720591Pervasive Accurate Battery-less RFID TrackingClosedGRD Development of PrototypeInnovate UKItem level tracking is considered the ultimate solution to inventory control in retail. Recent price reductions in passive (battery-free) ultra high frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) tags have enabled individual items to be tracked from source to shop floor for the first time. However, the reading of such battery-free tags remains a challenge. The reliable read range of currently available fixed readers is restricted to a few meters (typically 2-3m), while the passive tags are often capable of being read at up to 10m, but with a significant chance of missed detection. To overcome these difficulties, RFID installations so far have relied on fixed portal readers at pinch points, or hand held readers requiring manual intervention. PervasID, a Cambridge University spin-out, has been researching a disruptive fixed, passive UHF RFID reader technology that enables highly reliable reading of standard off the shelf passive UHF RFID tags using a fixed infrastructure over wide areas. There is also the potential to provide location information for the tags within the wide area read zone. The PervasID technology removes the restriction on read range, giving near 100% detection over areas of up to 20m x 20m, and is able to scale to much larger areas. This patented technology has the potential to allow businesses such as high street retailers which use tagging on high-value goods to monitor the location of those items both cheaply and effectively. This project aims to develop a pre-production prototype and test it on realtime inventory of a retailer’s high density merchandise within its store. A successful project will enable the business to build (via OEM agreements) the RFID readers, which will be sold to end customers and system integrators along with other services such as system design.