Tag-antenna-based presence sensing using near-field traveling-wave reader antenna

We propose tag-antenna-based sensing (TABS) for detecting objects and people using a low-cost near-field traveling-wave reader antenna. This technology is inspired by TABS, which enables the use of ordinary far-field radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags as extremely low-cost proximity presence sensor nodes. This allows the sensor nodes to be pervasively deployed in the Internet of Things (IoT); however, frequent reading errors have been a problem in applying practical usage for detecting objects and people. We introduce a low-cost near-field traveling-wave RFID reader antenna that significantly reduces reading errors. We successfully demonstrated the detection of items and human footprints by adopting this technology.