passive RFID Tags Based on Disetion Enimation”. Zhang e ty Tetemationl Journal of Antennae Propagation 2007 “Omen Amaounees New Gon 2 Introgatr”, p/w journal comailefailevicw 284111 Fb. 8 2006 “Survey of Wireless Indoor Positioning Techniques and Systems Leta IEEE Trans On Syst, Man, Cyerntcs, Now 2007 “Tincking Mobile Nodes Using RF Doppler Shits Ky’ ta ACM Sensys conference, 2007 SOME Ge? Tag diction” Inia] video hp/impinj cou din tions aap, Mar. 2008 Primary Examiner — Brian Zimmerman Omesd Alizada (74) Attornes, Agen, or Firm — Porkins Coie LLP Assistant Exaniner on ABSTRACT A method and system of determining spatial identification of ‘an object, such as orientation, size, location, range, andlor ‘movement, using an RFID system is disclosed. An REID system can comprise one or more RFID reader receiving Antennas that query one oF more RFID tags eoupled to the ‘object. The measurement of the phase of the tag responses at the reader antennas and phase differentials as a funetion of sistance, frequeacs, and time are the basis of spatial identili- tation, The system ean work with conventional Gen 2 tags and readers without modification ofthe tags or protocol 18 Claims, 52 Drawing SheetsU.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 1 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 100A 4, 102 Transmit RF query from antenna fC 104 ¥ Receive response from the first and second tags 106 + Demodulate tag responses Determine | and Q signal strengths for responses (i Calculate phase for each response from 1,Q signals 112 Calculate phase difference 114 Establish SP-PDOA equations 116 Determine spatial information from equations 199 FIG. 1AU.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 2 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 100B—«, _ Transmit RF query at first frequency co a, (i _y Receive tag response Receive tag response I a L c™ Demodulate tag response| Demodulate tag response 136 ai _* Co - Determine | and Q signal Determine | and Q signal strengths for response strengths for response 138 128 + Calculate phase at 2nd Calculate phase at frst freq from I,Q signals freq from | and Q signals 140 710 t _ rz Calculate phase Transmit RF query at difference second frequency I ri Calculate distance between tag and antenna 198 FIG, 1BU.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 3 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 1000—~4, re Transmit first RF query from antenna ae Receive first response from the tag (1% Wait a known period of time ( 166 Transmit second RF query from antenna ae Receive second response from the tag 170 Demodulate tag responses -_ Determine | and Q signal strengths for responses ae Calculate phase for each response from |,Q signals “i Calculate phase difference 197 End FIG. 1CU.S. Patent Aug, 21, 2012 Sheet 4 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 RFID reader antenna & Ny Figure 2US 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 5 of 52 Aug. 21, 2012 U.S, Patent N (ez'eA'ex) se} 1NOy YIM xog Ve aunty (p2'ph'px) (P'0'0)=(12" LA" Lx) (zz'2K'2x) (o' (c 0°) fru]U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 6 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 300B—~», 305 Measure and store phase angle of tags at antenna Find difference between phase angles of tags 310 Establish three eq’ns that define z-planes of tags 320 Establish three eq’ns using known tag spacings Establish three eq'ns for dot products of vectors Calculate 9 unknowns from above 9 eqn’s 325 330 399 FIG. 3BUS 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 7 of 52 Aug. 21, 2012 U.S, Patent og ans ‘26pe s0usoo xog punoie peddeim 7agv1 Gls LevWS 40 ‘Bap IONINUYM ‘Bop SP yo "69p SUSNIVINOD ONiddlHS: yaavay aldUS 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 8 of 52 Aug. 21, 2012 U.S, Patent pound JeALUe JO BQUaIE\IP eu} pue soualayIp eseyd sasneo soueloyIp Wed —_—-F} 4 — 6e} Gidu (]4---- uonejnojeo uonoeuip 62} pue Bulssesoid aseyd ym Jepeal GI4YUS 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 9 of 52 Aug. 21, 2012 U.S, Patent $ aunBiy uoneinojeo uogoeuip be} pue Buissao01d aseyd uM depeel IdUS 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 10 of 52 Aug. 21, 2012 U.S, Patent 9 andy, insjeo uojoauip Bey pue Buisseooid aseyd ym depee! IddUS 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 11 of 52 Aug. 21, 2012 U.S, Patent uonejnojeo uonoauip Ge} pue Buisseo0id eseud YIM Jepes! diddyUS 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 12 of 52 21, 2012 Aug. U.S, Patent az aan [pa1.z) Lo - co)luysoue = 0 Zz euuajuy - 6uissaood aseud 0 UL PeUUaLY Yomg " so}genenem — 4 seuuejue ay) ueeMyaq eouesip —p Z euusjue uo Jeubis Be} Jo aseyd ~ 7b } Buusiue uo jeubis Be} Jo eseyd — > eurje}ue9 pue uoyoeuip Be} ueenyeq e/6ue — 2U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 13 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 Figure 8AU.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 14 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 800B—», 805 Determine and store positions of RFID tags Determine distance between tag 1 and tag 2 CL 815 Determine distance between tag 1 and tag 3 810 820 Determine distance between tag 1 and tag 4 825 Calculate volume of tagged box 899 FIG. 8BU.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 15 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 800C—~», 830 Determine the coordinate positions of the RFID tags 835 Pause for a period of time & measure elapsed time 840 Determine the coordinate positions of the RFID tags 845 alculate difference between x,y,z coordinates for one of the tags Divide the differences by the elapsed time 855 Another tag? No 850 898 FIG. 8CU.S, Patent Aug. 21,2012 Sheet 16 of 52 8000 —~4, 860 Determine the coordinate positions of the RFID tags Pause for a period of time & measure elapsed time pp Determine the coordinate positions of the RFID tags 866 Taloulate theta, phi for lone of the tags for the two different times 868 falculate the difference for the two theta measurements 870 Calculate the diference for the two theta measurements. 872 Divide the differences by the elapsed time 874 e 7-897 FIG. 8D US 8,248,210 B2US 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 17 of 52 Aug. 21, 2012 U.S, Patent 6 2andiy YsagvaHy disyUS 8,248,210 B2 Aug. 21,2012 Sheet 18 of 52 U.S, Patent (seyou!) eoueysip enjoy & © © OL andi T peeae e (op) eseyd paddeimun jeoeiooys L ao (Gap) eseyd jeonaioay,U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 19 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 8 6 8 & 3 8 Theoretical phase difference (degrees) 5 HS et 20s 25 ee 0 es ee a0) See 55) 6) Actual distance (inches) Figure 11U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 20 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 8 & 8 8 Theoretical distance (inches) 8 1 1 o 58 © & 0 & 0 5 Actual distance (inches) Figure 12U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 21 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 08 06h. i i Hietecbens o4 02 Y-axis 89) [aon| [erm] : 0.0) 02 Bn . 04 a 7 eee i “S37 one 006 004 002 0 002 004 005 008 O1 X- axis Figure 13U.S, Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 22 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 ‘Twa sheet Hyperbola for three pairs of different PDOA in degrees 06 o4 O2bevecedeeedienn Y-axis \ 08 2 “0.05 00 Of O16 02 X- axis Figure 14U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 23 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 60 40 Theoretical PDOA % T -ao} - court foceon| 60 : : coor a ae ee es ee) Tag position Figure 15U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 24 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 Figure 16US 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 25 of 52 Aug. 21, 2012 U.S, Patent Ayigedes uojeoynuep! jeneds um sepeas Gi4y 99W8}U] pay!poyy Jepeal Gia oauuayuy Bugsixy VT ans Janis0ay Josseooid pueqeseg Jeyiusuel | JOAI8004 — Jossacoid 7 puegaseg SIeMULI 4US 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 26 of 52 Aug. 21,2012 U.S, Patent aT ‘OIA Addins sem ow7 seuuaque Serer Bunioooy, Jonsooy ee we oe on, | Youms a | sosse001g seu H or, seuuajue ia Buqyuisues, sopwsuedL 5 eu oe oo-7 ~~ gootUS 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 27 of 52 Aug. 21, 2012 U.S, Patent ST oansry € euuayuy 981 pazuejod Ayejnouio Baiy) YIM aunyxy ejqeyoe}eq zeuusjuy euusjue Bunjiwsuey pezuejod Ayejnouio prepueyg | euuajuy spod euuajue ino} UM Jepess GIy OLUS 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 28 of 52 Aug. 21, 2012 U.S, Patent 61 analy eu € esuodse: Be sonst asuodsal Be) | esuodsai Bey a — Fs ZS ewes ay} Woy eyep Oda ewes oy) je6 ulebe a 30u0 \ gee z stpemewoy F SBPEIMOUIOY € — OL 1G ZVNNLNVOL G3LOSNNOO SI ¥3AIZO3Y =| G3LO3NNOO SI H3AIZO3Y Tonmoums = | S| MO / MO Jeubis penieooy Gamo) | WNNALNY OL GSLOANNOO SI Y3SAIZ03YUS 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 29 of 52 Aug. 21, 2012 U.S, Patent uoneoyquap! jeyeds Joy seuuajue Bulisoas Ano} UI aunyxy aigeyse}eq eBuuejue yojed Bunjiwsuen prepuerg Oz aans1y xy —> syod euusjue aay ym sepeal QISY OLU.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 30 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 Figure 21U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 31 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 e. 1 — =d,-d,;0,,= sin(Ad/a) Figure 22U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 32 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 Figure 23U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 33 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 1Q Demodulator Gain error = Ga/ G Phase error = 90-® Figure 24U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 34 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 3.85 38! RSSI (dB) 3.65 | 36) 94 96 96 100 102) 104 «106 «6108 «6110 «112 Distance (cms) Figure 25U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 35 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 A phase imbalance of 20 degrees 48 AS 44 42 } e+ \1 } | Ba a © 36 34) 32| 3 so 6 70 75 €0 85 90 95 100 105 110 Distance (cms) Figure 26U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 36 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 ADC offset imbalance 45h RSSI (dB) oe a op 6 7 8 0 10 110 12 Distance (cms) Figure 27U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 37 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 A gain imbalance with DC offset RSSI (dB) & a 85 6 6 7 7% © 8 9 95 100 Distance (cms) Figure 28U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 38 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 Rayleigh fading channel with two path sine wave input 20 0 Power & 10 20 30 40 50 60 Distance Figure 29U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 39 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 40 30 26 Distance (inches) 15 20 FOR ORR RR IIIA ARE IE 10 * 8 B 8 8 (saes6ep) aseyd jenuesayp jo aBeienyU.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 40 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 Distance (inches) Figure 31 (seaiBep) eseyd jequeoyip jo aBerenyUS 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 41 of 52 Aug. 21, 2012 US. Patent ze aanty (seyouy) souRysip jemoe agge7 (Gap) eseyd payesqueoun, (sayou) eoueysip jenjoe oF (Gap) aseud eoRe pevesqyeoun (Seyou)) eoueysip jenjoe "2 ‘ = BE APA & Gaag (62p) eseyd payesqueoun, (6ep) eseyd evesquesun caneU.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 42 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 © io zg a 2 4o8 2 *5 = & 2 8 g 8 2 2 zg s ae 5 2 2 5 2 3 = s 3 2 R82 3 6 8 42 4 S seers 8 a 5 S (ep) eseyd peyeiqueoun, (ep) eseud paddesmun payeiqitesunU.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 43 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 aS 45 40 6 actual distance (inches) 40 z ca 30 30 3 actual distance (inches) ese” gee” (Bap) aseyd pareiqied (Bap) eseyd peddesmun payesqyesU.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 44 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 @ ey 2 8 8 3 8 s & Calibrated measured distance (inches) 8.8 3 a a a ) actual distance (inches) ure 35,U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 45 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 Pe actual distance (inches) 1 \ . L € ¥ = Figure 36 actual distance (inches) actual distance (inches) | tate et dtaty po ae (ap) epnuubey (gp) epnyuBey (gp) epmyuBey (gp) epmyubeW jeuuey jouuey jouueyo jouueyo,U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 46 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 40 40 36 actual distance (inches) 35 actual distance (inches) Figure 37 30 actual distance (inches) 30 26 (Gop) Jous sseyg sous ese¥g soe aseYy «soe aseyaUS 8,248,210 B2 Aug. 21,2012 Sheet 47 of 52 U.S, Patent ge ans A et netatmats — “t (soyou)) 2ouRysip jenjoe ms 2 ce 2 op (Sou Spustetp fer @ « a ; ; — ; ; ; - ‘ Se ETN ge et caese jake eee per eels soacigeekoct rT eeteeeetew ees | A SR ig Se Se oS eee eS (seyou!) eourjsip jenjoe < ee ee ee a SSS reve i ese | sof eel E ] SERS 1 (sayour) souejsip jenjoe o s . * » * e « « A ot, wee Sy tie ot Pa Asbeses deseene ee Epes cteettaeences | Py Sea SEE eee BETES EES in| ¥ Joueeseyd JOE eseyg Joe eseyd Joue eseudU.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 48 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 at @ 2 78 8 48 8 8 is | | 8 ls 48 a ig 2 49 ° 43 ee 43 a a g z g zg 8 8 3 3 2 2 2 S 5 5 & = e 48g a8 48 a8 £ S g g s Be DB 2 2 a i = 2 S 7 3 3 3 e 482 RB 488 as s 8 8 3 de 4a 48 4R 48 4 le eee 1 le prsite rite gee es gee Bee ey opnqubew (gp) epnyuBew (gp) apnyuBew (gp) epnyube jeuueyo jeuueyo jeuueyo LeU.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 49 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 50 40 20 20 10 Calibrated measured distance (inches) i actual distance (inches) Figure 40U.S. Patent Aug. 21, 2012 Sheet 50 of 52 US 8,248,210 B2 60 $+ Tag Start . OS) Tag Fibs 50 20 Faia RI UL 0 10 20 30 40US 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 51 of 52 oad st Aug. 21, 2012 Jo US. Patent ag HH TIDE TT é voadUS 8,248,210 B2 Sheet 52 of 52 Aug. 21,2012 U.S, Patent ¢F aunty uowsod Be, & ow sos oo & 0 + - ; a 02 gee peunseay, byttie'be, ves fen painseew +08 | jeuueys 10 e[Bue Bey penseoyy — =~ jue Be} ueIpswi painseayw —o— [Bue Ge} jeoyaroay, aj6ue uonoanp Be,US 8,248,210 B2 1 METHOD AND SYSTEM TO DETERMINE ‘THE POSITION, ORIENTATION, SIZE, AND MOVEMENT OF RFID TAGGED OBJECTS BACKGROUND A conventional phased antenna array is made up of mul tiple antenna elements that are connected a common source through an RF power divider/combiner network. The relative aplitude and phases of the different signals feeding the ‘antennas are varied sve that the effective radiation pattern of the aray is einfored ina particular direction. These phased arrays work both in transmit and receive modes to communi- ‘ale the modulated aetve signals. In contrast, REID readers that use multiple antennas use a passive backscatter modula- tion technique where a eader antenna radiates an RF signal that illuminates RFID tas, and the tags modulate the imping- ing RF energy and re-radiatea passive modulated signal back to the reader Conventional passive UHE RFID (alte high frequency radio-frequency identification) systems use an RFID reader that generates RF signals to query RFID tags within an RE zone nea the reader. The RF zone cannot be exactly defined ‘within the practical limits of business environments. For ‘example, tags near the edge or outside ofan RF reader 006 may inadvertently be read and associated with tags located inside the zone, Consequently, himan intervention isneeded ‘o distinguish between tags inside and outside ofthe RF zone. Unintended association of tags could occur wth taps in adja- ‘cent poral, with tags on a forklift and adjacent toa ork and with tags adjacent to racks of apparel ‘Automatic techniques implemented in “middleware” business logic, such as messuring the time or number of ‘occurrences that a tag was read, help to distinguish between tags and mitigate the numberof exceptions. Statistical tech- rnigues that use the time, number, oF strength of the tags’ sna belp to reduce the numberof unintended associations, but statistics inherently have exceptions that will require ‘exception processing with human intervention, Such sais ‘al techniques are ot hased on the location of 9 tag. There is 2 need for a system that overcomes the above problems, as well as providing additional benefits. Overall the above examples of some related systems and associated Timitations are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. (Other limitations of existing or prior systems will become apparent to those of kiln the art upon reading the following Dewiled Doseription BRIEE DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS. FIG. 1A isa low chart illustrating an example ofa method or applying spatial division-phase difference of arival (SD- PDOA) forthe ease of one RFID reader receiving antenns.and ‘0 RFID tags on an object of interes FIG. 18 isa flow chart illustrating an example ofa method for applying frequency division-phase difference of arrival (FD-PDOA) for the case of one RFID reader receiving antenna and one RFID tag on an objet of interest FIG. 1C isa ow chart illustrating an example ofa method for applying time division-phase difference of arrival (TD- PDOA) forthe case of one REID reader recciving antenna.and ‘one RFID tag on an objet of interest. FIG. 2 shows an example system used to determine the ‘orientation of an object with two RFID tags using one receiv 0 o 2 FIG. 3A isa system diagram showing an example of vari- ables used to determine the positon of an object with REID tags by using four RFID reader antennas. FIG. 3B depicts «flow diagram illustrating a suitable pro- ‘ess for fading the coordinates for tags. FIG. 3C depicts the strictore ofan example smart patil ‘dentifcaton label used to detect changes in orientation of a ‘tagged item. FIG, 4 illustrates a system for estimating one direction or ‘one angle where a tis located FIG, 5 shows a cube-like arrangement of four antennas used for three-dimensional spatial identification of REID tags (one antenna transmits and receives, three other antennas recive) PIG. 6 shows a lat arrangement of four antennas usd for ‘thee-dimensional spatial identification of RFID tags (one antenna transmits three other antennas receive). FIG. 7A shows a trimgular arangement of three antennas ‘used for three-dimensional spatial identification of RFID tags (one antenna transmits and receives, two other antennas receive) FIG, 78 shows RFID reader with two antennas that cach ‘have transmit and receive funetionality. FIG. 8A js a system diagram showing an example ofthe variables used with a multiple antenna single tag (MAST) syst. FIG, 8B depicts «flow diagram illustrating a suitable pro- cess for finding the volume of a tagged box-shaped abject using four RFID reader antennas. FIG. 8C depicts a flow diagram illustrating a suitable pro- cess for determining movement of a box-shaped object hav- fing four tags on four corners of the box. FIG. 8D depiets flow diagram illustrating a suitable pro cess for determining movement of a box-shaped object av- ing four taps. 'PIG. 9 shows an example system where four RFID reader antennas are sed to determine the bearing of objeets that tach have one RFID tag. FIG. 1 shows the plot of the phase of two frequencies and distance FIG. 11 shows a plot ofthe phase difference as a function ofistance at two frequencies. FIG. 12 showsaplotofihe caleulsted distance comparedto the actual distance. FIG. 13 shows a plot of a two-sheoted hyperbola with asymplotes. Two receiving antennas are located atthe points (6.000) and (-€0,0), and the two-shected hyperbola defines the postions where a tag can be located when applying the appropriate phase equations to the phases ofthe responses ‘ceived from the tag at the antennas. FIG. M4 shows three pairs of hyperbolas obtained from calculating phase difference of arsval of tag signal. TFIG. 18 shows a plot of the phase difference of a tag response as a fonction of distance as the tag travels in line parallel to and infront of two receiving antennas, FIG, 16 shows the intersection of thee hyperboloid sur. ‘aces at a point, where each hyperbolod surface comesponds {o the positions where one of three tas can be located when applying the appropriate phase equations © the phases of ‘each individual tp’s responses at two receiving antemnss. FIG. 17A shows changes (gray-shaded areas) for adding ‘hree-dimensional spatial identification capability toa exist ‘ng RFID reader (eg Intermec IMSIIPS reader) FIG. 17B shows a block diagram of an RFID reader that can determine spatial identification information about a tagued object.US 8,248,210 B2 3 FIG, 18 shows fiat removable fixture with three receiving ‘antennas and one transmitting antenna for adding three ‘mensional spatial deattiation capability to an RFID reader ‘vith four antenna pots. FIG. 19 shows RFID tag spatial identi ‘channel receiver sing antenna switching protocol FIG.20showsone embodiment ofaremovablefixture with ‘our receiving antennas for adding three-dimensional spatial ‘Mentification capability toa RFID reader having five antenna pors. FIG.21 shows a system diagram with one transmit and wo receive antennas for measuring the tag direction IG, 22 shows a diagram ofthe relevant angles for con- figuration with three logical antennas. FIG.23 shows a plotoferror as function distance tothe ‘ag and angle. FIG, 24 shows a block diagram of a demodulator. FIG. 28 shows a plot of RSSI (received signal strength indicate) as fanetion of distance when there see no imbal- ‘ances inthe demodulator FIG, 26 isthe plot of RSS1 asa function of distance with phase imbalance of 20 degrecs inthe I channel FIG. 27 shows the RSSI plot with a DC offset in the 1 cchanael FIG, 28 shows heRSSI plot with botha DC offset and gain imbalance FIG. 29 shows a plot of power against distance wsing the to ray model modified for RFID data FIG. 30 showsplotof the phase change with respect othe ‘change in distance. FIG. 31 shows another plot of the phase change with respoct to the change in distance FIG, 32 shows a plot ofthe phase asa funetion of distance Jor different channels in the 918 MIT band FIG. 33 shows plots of calibrated phase of two channels ‘aust distance and the phases of these channels unwrapped, FIG. 34 shows plots of uncalibrated phase of two channels ‘aust distance and the phases of these channels unwrapped, FIG. 35 shows the calibrated measured distance sa fune~ tion of actual distance TIG. 36 shows the RSSI plots for different channels in the 91S Miz band, IG, 37 shows phase ertor between theorstical values of the phase and measured phase values FIG, 38 shows phase erorplolted with respect to distance FIG, 39 isa plot ofthe RSSI with distance, FIG. 40 shows a plot of calculated range asa function of distance, TIG. 41 depicts physical locations ofthe antennas and tags Jog an SP-PDOA experimeat, IG, 2 shows a plotothe phasediference with respect to distance. IG, 43 shows a plot ofthe directional angle as a function ‘ofdistanceas the ag moves fom right left in parallel tothe ton witha single te EPC Gen? DETAILED DESCRIPTION ‘Traditional RFID systems perform conventional “tata ‘dentfcation” of RFID tags where a tag is queried by an RFID reer, and the tag responds with the appropriate iden- tification information. Spatial identification of RFID tgs ‘additionally provides location information using the differ. ‘ence inarrval imeot tg signals collected by reader antennas at different reception points. By providing location inform 0 o 4 ‘ion, spatial identification minimizes the need for human assistance to distinguish tags, thus enbancing tke productivity ofan RFD system, RFID tags can use the radio frequeney energy from an RFID reader's query asa souree of energy, RFID systems are rare among RP systems whercby the RF energy between the [RF reader (interogator) and the RFID tags (subscribers) are synchronized, With syncronization, phase delay of a si- soidal RF signal corresponds oa time delay, and oth a pase and time delay mainly depend onthe distance between the tag ‘and the reader antenna. Spatial identification determines the ‘rection ofan REID tag by measuring timedelay between tag signals received by two or more reader antennas, Described below isa system and method of determining the positon, orientation, size, andlor movement of an object based upon phase differential angle data of RFID tag responses determinable through spatial division-phase differ cence of arrival (SD-PDOA) technigues, frequency division- phase difference of arrival (FD-PDOA), and time dvision- phase difference of arrival (TD-PDOA), ora combination of {hese techniques. The phase information can be wsed to deter ‘mine the relative spatial coordinates ofthe RFID tags whieh define the orientation of an object coupled tothe tags with respect to the line of sightof the RFID reader. The objeet may be tagged with a single tag and read using multiple RFID reader antennas (multiple antenna single tag (MAST) sys- em), the object may be tagged with multiple tows and read using single RFID reader antenna (single antenna multiple tag (SAMT) system), or the object may be tagged with mul- ‘ipl tags and read using multiple RFTD reader antennas (mul- tiple antenna multiple tg (MAM) system), Variousaspects ofthe invention will now be described. The following description provides specific details fr a thorough understanding and enabling description of these examples Oneskilled inthe art will understand, however thatthe iven- ‘ion may be practiced without many of these deals. Add sionally, som well-known structares or funetions may not be shown or deseribed in detail, so a8 to avoid tnnecessarily ‘obscuring the relevant description. The terminology used in the description presented below is intended 1 be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it s being used in conjunction with a detailed {description of certain specific examples of the invention, Cer ‘ain terms may even be emphasized below; however, any terminology intended tobe interpreted in any restricted man- rer will be overly and specifically defined as such in this Detailed Description section ‘Section headers andlor sub-headers are provided merely’ 10 ide the reader andl are not intended to mit the seope ofthe invention in any way. Aspects, features, and elements of the invention and of embodiments of the invention are decribed throughout the writen description and the drawings and claims. ‘General Framework for RFID Spatial Sensing Systems Spatial sensing using an RFID system canbe performed by ‘sing a combination of ane ot more reader antennas and one ‘or more tags (MAM), Depending upon the number of tags placed onan object and the numberof reader antennas used in the RFID system, the MAMT system could be reduced ro one fr several subssystems: a single antenna, muliple tog (SAMT) system, a multiple antenna, single ap (MAST) sys- tem, ora single antenna, single tag (SAST) system. Also ‘dependent upon the number of tas and reader antennas, one for more of the following picces of information can be joblained about the object: the distance from an antenna, rnnge, direction, exact location, orientation, size, linear velocity, and rotational velocity. The general equations fortheUS 8,248,210 B2 5 MAMT system will be deseribed first and subset system results can be obtained from the general MAMT system, ‘Measurement of the phase of an RFID tag's response to an PID reader's query provides the bese information that ca be used to determine spatial information about a tagged ‘object. It should be noted that a tagged abject can includ, but ‘snot limited to, any typeot package. person, and an anim. “Via, the tagged object may be ambulatory or capable of selfmovement (eg. vehicle), The phase fof he response and distance dbetweena tag and an antennas related through the traveling wave equation by w Inabackseatter propagation model where the RF signal av= els fom the reader to he ta andl back, equation (1) becomes L paaels 2 ‘Solutions to spatial identification of a tagged objectinvolve calculating a phase differential from equation (2). There are throe ways in which the phase differential can be determined, SD-PDOA (spatial division-phase difference of arrival), FD" PDOA (frequency division-phase difference of arrival), and ‘TD-PDOA (time division-phase difference of arrival). These methods are applicable in different situations For calculating the phase differential using the spatial divi sion phase diflerence of arzival (SD-PDOA) technigue, we ~ or FE the spacings between the antennas othe tgs, TespectvelyUS 8,248,210 B2 9 Additional independent equations can be used based upo the dot product of antenna orlag vectors, Ihe antennas ore tags ae ortiogonal to eachother, then the inner produto the positional vectors of the antennas or tags are given by Katt Where IstminsM imaneN ‘Consider an example where there ar three antennas atthe RFID reader and thre tags on the object, and their positional vectors are given by RRR, and TT Ty respectively. Let ab oB-EleE By applying equations (7) and (8) to this example MAMT system, the system ean be represented matheniatically as, Ue ri-i-n-489) Mee reR-n-K6, We toite i Mei rsraaM, MRR rsa, Pets eras Me MAIR Tympy UR TuPKy MeFi lagparcan teed to ‘ernie the dite of the te Seance deterink vl of ‘Theorettinorsize of he tagged objet cama be ‘teeming 10 Wenindan Mentos « Fach equation in (10) ean be represented as, Penney oo ‘yn f being the unknown variables and the corresponding non-linear equations. ‘There are nine unknown variables corresponding to the position vectors of the three taps, while there are twelve ‘equations. Another nine equations could be added to the hove by using FD-PDOA to determine a distance between ‘ech antenna and each tag, resulting in twenty-one equations that lead to an overdetermined system when the equations are ‘made nearby using # numeral solution, Applying a multidimensional Taylor’ series expansion to the above non-linear equations and ignoring the higher order contributions, thse linear equations are obtains: Where Ay; is the increment that is solved at iteration r J isthe Jacobian matrix and is, « ap) fetsmisismmen ‘Starting with an initial approximation of the waknowa tag locations, the system solves for Av,” which represents the incremental change at each tration to the approximation to ‘obiaina new approximation. The tration aestopped when ‘on ergences reached, and convergence depends upon sart- jing with good initial approximation. ‘With the locations TI, T2, T3 ofthe tags known, the ori- entation of the tgs (he spatial angles theta and phi) with respect tothe reader antennas system canbe determined. The size (volume) of the object canbe determined ifthe three tags are placed not only orthogonally but at three neighboring ‘comers ofthe box. Also, by taking the time derivative with respect othe positional vector or the spatial angles, the Hinear or rotational velocity, respectively ofthe tags ean be deter sind a Well “Table 1 below givesan overview of what canbe dtrmined ‘with one, to, oF three or more tags in conjunction with one antenna, 0 antennas, of three or more antennas atthe RFID reader TABLE 1 SDPDOA phew one bypal SBtag won vos ring in feting eden oe a Th FD.PDOAwathone ofthe we Takings tune dea ofthe tap oven can deter nat etn rte Smolin te SD a oon ‘aber thesia fhe 3D heuaion of eae rapes te enna The eremion ort ie ofthe ‘Their wo ‘sag objet canoe ‘ely can be eermne byUS 8,248,210 B2 u TABLE 1-coatinved, “Two Tags Thedsanceto cash ag canbe Usiag SD-PDOM rel in fue derminetwing #2008 ype equation eh pve Sites andthe tg, thesnseens fn he ens edtatneof be Angpi FD-PDOA yes fr Grice dees ear resp eqsions wi the Neloayofthe tgiovenen diffrent ata ie ‘Sa edeermicd “Sakng the puto the cat Tact icon setotbe —fealonwofthe grea besa ‘Thecrkmion ors ofthe onenttionof the ge bet a fapeolabetcsmcrhe—bederminn wih pest the ‘dsemina ‘sremarco-onnates Ths ness snd tac esi canhedetmiaed ty king the tine derive oft oat Sipe . ofthe nec be dete tht nestor Ite tig ia be demise wr inhe rs reutonl eos am be seston ‘Seomnctarn ties ecu ‘ermine ‘The nze as be determines ifthe Seem he Hippo eine ‘ie nh te ‘One-Dimensional Orientation Estimation An example ofa one-dimensional orientation estimation {ora tagged abject is described below using two RFID tags ‘anda single reader antenna, as shown in FIG. 2. “The angilar orientation of the tagged object with respect to the reader antenna ean he caleulted in fe space as where @ is the angular orientation of the line connecting the ‘vo tags with respect (0 the reader line of sight, a is the distance between the two tags, and dd, is the difference between te distances from the taysto the reader. The distance “difference (d,-d,) causes a phase angle difference between, the two tag signals at the reader because it takes the signal longer to travel rom ig? tothe antenna than from tag Ito the antenna, The distance htwoen the tags should not exeesdone ‘wavelength in order to avoid ambiguity in phase difference The calibration ofthe RFID reader can be done forthe ease when the tagged object is oriented ina known way (eg, line ais tangential tothe Tine of sigh), ‘Ifthe measured angle O chkanges in time between queries while the reader position is fixed, then the tagged object is ‘moving or rotating, The details of the objet’s motion can be related tothe change in @ fora given particular geometry. Por ‘example, ifthe object mates, the oscillation frequency ofthe phase angle gives the spoed of rotation, and the amplitude of the phase change is proportional to the length of the arm of rotation If either the ontentation of the tagged objector the ‘exact location of one tag (itcan bea reference tag placed neae o 12 1 oaton sor orhe Ste oft tps objet faimorte demise eh ‘Te loco, dities nee td tins ely an be Amiel nthe age tagaise sore Wins deans of bscofthe ses cane Serie hg oe Pee tte comer Ca Risto be own spr sn ration ety ena be ‘hese un be teint the object) is known, then the direction o the object can be caleulated from the measured angle 8 By attaching several RFID tags tan object in a three- mensional patter and comparing the relative phase differ fences of the signals received ffom the different tags, is possible to estimate 1) the threetimensional object orient ‘ion from measuring tree angles, 2) the threetimensionsl ‘components of object motion (three components of mation Vector andl three axes of rotation}, and 3) the thee-dimen- sional location of the object (by measuring multiple direc- tions fr different taps, equivalent 10 solving equations used by global positioning systems (GPS) for determining the intersection of three planes to fad the location of an object). Example Determining the Orientation of a Tagged Object with aSAMT System FIG, 3ilustrates how to determine the orientation and size ofabox-shuped object with ight angles tagged with multiple RFID tags by using a single RFID reader antenna ‘An RFID reader has a single transmitreceive antenna Jocated at the coordinates (0,0,0)-A box objects tagged with four RFID tags labeled 1,2, 3, and 4, Ta 1 is located on one of the comers of the object, and tags 2, 3, and 4 are each placed on one ofthe edges of the objeet that intersect atthe ‘comer at which tag |i located. The spacings of tags2, 3, and 4 rom tag 1 are known in advance to be a,b, and e,respec- tively. Spacings a,b, ¢ are less than half’ a wavelength (6 inches a! 900 MH) in order to exclude phase ambiguity. The coordinates of tp 1 are (0.0) where the distance dis notUS 8,248,210 B2 13 known, although it s known that dis much greater than the wavelength because the object sin the far field. “The systems o find the hree-dimensional Cartesian coor. dinates of tag 2 (Xs ¥2,72)-1883 (Koy ¥, 74) a0 WBA (Ker Ye 14) with respect t0 tag 1. The nine unknown coordinates Wil ‘completely define the orientation ofthe tagged abject: FIG. 3B depicts a flow diagram ilustrating a suitable pro ‘cess 3008 for finding the coordinates for tags 2 3, and 4 At block 308, the system measures the phase angle 9, of ‘each tag atthe reader antenna, where, -arctan(Q, ly) nd rr 1,2,3,4 The difference between the three pairs of pase ‘angle Values are calculated at block 310, where the difference ‘nthe phase angles ae given by: 8 eGo ‘Then at block 315, the system establishes three equations. that use the messured phase dilferences: where isthe wavelength at which the reader antenna trans- mits the RF queries, and, are thez-planes where the tags are Jocated, Because only the orientation ofthe tags i of interest rather than the atual location of the tag, the phase dilfer ‘ences define the planes where the tags ae locate. ‘Atblock 320, the system establishes three more equations based on the distance formu aria Aeon Porn? where a,b, and € are known tag spacings on the object of ‘Next, at block 325, he system establishes three more equa tions based upon the rule that dot products of mutually ‘orthogonal vectors are ro, Here, because the object s box shaped te box comer angles are right angles. Ths resulting in these three equations: leonlaraitinrai fo een ainsi beeen arses AL block 330, using the nine equations given above, the system can determine the nine unknown relative xy7-coordi nates of ts 2, 3, and 4 (with respect tothe comer tax). These ‘coordinates completely define the orientation of the tagged ‘object with respect to the line of sight of RFID reader. The process ends at lock 39, Process 3002 can be implemented on top of any existing LHP RFID system or protocol, for example ISO and Gen2, Without any’ modification to the RFID tags, RFID reader hardware, or RFD reader antennas 0 o 14 Application Tit Sensing with (SID) Label PIG. 3C depits the structure oF an example smart spatial identification label used to detect changes in orientation of a {agged item using a single RFID reader antenna. As shown ia the bottom of FIG. 3C, four RFID tags (inlays) can be placed inside a sticky label 10 form one smart spatial identification (GID) label. A frst tag is positioned a known first distance above a second tag along a first Line, a thind ta is positioned ‘aknown second distance tothe left ofthe first tag, and fourth ‘gis positioned a known thir distance tothe ight ofthe frst ‘ag. The first, third, and four tas are substantially aligned ‘long a second line that is substantially perpendicular to the fit line, ie.) in a Tshoped configuration. Pures, the fs second, and third distances are ess than halfa wavelength of an RF signal transmitted by an RFID reader to tigger tox responses that will allow the reader to sense the tit of the ‘tagged item. In one example, the fist, second, and third stances are the same Alternatively, the taps inthe label ean be rotated 180 degrees such that the second tag is above the Tint ug. Tfimlipleanteanas reused with an RFID reader ta detect responses from multiple ts onan object. the locations of the tags, and thus the orientation and size ofthe abject, can be determined by the eader. In this scenario, a SID label ean ‘comprise any RFID tag configuration using tee more tgs. “The right side of FIG. 3C shows how the label can be appropriately wrapped around a box comer. The label ean ‘have markings indiating how it should be wrapped around thebox comer Altematively, the label can hewrappestaround any edge ofthe box, not necessarily positioned at cornerAn [RFID reader, shown onthe leftside of FIG. 3C, decodes the Signals from the tags inside the label, and extras information fhout the orientation ofthe box as described above. Such # Tbe can be used for sensing the tit level ofthe tagged abject, stich asa shipping eargo container. Tn the above example with four RFID tags, the tit ofthe tagged object can be determined slong two different dince- ‘ions. In one example, only two RFID tags need tobe used on ‘smart spatial identification label to detect changes in orien- {ation of a tagged item along one direction. Then the distance between the two REID tags and the relative location ofa first ‘ag with respect toa second tag may be known in order 10 {elect an orientation change of the tagged objec. ‘Non-imiting. applications where it would e useful 10 sense the tt of an object include delicate equipment and explosive chemicals that shouldbe stored oe trinsported in a Proper (©... upright) postion fo prevent damage, spill, oF explosive chemical reaction. Ifthe orientation of a tagged item changes, immediate corrective action can take place on the tagged item to prevent damage, spill and disaster as soon asthe signal received fom multiple gs on the waged object js docoded by an RFID reader to extract orientation informa- tion, The RFID reader can issue a Warning if one of the shipping containers stilted ‘One-Dimensional Spatial Identification of RFID Tags FIG. 4 illustrates system for estimating one direction or ‘one angle to where the tag is located. The RFID reader uses thee antennas, two recewving antennas and a transmitting ‘antenna located between the receiving antennas. The etims- tion of the direetion is based on measuring # phase angle difference between two reeiving antennas which is core- Jated to the time-differnce-of-arrival (TDOA) ofthe tag sig- nal between te receiving antennas. The distance andangleof the tg relative othe two antennas canbe calculated using the ener Framework described above, nar Spatial KlentiticationUS 8,248,210 B2 15, The system described herwincanalso estimate the directo (theplane in which the tg lies) with only ewoanteana, where ‘one o the wo antennas combines tansmit/eceivefunetion- ty using a eitulatr. “Three-Dimensional (3D) Spatial Identification With three receiving antennas, two angle measurements ‘can resolve the positon ofa tag toa line in space, and four receiving antennas yield three angle measurements that ca resolve the position of tag to a point in space. Various snlenna arrangements are possible. The number of antennas ‘can be further reduced by combining transmit and receive TuneGonulity of some antennas and by re-using antennas to form different reference pars. TIG, § shows one possible arrangement where a reader ‘employs fou total antennas, andoneantenna combines trans= mit and receive functionality. Antennas are arranged in & ‘cube-ike fashion (located on the corners of an imaginary ‘cube). The antenna that combines transmit and receive fune~ tionality is located ona first comer, and th other thre receiv= Jing antennas are ea located ons comer tha sa neighbor to the fst comer. Thus, each of the other three receiving anten- ras is an equal distance fom the first comer. An analysis oF this system is described below. Another possible antenna arrangement can be used where reader employs four total antennas, and one antenna trans- > mits while’ three other antennas receive. Antennas are arranged on the vertices ofan imaginary triangle with the ‘eansmittiag antenna within the Wiangle. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6 the transmitting antenna is placed at one of the vertices ofthe tiangle, and a reeiving antenna is placed somewhere within the tangle. This arrangement fas an advantage in tems of accuracy and sensitivity beeauseit uses separate transmitting and receiving antennas Tree antennas ae the minimum number of satennas that ‘can be sed for three-dimensional spatial identification, and ‘one of the antennas must combine wansmit and receive fune= tionality. TheexampleofFIG. 7A shows sichan arrangement ‘where one antenna transmits and receives, and all the anten~ ras ae amaniged on the vertices ofa imaginary triangle "Aneeorin angle estimation willereate an ambiguity inthe plane ine, or point toa wedge, cone, or ball, respectively, in space. Estimation of the angles becomes more accurate when the tag is fr from the receiving amgles such thatthe ris of the tag distance is much lar than the separation of the receiving antennts, while estimation becomes more inaceu- rate when the tg is close, However, given a constant error in ‘angle estimation, the ambiguous shapes (wedge, cone, oF ball) become lager as the tag moves farther away from the receiving antennas. Atsome distance between these extremes ‘of angle error and shape ambiguities, the reader will opti ‘mally provide spatial identification of the REID tag, none example, each antenna in the RFID reader ean have both transmit and receive functionality. This type of antenna ‘configuration can advantageously be used with most ffthe= shelf commercial RFID readers that are monostatic and have four antenna ports that can be intemally switched to the monostate port ther, when each antenna in the RFID reader as both transmit and receive funetonality, the number of antennas required to identify tg’s direction is reduced to two. FIG. 7B shows a RFID reader with two atennas that each have transmit and receive funetionaliy. The two antennas, antenna 1 andantenns 2, ate parallel and separated by a distance dand both receive tag sighals from the tag. The phases ofthe tag signal received at antenna 1 and antenna 2 are g1 and 92, respectively. The angle between the tag direction and the ‘centerlinebetween the wo antennasis where the centering 16 is parallel tothe two antennas and located midway between the antennas. The wavevector sk, Then the angle ais given by: aresin [(92-1)/(2%d)] and ean be caleulated by the RFID reader FIG, 8A is a system diagram showing an example ofthe variables used with the MAST system shown in FIG. § to {determine the position ofan object tagged with one RFID tag by using four RFID reader antennas. Determining the po ‘ion ofthe RFID tag on the object i analogous fo the above SAMI process 3008 because the egiations for a SAMT system are interchangeable with the equations with a MAST system. In thesystem shown in FIG. 8A, instead ofone reader antenna, the reader employs four antennas; instead of four tags there is now one tg. ‘Ten the spatial angles theta and phi that define the oren- ‘ation of the tag with respeet fo the central reader antenna (00.0) can be determined. IF distance d to the tags also ‘known (for example, from Signal strength measurement), the absolute coordinates ofthe tag (x2) an also bedetermined sdain dog veto sdsin ong ro Alternatively. the intersection of three hyperboloidal sar. ‘aces ean be determined using SD-PDOA. This method will ‘eas describe below: In particular, the reader can use eg sion (45) to determine the tay's location, Determining the Size of a Tagged Object with a MAMT. System (Multiple Antennas Multiple Tags) FIG. 8B depicts a flow diagram illustrating a suitable pro- cess 8008 for finding the volume of a tagged box-shaped ‘object using four RFID reader antennas A box-shaped object i tagged with four RFID tags. The first tag is placed on one ofthe comers of te box. The other thre tgs are each placed ata different commer of the bax that is connected tothe fist ag by an edge of the box. Then the spacing from tag 1 to tag 2 Js denoted by distance a, the spacing from tag Ito tag 3s denoted by distance b, and the spacing from tag Ito tag 4 is denoted by distance Fach of the distances a, b.and ccorrespondito the length fan edge of the box ‘Atblock 808, the system uses the four RFID reader anten- ‘nas to determine the Cartesian coordinates frthe locations of cach of the four tags using a process similar wo process 3002 or the SD-PDOA technique. The system stores the coordi- ‘ales forthe four tags in memory’ for further calculations Then at block 810, the system calelates the distance a between tag 1 (RL, yl, 71) and tag 2 (X2, y2, 72) using the sistance formula: loaner oa Atblock 815, the system calculates the distance b between fag I (xl yl, 21) and tag 3 (83, y3, 23) using the distance orm: aera [Next at block 820, the system caleulates the distance & between tag 1 (eI, yl, 71) and tag 4 (x, 4, 74) using the istanee formu minora At block 825, the system calculates the volume of the tagged box by using the Formulas V~abe, where the lengths oF theses ofthe hox are multiplied together. The process ends at block 899, eoUS 8,248,210 B2 17 Determining the Linear Velocity Veetor of Tapped Object with a MAMT System (Multiple Antennas Multiple Tags) FIG, 8C depicts a flow diagram ilustraring a suitable pro- ‘cess $00C for determining movement of a box-shapes objet having four taps on four comers ofthe box. ‘Atblock 830, the system uses the four RFID reader anten= ras to determine the Cartesian coordinates ofeach tag using 8 process similar to 300B oF the SD-PDOA technique. The RFID reader stores the coordinates for the four tgs in memory for further calculations. “Then at block 835, the system pauses fora period of time ‘and measures the elapsed time period. The duration of the pase can be pre-specified ‘AU block 840, the four REID reader antennas again deter- rine dhe Cartesian coordinates ofeach tag using the process 2008 and then stored. ‘The system can determine the linear velocity vector of an RFID tag by taking the time derivative of the tag's three- ‘dimensional positon: Thus, at block 848, the system calculates the differences between the x-coordinates, the y-ordinates, and the 7-20- ‘ordinates for one ofthe taps. At block 880, the system divides each of x yo and 7-€0- ‘ondinae differences by the duration of the pause taken between measurements of the tap’s positions. The three results are the components ofthe linear velocity vector, ‘At decision block 885, the system determines ifthe linear velocity vector of another tag needs tobe caleulate I there Js another ta (Block 8$5— Yes, the process returns to block ‘845 where the system calculates differences hetwoen the xccoordinates, the y-coordinates, and the zcoordinates for nother tg. the system bss calculated the linear velocity Vector ofall the tags (block 885-No), the provess ends at block 898, ‘Determining the Rotational Velocity Vector of a Tagged ‘Object with @ MAM System (Multiple Antennas Multiple Tags) ‘Once the three-dimensional coonlinates of an RFID tag have been determined the spherical coordinate angles theta and phi, as shown in FIG. 8A, can be straghtforwardlycal- ‘ulated, FIG. 8D depicts low diagram illustrating a suitable process S00 performed by the system for detemnining movement ofa box-shaped object having four tags. ‘Similar to calculating the linear velocity veetor, the rot tional velocity vector canalso be calevlated by taking thetime derivatives of ofientation angles of the object tagged with multiple taps Inti ease, a single antenna can be sed. At block 860, the system determines the coordinate pos tions of the four RFID tags using by the four REID reader ‘antennas using’ proces similar to process 300B, The system stores the coordinates for the four tags for further ealetla- ‘Then at block #62, the system pauses fora period of time ‘and measures the elapsed time period. The duration of the pase ean be pre-specified. At Block 864, the system again ‘determines coordinates ofeach tag as above and stores them, 0 o 18 Atblock 866, the system calculates the thetaand phi angles {ora fist tap fr the two dfleret times, before and alter the pause, Then at block 868, the system calculates the difference between the two theta measurements to obtain the change in theta, and at block 870, the system caleuates the difference between the two phi measurements to obtain the change ia phi. At block 872, the system divides the change in theta and the change in phi hy the elapsed time to obtain the compo ‘ents ofthe rotational velocity vector for that tag "AL decision block 874 the system determines if Use ro sional velocity veetor of another tag news to be ealeuated. IF there is another tag (block 874 Yes), the process returns to block 866 10 calculate the thetaand phi values foranother tag If the rotational velocity vector of all the tags have been calculated (block 874—No), the process ends at block 897, Application: Tag Bearing Sensing FIG. 9 shows an example system where four RFID reader antennas are used to determine the bearing of objects that each have one REID tag. This can be useful in & warehouse environment and many other scenarios. “Time Division PDOA (TD-PDOA) A more detailed analysis of the TD-PDOA technique will be discussed inthis section. A traveling wave is given by, where A, 0,2. and are the amplitude time, angular fe- quency, wavelength, and distance, respectively. Tnesation 21) the first argument of thecosine fanetion is define as dhe phase p. Thus, @ is related tothe distance as The second argument is related tothe cartier and can be ‘ignored for the purposes of location detection. Using the velocity of light ¢ results in In RFID systems that use hackscater propagation, so the total distance becomes wice the distanee between the wag and the reader. Thus, the phase @ from equation (23) becomes, Any phase measurement has an nxt modulo problem because the phase keeps repeating every 2x radians, however the change of phase is more relevant than the absolute phase. ‘ilfferentating the phase wih respect o stage in equa tion (28, results in ~ eae As shown from equation 25, the ratio of phase difference to sistance difereail isa constant, Inothee word, the changeUS 8,248,210 B2 19 Jn phase is proportional to distance, and this means that that the tag movement with respect tothe reader can be deter mined depending on whether the phase differential is postive ‘ornegativens longa the change does not exceed 300 degrees. A positive differential would indicate the tag is moving away fas opposed to a negative differential which wold mam that the tag is moving closer. The tog velocity ean be determined as well by using equation 24) when the velocity equation is ‘considered, 40d 08 26) ‘Numerically, equation (26) is iy taking two phase measurements at wo tm instants ‘ant, the tag velocity cam be determine with the caveat tat the pluse difference should not exceed 360 degrees, olher- wise, the time instance ti 00 late, Frequency Division PDOA (FD-PDOA) A detailed discussion of the FD-PDOA technique will be presented in this scetion. Any phase measurement has a nx ‘modulo problem heeause the phase keeps repeating every 2 radians, however the change of phase is more relevant rather than the absolute phase, Dillerentating thephase withrespoct to frequency neque tion (24), results i 2) en Asshown in equation (29), the distance dean be calculated by varying pase with respect to Frequency. Even though the phase differential can have the nt modulo effect, it ean be avoided by choosing the variables appropriately. For instance, by considering somte numbers in equation (29), with the distance ranging from I to 15 feet at two different fre- quency separations ie, Shap Me Say s342indegees a Shag? Me tien EAM a As shown in equation (30, the distance that can be eae lated without triggering the nv modulo problem canbe ‘extended by using a smaller frequency separation. lowever forthe sillr frequency separation to work, the phase measurement should be Very precise with small mare Sfindeane) 0 o 20 an for tolerance, European regulations restrict the maxim Trequency separation to be 2 MHz whereas 29 MHz separa- tion is posible inthe US. FIG. 1 shows the plot of the phase of two frequencies and stance. There are two plots in the figure, the upper plot shows the phase changes at theta frequencies with distance but it repeats every 360 degrees. Unwrapping the phase exposes te linearity of thephase with respoct to distanee, and ‘his.can bo seen in the lower plot FIG. 11 shows the plot of the phase difference at two requencies as a function of distance, At the two frequencies ‘considered, the phase difference is within 360 degrees, and the distance or ringe ofthe tag ean be calculated as shown ia FIG. 12 which shows a plot of the calculated distanced to the ‘ctu distance ‘Mathematically the range calculated can be formulated in the familiar distance equation as, 1 on where (59.2) (67171), and #, are the locations ofthe tag. reader antenna and the distance berween them respectively. The only unknown is the location of tag since the reader's antenna postion is known a prior, and the distance ean be calculated based on the measurements explained above. Equation (31) represents a sphere of radius r,. Ploting equation (31) results ina three dimensional figure of a sphere and the tag Tocation can be anywhere on the surface of the sphere. Extending the same type of meastrements to two ‘more antennas that are spatially distinct will result in wo snore spheres with radi andr The intersection of any two ‘ofthese spheres is mo dimensional circle that i parallel to ‘to ofthe axes, The intersection of thre spheres is point, ‘and this would be the loetion ofthe tag ‘Spatial Division PDOA (SD-PDOA) ‘The SD-PDOA technique willbe deseribedin detail inthis section, Distance, time, frequency, and phase are related by the equations, where @, ft, ¢, hand dare the phase, frequency, time, speed of light, wavelength, and distance respectively. Using the above equations results in sit _ ose @ “The phase measurement hasan modulo problem because the phase keeps circulating every 2x radians, however this problem can he minimized by considering the phase differ fence rberthaa the absolute pase ‘he phase differential is obtained by using separate trans ‘nit and receive antennas, Using the same transnit antenna but receiving the tag responses on multiple antennas, the phase differential can be calculated as follows, Let @4, dh, Gd, be the phases and distances of the tag response meastired and calculated from antennas 1 and 2, ving equation (3),US 8,248,210 B2 2 a ng ay 6) oe Equation (34) shows another relation, oe) " i014 —ay 24 z ‘Ths, the diference in distances between the tag and each ‘ofthe antennas should be less than half the wavelength such that the phase difference is Tess than 180 degrees to avoid pase ambiguity. An easy way to achieve this is by Keeping the two antennss separated by a distance tht is less than all the wavelength, In particular, the receive antenna system should be designed to avoid coupling eflects which would otherwise lead to exroneons measurements Tn analytical geometry, a hyperbola is defined as the locus ‘ofall points ina plane whose difference of distances fom two fixed poiats is constant, Mathematically, the hyperbola is ‘defined by the equation, ‘where (3.0.0), (40,0) are the vertices ofthe hyperbola and, FaP, PIG. 13 shows a plot ofa two shosted hyperbola ‘with asymptote Ifthe two fixed points (-0.00), (0,0) in FIG. 13 were the ‘wo reveiving antennas, then calculating the distances ofthe tag ata particular position from these (wo antennas wing the phase equations of 35), the tag location could be anywhere ‘on the right or left hyperbola, Since the sign ofthe phase “difference is known, the tag location eould be only on the lef ‘orthe right hyperbola, thus indicating the direction of the ag, Solving equation (37) for y, 8) From equation (37), ifxa such thatthe tags fartheraway from the antenna, the angle of dreetion can be approximated by theasymptotes as shown in FIG. 13. Fortheabove plot, the vertices “a of the hyperbola areata distance of 1.3 gm from the origin, and the antenna points have a separation distance ‘of half ofa wavelength which would be about 16.4 em fora D915 Milz receiver So ifthe x-intercept ofthe ta locations ‘are more than a wavelength away, the angle of direction aa be approximated by the asymptotes. As the tag moves infront ofthe antennas, it traces different hyperbolse since the tag distances from the antenna, and hence, the difference in distance changes. This can be seen from the plot in FIG. 14 where three pairs of hyperbola are shown in terms ofthe pase difference of arivals, and this is the same as the distance difference as shown in equation (4). The six curves represent six different positions ofa tag a it movesin font a the receive antennas, andthe PDOA's range from ~50 10-450 degrees 0 o 2 A plot ofthe phase difference as a function of distance is shown FIG, 15 as the tag, which is on the same plane a the receive antennas, moves in parallel to the front of the (wo receiving antennas fora distance of 48 inches. "As tho tag moves from the lft othe ght, thedifferenee in stances from the tg to the antennas goes from negative to ‘zero ndthen positive andthe PDOA reflcts that as shown ia FIG. 1S, The angle or direction ofthe tag ean be approximated by ving the PDOA ifthe tg is farther away fom the reader as shown in equation (38) by using the slope of the asyempote ‘The vertex ofthe hyperbola ‘ais given by, arited,) 0) ‘Using equation (34) in the above equation, the vertex “is aiven by nook ‘The angle is then calculated using the slope ofthe asymp tote given in equation 38) a= “The angle can also be determined by usin the small angle approximation ifthe distances ofthe lag to the antennas are {ar enough a, Mathematically i, Ys 2) (as Yar) ad (X, ys 2) ane the locations of the wo receiving antennae and the ag. respectively then using the distance formula, results i. Virgo Voor aen Pid) a Substituting (x...) (6. Yaa 2) with (-€.0.0), (6.00) and substituting the dilference of distances dy, with 2a, fafler some algebraic manipulation an equation of s hypetbo- Toi of ovo sheets representing a tree dimensional surface results ‘With just ovo dimensions, equation (44) tums into a hyper bola as in equation (33), Extending the sametypeof measurements a third ceive antenna at (XY. 75) that is spatially dstinet from the other ‘so ill result na thirddistance measorement d ‘This, three hhypetboloid surfaces would be defined with three pairs of distance differences, i.e. (dj-4,). (dys) and (dy-d,). Using the distance formula as before, results in Vor Vora HmnP ae ad) Vora rim emaiUS 8,248,210 B2 23 Vise Ves PurnP Head) “The intersection of these three bypetboloid surfaces is point as shown in FIG. 16. Numerically, the three non-linear equa tions (45) can be solved to determine the location ofthe tag Experimental Prototype for Three-dimensional Spatial ‘Mentfication of RFID Tags Anexperimental prototype built to spatially sensean object ‘coupled to RFID taps is deseribed below. By making modi fications to a standard RFID reader with a single channel receiver and four antenna ports such as the IFS/IMS series RFID reader manufactured by Intermec of Everett, Wash thre-dimensional tag position estimation can be performed using three-angle information. Modifications made 1 the Sandard reader are shown as the portions shaded gray in the block diagram in FIG. 17. The changes include updated {innware and slight modifications io connections between the reulator, the RF switch, andthe antenna ports FIG. 17B shows ablock diagram of an RFID reader 17008, that can determine spatial identification information about 2 tagged object. The RFID reader 1700B can include one or ‘more ofthe following elements: a processor 1710, transmit (er 1720, a transmitting antenna 1722, a receiver 1730, an RF switch 1738, 2 receiving antenna 1737, « memory 1760, ‘npuvoutput devices 1770, and a power supply 1780. TA processor 1710 runs RFID reader applications. The pro- ‘cessor is communicatively coupled to the transmitter 1720 land the receiver 1730. The transmitter 1720 generates and ‘encodes RF queries to be seat to REID tags. The RF queries are thea tansmited by the tansmiting antenna 1722 “The receiving antennas 1737 reoeive RF responses ftom RFID tags, and the RF switel 1738 alternately couples the receiver 1730 to each of te reviving antennas 1737, depend- ‘ng upon which receiving antenna the processor needs infor- ‘mation from, Inone example there can be multiple receivers 1730, and the number of receivers is less than or equal othe numberof receiving antennas 1737. For the case Where the umber of receivers 1730 equals the number of receiving ‘antennas, no RF switch 1788 is necessary to couple benween, receivers and receiving antennas. The receiver 1730 demodu- lates ag response into an in-phase component anda quadra- ture component. The processor 1710 then uses these signals toccaleulate« phase foreach tg response. block diagram of a demodulator is shown below in FIG. 24 In one example, if more than one transmiting antenna 1722 is used, a second RF switch altemately couples the transmitter 1720 to each ofthe transmitting antennas 1722. Similar to receivers, there can be multiple transmitters 1720, ‘where the numberof transmitters isles than or exalt the humber of transmitting antennas, and no RP switch isneded i the number of transmitters 1720 equals the aumber of teunsmitting antennas 1722 none example, the sae physical antenna ean be coupled ‘alternately to the tansmittee 1720 and the receiver 1730, through the RF switch 1735. ln this configuration, the same anfenna can transmit RF signal to and receive RF signals fom RFID tags. ‘Memory 1760 can inchide but i not limited 40, RAM, ROM, and any combination of volatile and. non-volatile ‘memory. An inpuvoutput device 1770 can include, but is not Timited to, triggers to start and stop the RFID reader oF 10 initiate other REID reader functions, visual displays, speak ‘ers, and communication doviees hat operate through wired oF ieless commisnictions. A power supply 1780 ean include, but is aot ited to, a battery 0 ntennavemitter is surounded by tree equally spaced recep- ‘ion antennas. TRFID reader software may have an option for enabling thrce-timensional spatial identification af tags. When this ‘option is enabled, the throughput (tags/Second) may slows ‘down because several tg responses may need to be received from the tag in order to measure all angles and identify its locaton as shown in FIG. 19 for EPC Gen? protocol. The switching ean also be perfomed in the middle of @ tag ‘sponse ifthe switching time i short enough and transcviver| frchitcture permit, "FIG. 19 illustrates tht tag data identification rate doesnot Jineaely degrade in RFID readers that perform spatial ident fication with a single chaanel receiver (At least one Query and one Acknowledge are required by Gen? data idenifea- ‘ion, and only one extra Query is required todo spatial iden- ‘ifcation) Other time domain sequences may als be used ‘The removable fire with receiving antennas can have erent form Factors and a different sumber of receiving ‘anna. One example i showa in FIG, 20, ‘Additionally, of instead of muliple receiving antennas, ‘multiple transmitting antennas ean also be used for spatial identification (eg. three antennas may transmit and one Antenna may receive). Additionally, switching ean be intr- title! switching between transmitting antennas can take place between queries and acknowledgements and switching Fetween receiving antennas can take place between tag responses, ‘General Comments on Spatial Kdemtifieation ‘The following sections describe information that is rel- evant obiaining phase measurements of RFID tag responses for RFID spatial sensing of tagged abjocs ‘Separation of Recerving Antennas [dealy. the distance between receiving antennas should be Jess tan the shortest wavelength, which i approximately 31 ‘at 956 MHz, to avoid any “modulo 2x” issues that arise ith measuring the difference of distances. owever, larger Separation between receiving antennas ean sometimes assist fn sceurtely measuring smaller angles. Ifthe maxiniim Angle of tag is practically limited by the beamwidth ofthe Immnsanittiag antenna, the separation of receiving antennas could be larger than 30 om to provide more accuruey ia ‘measuring stall angles. Calibration Calibration of phase errors inthe reader should occur after installation of the reader system singe the reader, antennas, fand connecting RF cables can all impact the phase eror However, calibration of phase errors ean occur at the mann Tiacturer ifthe reader and antennas are assembled together (On-sitecalibration ean be simplified witha calibration test et cconsircted with a known surface, ea lat pice of eard- ‘board, with fags having known data valves located at known positions on the surface. When the surface is presented t known location before the reader system, the reader can oper- fate though a calibration sequence to determine the pase ‘errors, Calibration of the gain errors for he T and Q chanels ‘ean oceurat the time thereader is manufactured because these ferors are independent of the antennas and comecting RF cables Impact of Spatial Mentitication on Data Mentitiation Throughput ‘he receiving antennas ean be multiplexed into. one receiver or attached 10 individual receivers, respectively called a single channel receiver or multi-channel receiver. A single channel receiver implementation in a reader system requires two isolated responses from a gone for each receiving antenna —wo determine one angle. Using the Gen? protocol, two responses, RNIG and EPC: from commands (Query and Acknowledge, naturally occur during data identUS 8,248,210 B2 25 0 Gen? throughput will aot degrade using a single ‘channel receiver when measuring one angle, Measuring a tional angles requires additional responses using a single ‘chanel receiver, so measuring (wo or more angles can ‘degrade the rate of Gea? data identification, Por wo or more angles, a multi-channel receiver ean provide spatial identif- ‘ation without degradation of the Gen? data identification “Tag Motion The use of sequential (multiple) responses to determine ‘angle, such 2s with single channel receiver implementations, assumes thatthe tag does not move significantly between, response limes. Responses for Gen? occur within 10 ms, and if the aocuraey ofthe phase angle is limited to 10 degrees, Which corresponds to less than 1 em, movement ofthe tg should be limited to 1 misee, 0 3.6 kv. Propagation Faviconment ‘The presented method was described for a free-space propagation environment without the presence of reflective surfaces. The method can also be expected to work reliably in olher realistic environments that ean be elutered including, but not limited to, office, warehouse, and conveyor belt envi ronments, where multi-path effet re present, songs the signal arriving directly from the RFID tag location is domi rant compured {o multiple relected signals eeriving Irom ‘other directions. Typcelly, this requires adic line of sight, between the RFID ta an the RFID reader tobe either un0b- stricted of obstructed only with objects whose dimensions ‘and properties do aot significantly alter the phase of prop tating RF signals. Non-limiting examples of these types of ‘objects are layers of cardboard and pieces of wood, Direction Angle Estimation Direction estimation of the angle from an interrogator toa tag logically requires one transmit and two receive antennas ‘onthe interrogator. In practice, these three logical antennas ‘could he merged into two physical antennas, sich as ane foe teansmivreceive and another for receive onl; but estimation ‘ofthe direction angle is best understood with the three logical ‘antennas shown ia FIG. 21, The interrogator illuminates a tag with constant power from the tensmit antenna, Xe, and the interrogator, either simultaneously or sequentially, receives signals Irom the we in rceiver anteanas Rev, and Rev, n FIG. 21, the antennas ‘arco-linear, the receive antennas are separated by distance, the transmit antenna i inthe middle of the receive antennas, and the antennas and tag are co-planar. The dilereace ofthe distances d andd,,erween the tag and antennas canbe wsed. to-estimate the angle. FIG. 22 shows a diagram ofthe relevant angles for the configuration with thie logical antennas. “The actual angle ofthe tag, ©,, is formed from the transmit antenna to the fag in the plane ofthe antennas and tag. AR ‘estimate ofthe actual ange called the measured angle, Onis ‘constructed using the difference of the distances. Specialy, the measured angle is computed by assuming the difference (d.-) is the “opposite” side of @ right triangle with the sistance between the antennas (a as the “hypotenuse”: tendo 6) Direction Estimation roe ‘Theestimatoo the direction usinga difference ofiistances js similar to the first assumption behind Young's “Double Slit” experiment used in optics to explain the periodic pattern that light can ereate. Any estimation has 0 o 26 and the direction ange estimatio between the transmit antenna and between the receiving antenna “Ananalytical error formula for direction estimation ean be written a8! limited by radi “" ‘where te distances ean be expresses functions of distance and angle as (10a Na, 18100 Meet Frit a8 Var, “ The plotof the error asa fuetion of distance tothe tag and angle is shown in FIG. 23 forthe three-anteana case, where a ‘maximum antenna separation of one foot (4-1 M) and tag stances more than | Toot om the reader (et 1) were use Cross-setions ofthis surface result in plots of error versus angle fr fixed distances, For distances preter than 1 fot, the eror does not exceed 5 degrees and becomes negligible at afew fect. Indeed, one fan show analytically thatthe errr approaches zer0 when bmi 8) = ™ sie Los =(L— fri) =A a = [Asa simple rue, the error in angle estimation is less than +44 degroes when the distance 10 the tg is greater than the distance berween the eeeiving antennas Phase Caleutation The phase response othe tag is ealeulted by measuring the signal strength of and Q signals ofthe demodulator ‘output as shown in the black diagram in FIG. 24 ‘The I and Q signals are defined mathematically as, aio) sin Here Land Q are the RMS values ofa set of samples of the tg response captured during decoding a follows, “ where Land q are samples ofthe tag response for the I and Q channels, respectively ‘To get the polarity of the signals, dhe polarity of the FMO violation (ple bit violation) could be used for both GEN2 ‘and ISOS protocols. Polarity is relevant for determining the ‘quadants ofthe phase “The phase angle is calculated from equation SO)by using the relationshipUS 8,248,210 B2 27 Phase Angle Estimation Estimating the direction of tag depends on theaceuraey of ‘estimating the difference in distances from the tag to cach of the receiving antennss. This distance is often eferred to asthe phase delay between antennas, andl any error in measuring the phase delay will eause an error in estimating the direction. ‘The voltage values of the received "I" (in-phase) and "Q' (quadrature phase) signals in each antenna permit measure- ment ofthe phase difference “The received sigal in an RFID reader from a tg is WL dnd % ncaa 9 hia eof se syne re] 2 forte neat nha A toon He where 1,6) RMS Voltage of he in-phase signal detected by the “eh ‘Q(¢) RMS Voltage ofthe quadrature phase signal detected by the ‘th reeiver Time {Frequency of radiowave P Intensity of RF power incident on tag 4, Distanee between tag and transmitting antenna 4 Distance between ty and “ith receiving antenna TAE() In-phase amplitude ertorin eader forin-phase signal forth’ receiver ‘QAE(!) Quad. phase amplitude eror in reer for quad phase signal forth receiver ‘AC. p) Amplitide ofthe transmitted signal by the tag Kd) Path loss fom tag to “rth receiver antenna 2 Wavelength of radiowaveat frequency, 2-eif ‘¢Ep) Phase tansmited by tae PI; ( Phase error due inthe reader fom the ‘th antenna ‘The phase angle ofthe tag signal from receiving anteanas 1 and 2 ae define as oe A lee pp PEA) 2h ean perein After removing the receiver gain errors by calibration, the phase angle st receiving antennas 1 and 2 can be derived by the ratio of the Tand Q voltages: 6) 20 ie) aun Within an ambiguity of modulo 2¢, the differene ofthe phase angles will make the difference of distances more readily apparent PEE bed 0 28 ngatagatoqualdistance between the two receiving antennas, can remove the difference in phase err, and afer calibration, the difference of distances simply becomes: 229 on ro This difference of distances can be used in estiating the rection angle. Additionally, this diference of distances Aivided bythe speed of ight equals the TDOA of signals into the receiving antennas. ‘Only tag responses forthe reader commands that can be decoded are wed in calculating the I and Q values. The threshold for detection is the ability to detect the preamble ‘within the time period specific by the relevant specification (SO-6B, GEN2 ete). Ona successful decode, samples of | ‘and Qvoliages ofthe ag response are averaged ge the rio ‘of [and Qto be used in the above calculation, Depending on the polarities ofthe samples, the eoresponding quadrant is ddced and used in the calculation ofthe arctan values, Receiver Requirements Accurate phase measurements ate critical for acquiring spatial identification information about a tagged object using the TD-PDOA, FD-PDOA, and. SD-PDOA techniques Receiver requirements needed to obtain the aecurate phase ‘measurements are discussed below: Receive Signal Saturation ‘Traditionally the phase ofthe tag signal were not consid cred relevant in decoding the tp because the ultimate objec- tive was to decode the tag response to collet the data, Con- sequently, high gains were used and if cost was a ‘consideration a lower resolution analog to digital converter (ADC) wouldbe preferred. However, for location sensing, the phase ofthe tag is relevant, and the VQ signals of the tag response coming out ofthe ADC cannot become saturated bocatse the phase information is lost ifthe signals get sat- rated. Thus, awide dynamic range the weceiver is necessary. FFor a variety of reasons, the tag responses can become saturated, Insuch eases, an adaptive gainin thereceve path or ‘adaptive transmit power in the transmit path could mitigate the saturation effets, Linear Receivers ‘The RF receive cireuit should be linear A signal 1 noise (SIN) ratio greater than 20 dB is preferable. Filtering ‘The signals into the ADC should be raw or filtered with Iineae phase filters that are common to bth Iand Q channels Any non-linear filters may change the phase ofthe response, ‘thus impacting the location caleulations ‘A separate transmit and reveive antenna capability is ‘needed if SD-PDOA is used for location sensing of sta. Tmbalances in the Demodulator Imbalances in the | and Q path a the downeonverter should be measured and eompensited in the ealculation of phase The imbalances ean bea combination gain, phase or offset Ofte three imbalances, the phase and gain imbalances need to be measured at the eader assembly/testverification time and stored in non-volatile memory 10 be used later for the ‘iniphase compensation. Any DC offsetean be compensated ‘during messurement time by caleulating and cancelling the [DC offer before calculating the phase angles. FIG. 25 shows a plot of RSSI (received signal strength indicator) a5 a fune- tion of distance when there are no imbalances inthe demod- JatorUS 8,248,210 B2 29 FIG, 263s the plot of RSS1 asa function of distance with a phase imbalance of 20 degrees inthe I channel. The plot eno Jonger monotonically decreasing but shows ripples thst area {quarter of a wavelength spat. gin imbalance in one of the ‘channels may havea similar ripple effect. FIG. 27 shows the RSSI plot with a DC offset in the 1 ‘channel. The ripples now ate alfa wavelength spar. FIG,28 shows the SSI plot with botha DC offketand gain imbalance. The ripples area litle different but again half & wavelength apart, ‘As can be seen from the above figures, the phase calcul tions based on signals with imbalances would be erroneous, ‘With the imbalances, equstions (50) can he defined as Ina 800, C940, =) where G,@,D,, Dg are the gain imbalance in the I channel the phase imbalance in the Q channel, ad DC offsets in the respective channels The DC offsets can be cancelled by aking the mean ofthe readings and then subtracting the mean from each of the readings. Modifying equations (59) for DC offset eancella- tion, results in Ignoring the DC offsets as they can be cancelled easily during the measurements, using equation (56) and simple trigonometry. results in Fn) eQcosi) @ ‘With some linear algebra, equations (61) ean be written as Co yo tm) The gain imbalance and the phase imbalance can be mea sured during the handware verification time and can be stored inthe non-volatile memory. These values could then be used ‘during the measurement time to calculate the true RMS val- ues ofthe I and Q channels by using equations (62), ‘Multipath Etfecs ‘Maltipath effets arising from reflections of RE signals from surfaces in the envitonmient are discussed below in ‘conjunction withthe TD-PDOA, FD-PDOA, and SD-PDOA, techniques. Experiments measurements using each of these techniques are also presented below. ‘Using the traveling wave equation (21), the multipath sig ral V received at the reader antenna from the tag ean be formulated as @ 0 o 30 ‘Te variable i represents the multiple signal paths, and A, and ¢, represent the amplitude and phase of the signal, respectively; forthe multiple signal paths ‘Mallpath effects are relatively less known in passive RFID and the conventional wisdom has been thatthe effects are not ‘as dominant as they are ina typical wireless communication system, The reasons cold he the relatively shorter distances between the reader antenna and the tag. aud the power ofthe tag. With these assumptions, equation (63) becomes. PA cian « ‘where, and, aretheamplitadeand phase ofthe direst path signal and A,>9A,, 122 Tn. typical mobile midio chanel, the ground reflection (wo-ay) model has been used for studying propagation char- acteristics. Inthis model, vo signal paths are considered, one is the dizeet path, and the other isthe ground reflected path For this model, equation (63) becomes, «6 coda) ‘where =I andi~2are the direct and the reflected signal paths, respectively. uation (65) can be expressed! numerically to make it sore convenicat for signal processing, “ Svrore senna ‘where #(a) and e(n-m)are he direct and reflected signals. The reflected signal 1(o-m) isthe diteet signal delayed by m samples, The delay of m samples is due to the difference ia istanees between the direct and reflected path, and this dif ‘erential distance is given by. « where hy and hr are the heights of the transmitter and the receiver, andd isthe distance between the transmitter and the Towever, the above equation is applicable when the di ances are very lange as ina typical radio channel. To match the experimental data where a plot of RSSI against distance showed ripples that repeatedat distances of half wavelengths, the delay m can be treated as, hi where ff and 2 ae the sampling frequency, modulation ‘requency, and wavelength respectively. FIG. 29 showsa plot fof power against distance using the two may model modified forthe RFID dataUS 8,248,210 B2 31 Ascanbe seen in the figure, the ripples in the plot repeat a distances of half ofa wavelength This is very similar tothe ‘experimental data, The amplitude varies inversely to the square ofthe distance in FIG. 29, as ina typical propagation model. A Rayleigh distribution characterizes amplitude $ variation, The fading channel plotted above takes into account only the delay associated with the relected path, not any flat fading that uses the Rayleigh distribution. In other ‘words, feequency soletive fading is occurring, Also, small, scale ding associated with Doppler spread is not consid- ered ‘Measurements Experimental measurements obtained using TD-PDOA, ED-PDOA, and SD-PDOA are presented in the sections below TD-PDOA The experiment for this setup was conducted in labora tory that had some refletive surfies. The measurements were done in the 915 MHz band, A linear translator was used 2 ‘fo move the tag though a distance range of 48 inches staring ‘ataround 12 inches from the antenna. Any imbalances were measured and compensated by using the methods described above. A nearly polarized tag tuned for 866 Miz was used. FIG. 30 shows therelationofthephase change with respect. > tothechange in distance. The horizontal ine she theoretical value and is constant as derived in equation (64). At the ‘chosen 915 MHz band, the constant value should be approxi mately 62 degrees at a distance of 1.125 inches. The ether Tinesare the measured phase dfferentialst diferent frequen- cies averaged over seven pons. Averaging over approxi mately seven points seems 10 he optimal because of the ples that repeat at distance ual tothe wavelength ofthe 915 MHz band. The ripples are deseribed in more detail inthe ‘The measured curves in the above figure show that there is ‘more deviation from the theoretical vale. FIG. M isobiained under the same conkltons, except the frequency has been reduced by 100 MFI, resulting in measured phase dfferen- tials that are much closer 10 the theoretical value This dis- ‘repaney is deseribed further in the next section where it ‘eases problems as well ‘A nit change in tag movement distance should produce a ‘constant change in phase. Thus, measurement ofa constant phase is indicative thatthe tag movement and velocity is being detected FD-PDOA, The experiment for this setup was the same as the one wed {or the TD-PDOA method that was deseribe inthe previous sccton, However, two different environmeats Were used. The first environment was inthe laboratory where reflective su- faces Were present, and the second environment Was ua snechoic chamber. All the igure inthis section were con- ‘ducted in the laboratory eavironment unless stated speci cally to indicate thatthe anechoic chamber was used Shown in FIG. 32 is a plot of the phase as a funetion of sistance for different channel in the 915 MHz baad. The Upper plotin FIG. 33 shows the phase of two channels against «distance, while the lower plotinthe figure showsthe phasesof these channels unwrapped ‘Onc the reasons forthe differences between FIG. 38nd FIG. 30s the presence ofan addtional term in equation (24) resullng from an unknown contrition to the phase by the antenna cables and the wiring circuitry in the reader. So ‘aking this into aecount, the equation (24) becomes: 32 gnarl a PE o where PE is the phase enor due to the cables. The phase error fs dependent on the frequency of operation but is assumed to fot be dependent on the distance, Consequently, the pase error is constant forthe spanned distance atthe frequency of ‘operation. Mathematically, ican be represented 3, mrsselan o where Ad, is the additional distance due to cable lengths. (Combining the to equations rests in arLiaead ae Phase errorcan be calculated by taking the measurements of phase at a knows distance and then calculating the pase femur PE. ln other words, tertat?in cn where ai the measured phase at Frequency f, 204 is the theoretical phase at he same frequency. PE, can be Cal culated as Fite ~ By calculating PE at frequency ina similar manner the phase eror differential APE, due tothe two drequencies ia ‘operation is given by ‘By including the phase erordiferential erm, the distance “a canbe ealeutated by using the equation (56) as, ing the phase errors as in equation (74) for the two frequencies in FIG. 33, FIG. 34 is plotted for phase as 2 Tunetion of distance The distance or range forthe phase measurements fom PIG. 4 canbewsedto calulatethe distance andthe plots are shown in FIG. 38 below. Clearly, dhe distance does not match the theoretical plots shown in FIG. 325 the plot shows ripples that repeat at halt wavelengths which mirror the RSS plots shawn in FIG, 33 ‘when the demodulator has imbalances with DC offsets or the ‘0 ray plots for multipath effects shown in FIG. 30. FIG. 36 shows the RSSI plots for different channels inthe 915 METZ ‘and, and the ripples ean be seen repeating here st hall wave- Jength distances. Also, in FIG. 36, the RSSI power only goes down by about 3 dB overa distance of $4 inches, Using the Pris fee space transmission equation where the power is inversely proportinal to the fourth power ofthe distance, oF arguably the third power of the distance, the signal should ‘have gone dessa by’ ahout 67 dB or $0 dB, respectively. This ‘cas that the reflected power of the tg i almost constant if ot non-linearUS 8,248,210 B2 33 Also plotted below in FIG, 37 isthe pase error bene the theoretical values of the phase calculated over distance wit the measured phase values over the same distance at different frequencies ‘The jumps inthe plots arise because te phase goes from 0 to 360 degrees snd could be mace transparent if unwrapped. The phase ereor is monotonically decreasing eventhough it should have boon a constant ata lrequency based on equation (74) This seems to indicate the change in phase eroris due ‘8 change in Trequency. The slope of the plot indicates the ‘change is occurring at about 6 degrees per inch of distance ‘change. FIG. 38 shows the pase error plotted with respect 10 sistance but the theoretical phases calculated ata frequency that is about 100 MHz lower thaa the earrer frequency, and thisis based on the degree slope. The measured phase enors ‘ae more onstant over the distance a the changed frequency. “The incident power at tg is inversely proportional tothe tag’s distance to the reader. The frequency change to com pensate forthe phase errorchange with respectto distancecan ‘bean inication that the tax phase might be dependent on the distance or the incident power fom the reader, Considering the frequeney compensation for the phase ‘ertor, equation (71) ean be writen as p= Sursasuteats ” ‘where isthe frequency compensation forthe phase ertor ‘change due to a change in the tay's incident power. The Jrequency compensation ean be rewriten as “Taking the differential phase at two frequencies f, and f, results in id + fades + 2 Sade fle feats aady ‘Simplifying further, revolts in i AM Hh fe = So for the FD-PDOA method, the addtional tem Af, ia ‘equation (61) will get cancelled, and te second tem ia the above equation isthe phase eror term APEy This gives FD-PDOA a great advantage because the effets ‘of tg incident power change on the tg’s phase is avoided, ‘whereas the TD-PDOA will experience this effect. Again taking the differential phase at two distances d, and d rests Ud, 188+ + o Sed fy M24 Bol BH) 0 o 34 ‘Simplifying aps, results in see Sip essoua a oo “The above equation is ike adding Af 1o equation (70), a qiftsn ay ‘The effects of adding the aditional frequency is seen in FIG. 34, where dhe measured differential phase matehes the ‘theoretical dlfeeatil phase. Sines the phase change ia TD- PDOA must be Kept within 360 degrees to vod the modulo cffet, the addtional frequency term ean be added in terms of ‘addtional phase change as, 7 where isthe measured phase, isthe frequency, and isthe addition phase at each measuiernent point FIG. 39 isa plot ofthe RSS with distance using the same setup as above but in an anechoie chamber. The ripples are barely visible which indicates that te ripples that were sca ‘outside the chamber might be more dve to multipath rather ‘han any imbalances. “The plotof the calculated range with respectto the distance isshovvn inFIG, 40, The erors are within about S inches rom the actual range, 'SD-PDOS, The experiment for this setup was conducted in an anechoie chamber, lbeitan imperfect one. Tinea translator ‘was used to mave the tag in parallel tothe front ofthe oveiv~ ing antennas through a range of 48 inches as shown below in 41 Imbalances were measured and compensated by using the sncthods deserihed above, The 865 MHz band was used for testing. ‘As can be seen in FIG. 41 the taz moves from right to left and in inerements of ths of an inch. For each postion of the tag, tWo measurements of phase ae performed, one foreach antenna, andthe phasedifferenceiscalculated. FIG. 42 shows ‘plot ofthe phase difference with respect to the distance ‘The diagonal line in FIG. 42 is the theoretical PDOA with respect distance, whereas the red points are the messured And calculated PDOA. The lower part a the figure shows the measured values by taking into aecount phase errors ine ‘duced by the eable lengths. The phase errs ean be compen- sited by using a known PDOA at any particule poiat Ty cally the point chosen is the origin of the two dimensional plane as the PDOA will theoretically be zero. The pase eror ‘an be calibrated and used forthe measurement and ecu tion of PDOA Tater. The plise exror compensation ean be elermined as, PDOA, and PDOA,, are the known PDOA and measured PDOA aa certain point. Ifthe origin is chosen, the known PDOA would be zero, and the phase emor would be the ‘measured PDOA at that point. With a known phase erro, the PDOA at different points can be determined as, where PDOA. isthe compensated PDOAUS 8,248,210 B2 35 The angle or the direction ofa tay can be calculated from PDOA using equations (78) and (70). FIG. 48 shows plot of the directional angleasa funetionof distances the tag moves from right to left in parallel to the reocive antennas. The ‘diagonal ineisthe theoretically calculaedangle, whereasthe s reand grcen lines correspond the measured and calculated angle. The green line isthe measured angle for one channel, ‘whereas the redline is the median ofthe distance calculation Jorfivechannes in the 900 Mz range at each of the distance points, anda median filter was used. The media filter i very ‘useful in processing backscatter propagation with multipath ‘effects because itis very simple and fst, and thus efficient ‘As can be seen in FIG, 43, the measured and calculated values follow the theoretical values fel well Tag movement and angle of direction can be done ‘omeasurements and calculated quite easily. [deni location ofthe tag requires thee readings and more ealeu SUMMARY, Another aspect of any of the methods described herein is including a Quality of Service (QOS) indicator. This provides ood feedback to the user regarding the validity ofthe data (QOS Would need redundant measurements which would alfeet the performance. With some degradation of perfor: ‘mance, the measurement quality would be greatly enhanced. The redundaney could be multiple measurements ata point in, terms of one channel or multiple channel, maybe averaging ‘of dats aver a set of points and soon. » ‘Table 2 below summarizes the current status of spatial ‘dentiiation 36 ‘vention tothe precise form diselosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent ‘molfications are possible within the scope of the invention fas those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For ‘example, while a barcode seanner for reading barcodes are ‘mentioned, any reading apparatus for reding machine-read- able symbols may be used under the priniples disclosed herein. Further any specific numbers noted herein are only ‘examples: altemnative implementations may employ differing. values or ranges. ‘The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied wo other systems, not necessarily the system described ahve, The elements aad acts ofthe various embodiments ‘described above can he combined to provide further embodi- meats. While the above description describes eertsin embed ‘meats of the iaventon, and describes the best mode contem- plated, no mater how detailed the above appears intext, the vention can be practiced in many ways. Details ofthe sys- ‘fem may vary considerably in its implementation details, While sill being encompassed by the invention diselosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing ceriin features or aspects othe invention shoud ‘not be taken to imply thatthe terminology is being redefined herein to berestricted tn any specific characteristics, estes, ‘or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated, In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construc to limit the invention to the specific ‘embodiments disclosed in the specification, ualess the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such tems. TABLE ype Copales Hwee Commons Tap elosy toed Any tpn eae FD.PDOA Tag ieunctange uiag Setup. ania can be SORD08 Tagapeeeson Septe It should be noted that there are other techniques using

You might also like

• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

  

  From Everand

  The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

  Mark Manson

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (5814)
• The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

  

  From Everand

  The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

  Brene Brown

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (1092)
• Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

  

  From Everand

  Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

  Chris Voss

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (845)
• • Magazines
  • Podcasts
  • Sheet music
• Principles: Life and Work

  

  From Everand

  Principles: Life and Work

  Ray Dalio

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (609)
• The Glass Castle: A Memoir

  

  From Everand

  The Glass Castle: A Memoir

  Jeannette Walls

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (1717)
• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

  

  From Everand

  Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

  Angela Duckworth

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (590)
• Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel

  Jesmyn Ward

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (1104)
• Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

  

  From Everand

  Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race

  Margot Lee Shetterly

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (897)
• Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

  

  From Everand

  Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

  Phil Knight

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (540)
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower

  

  From Everand

  The Perks of Being a Wallflower

  Stephen Chbosky

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (2104)
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

  

  From Everand

  The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

  Ben Horowitz

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (348)
• Bad Feminist: Essays

  

  From Everand

  Bad Feminist: Essays

  Roxane Gay

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (1018)
• Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

  

  From Everand

  Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future

  Ashlee Vance

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (474)
• Her Body and Other Parties: Stories

  

  From Everand

  Her Body and Other Parties: Stories

  Carmen Maria Machado

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (822)
• The Outsider: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  The Outsider: A Novel

  Stephen King

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (1866)
• The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

  

  From Everand

  The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

  Siddhartha Mukherjee

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (271)
• The Sympathizer: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

  

  From Everand

  The Sympathizer: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

  Viet Thanh Nguyen

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (122)
• Angela's Ashes: A Memoir

  

  From Everand

  Angela's Ashes: A Memoir

  Frank McCourt

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (441)
• Brooklyn: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  Brooklyn: A Novel

  Colm Tóibín

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (1947)
• The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living

  

  From Everand

  The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living

  Meik Wiking

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (401)
• A Man Called Ove: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  A Man Called Ove: A Novel

  Fredrik Backman

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (4770)
• The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

  

  From Everand

  The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

  Thomas L. Friedman

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (2259)
• Steve Jobs

  

  From Everand

  Steve Jobs

  Walter Isaacson

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (807)
• The Yellow House: A Memoir (2019 National Book Award Winner)

  

  From Everand

  The Yellow House: A Memoir (2019 National Book Award Winner)

  Sarah M. Broom

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (98)
• Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America

  

  From Everand

  Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America

  Gilbert King

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (266)
• The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel

  Garth Stein

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (4203)
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

  

  From Everand

  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

  Betty Smith

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (1929)
• Yes Please

  

  From Everand

  Yes Please

  Amy Poehler

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (1898)
• A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius: A Memoir Based on a True Story

  

  From Everand

  A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius: A Memoir Based on a True Story

  Dave Eggers

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (231)
• Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

  

  From Everand

  Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

  Doris Kearns Goodwin

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (234)
• The Woman in Cabin 10

  

  From Everand

  The Woman in Cabin 10

  Ruth Ware

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (2522)
• Fear: Trump in the White House

  

  From Everand

  Fear: Trump in the White House

  Bob Woodward

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (738)
• Wolf Hall: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  Wolf Hall: A Novel

  Hilary Mantel

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (3811)
• John Adams

  

  From Everand

  John Adams

  David McCullough

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (2409)
• On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal

  

  From Everand

  On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal

  Naomi Klein

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (74)
• The Light Between Oceans: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  The Light Between Oceans: A Novel

  M.L. Stedman

  Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

  4.5/5 (789)
• Manhattan Beach: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  Manhattan Beach: A Novel

  Jennifer Egan

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (792)
• The Constant Gardener: A Novel

  

  From Everand

  The Constant Gardener: A Novel

  John le Carré

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (104)
• The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America

  

  From Everand

  The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America

  George Packer

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (45)
• Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore

  

  From Everand

  Rise of ISIS: A Threat We Can't Ignore

  Jay Sekulow

  Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

  3.5/5 (137)
• Little Women

  

  From Everand

  Little Women

  Louisa May Alcott

  Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

  4/5 (104)