Near Field UHF RFID Antenna System Enabling the Tracking of Small Laboratory Animals

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is more and more adopted in a wide range of applicative scenarios. In many cases, such as the tracking of small-size living animals for behaviour analysis purposes, the straightforward use of commercial solutions does not ensure adequate performance....

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Main Authors: Luca Catarinucci, Riccardo Colella, Luca Mainetti, Vincenzo Mighali, Luigi Patrono, Ilaria Sergi, Luciano Tarricone
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-01-01
Series:International Journal of Antennas and Propagation
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/713943
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author Luca Catarinucci
Riccardo Colella
Luca Mainetti
Vincenzo Mighali
Luigi Patrono
Ilaria Sergi
Luciano Tarricone
author_facet Luca Catarinucci
Riccardo Colella
Luca Mainetti
Vincenzo Mighali
Luigi Patrono
Ilaria Sergi
Luciano Tarricone
author_sort Luca Catarinucci
collection DOAJ
description Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is more and more adopted in a wide range of applicative scenarios. In many cases, such as the tracking of small-size living animals for behaviour analysis purposes, the straightforward use of commercial solutions does not ensure adequate performance. Consequently, both RFID hardware and the control software should be tailored for the particular application. In this work, a novel RFID-based approach enabling an effective localization and tracking of small-sized laboratory animals is proposed. It is mainly based on a UHF Near Field RFID multiantenna system, to be placed under the animals’ cage, and able to rigorously identify the NF RFID tags implanted in laboratory animals (e.g., mice). Once the requirements of the reader antenna have been individuated, the antenna system has been designed and realized. Moreover, an algorithm based on the measured Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) aiming at removing potential ambiguities in data captured by the multiantenna system has been developed and integrated. The animal tracking system has been largely tested on phantom mice in order to verify its ability to precisely localize each subject and to reconstruct its path. The achieved and discussed results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed tracking system.
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id doaj-art-593e53969a7a4878a2a65e2f238185b0
institution Kabale University
issn 1687-5869
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language English
publishDate 2013-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series International Journal of Antennas and Propagation
spelling doaj-art-593e53969a7a4878a2a65e2f238185b02025-08-20T03:34:58ZengWileyInternational Journal of Antennas and Propagation1687-58691687-58772013-01-01201310.1155/2013/713943713943Near Field UHF RFID Antenna System Enabling the Tracking of Small Laboratory AnimalsLuca Catarinucci0Riccardo Colella1Luca Mainetti2Vincenzo Mighali3Luigi Patrono4Ilaria Sergi5Luciano Tarricone6Department of Innovation Engineering, Salento University, 73100 Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Innovation Engineering, Salento University, 73100 Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Innovation Engineering, Salento University, 73100 Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Innovation Engineering, Salento University, 73100 Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Innovation Engineering, Salento University, 73100 Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Innovation Engineering, Salento University, 73100 Lecce, ItalyDepartment of Innovation Engineering, Salento University, 73100 Lecce, ItalyRadio frequency identification (RFID) technology is more and more adopted in a wide range of applicative scenarios. In many cases, such as the tracking of small-size living animals for behaviour analysis purposes, the straightforward use of commercial solutions does not ensure adequate performance. Consequently, both RFID hardware and the control software should be tailored for the particular application. In this work, a novel RFID-based approach enabling an effective localization and tracking of small-sized laboratory animals is proposed. It is mainly based on a UHF Near Field RFID multiantenna system, to be placed under the animals’ cage, and able to rigorously identify the NF RFID tags implanted in laboratory animals (e.g., mice). Once the requirements of the reader antenna have been individuated, the antenna system has been designed and realized. Moreover, an algorithm based on the measured Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) aiming at removing potential ambiguities in data captured by the multiantenna system has been developed and integrated. The animal tracking system has been largely tested on phantom mice in order to verify its ability to precisely localize each subject and to reconstruct its path. The achieved and discussed results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed tracking system.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/713943
spellingShingle Luca Catarinucci
Riccardo Colella
Luca Mainetti
Vincenzo Mighali
Luigi Patrono
Ilaria Sergi
Luciano Tarricone
Near Field UHF RFID Antenna System Enabling the Tracking of Small Laboratory Animals
International Journal of Antennas and Propagation
title Near Field UHF RFID Antenna System Enabling the Tracking of Small Laboratory Animals
title_full Near Field UHF RFID Antenna System Enabling the Tracking of Small Laboratory Animals
title_fullStr Near Field UHF RFID Antenna System Enabling the Tracking of Small Laboratory Animals
title_full_unstemmed Near Field UHF RFID Antenna System Enabling the Tracking of Small Laboratory Animals
title_short Near Field UHF RFID Antenna System Enabling the Tracking of Small Laboratory Animals
title_sort near field uhf rfid antenna system enabling the tracking of small laboratory animals
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/713943
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AT vincenzomighali nearfielduhfrfidantennasystemenablingthetrackingofsmalllaboratoryanimals
AT luigipatrono nearfielduhfrfidantennasystemenablingthetrackingofsmalllaboratoryanimals
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