Electromagnetic Design Techniques Enabling Control of the RFID Supply Chain Navy SBIR FY2004.2 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2004.2 Topic No.: N04-179 Topic Title: Electromagnetic Design Techniques Enabling Control of the RFID Supply Chain Proposal No.: N042-179-0 Firm: Wavelet Technologies, Inc. 664 Pike Avenue Attleboro, Massachusetts 02703-4329 Contact: Robert Hohlfeld Phone: (508) 222-6676 Web Site: www.wavelettech.com Abstract: Wavelet Technologies, Inc. proposes development and application of electromagnetic design techniques for RFID tags that will make RFID tag design "component agnostic", that is the lowest priced available components can be used in a system meeting desired system performance. This guarantees that RFID tag components, such as RFID chips, can always be acquired on competitive bids at the lowest possible unit prices. Component agnostic design requires technical flexibility because of the large number of possible combinations of antenna materials, tag substrates, chip impedances, etc. as well as the effects of antenna loading by product packaging and other environmental effects. We show that this large number of possibilities can be accommodated by genetic algorithm based design techniques that optimize antenna geometries to particular RFID chip impedances and accommodate various materials properties of the antenna, substrate, and electromagnetic environment of the RFID tag. RFID tag designs can be accumulated in a database for future reference. The combinatoric explosion of RFID design parameters is addressable by cluster computation using commodity PCs, giving a cost-effective, scalable implementation path. A business case model is presented showing how component agnostic design can minimize component outlays when multiple parts vendors are present. Benefits: Other large-scale users of RFID tags will benefit from the competitive sourcing of RFID tag components that component agnostic design allows. Furthermore, the genetic algorithm electromagnetic design techniques intrinsic to component agnostic RFID tag design can also be adapted to address issues of tag performance affected by the electromagnetic properties of materials in close proximity to the RFID tag, such as product packaging. Cluster computing systems implementing component agnostic RFID tag design will be very useful to such users. Return