Apparatus and associated methods relate to a method of non-contact motion detection. A one-dimensional optical sensor detects motion of a target or objects on a conveyor belt through a continuous measurement of targets or objects and a real-time comparison of the pixel images captured by the one-dimensional optical sensor. In an illustrative embodiment, a one-dimensional sensor may be configured to determine motion of objects based on changes to the captured intensities of pixel images over time. The sensor may continually capture photoelectric pixel images and compare a current pixel image with a previous pixel image to determine a frame differential image value. The frame differential image value is evaluated against a predetermined threshold over a predetermined time period. Based on the evaluation, a signal is output indicating whether the objects on the conveyor belt are moving or jammed.

Systems and methods to determine kinematical parameters of physical objects using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags attached to the objects. In one embodiment, one of a population of RFID tags is selectively instructed by an RFID reader to backscatter the interrogating electromagnetic wave and thus allow the RFID reader to measure the position, speed, acceleration, and/or jerk of the object to which the tag is attached. The RFID reader combines the signal representing the backscattered interrogating electromagnetic wave and the signal representing the interrogating electromagnetic wave transmitted by the RFID reader to determine or monitor one or more of the kinematical parameters of the object.

A method includes obtaining an RFID, an associated barcode and an exit time for an RFID tag that was detected by an RFID sensor as exiting a building. A transaction database is accessed to determine if a product with a matching barcode was purchased before the exit time when a product with a matching barcode was not purchased before the exit time, marking the RFID as bypassing purchase.

An electronic patient monitoring system and method of operation that includes one or more generally non-metal, tamper-resistant patient identification and monitoring devices, an observer transmitter/receiver device configured to receive and detect one or more beacon signals that exceed a predetermined threshold from at least one of the not easily removable patient identification and monitoring devices, set a time to hold open a window for a response on the transmitter/receiver device, and send a request for information to the observer with the transmitter/receiver device, and a central computer system. Each of the transmitter/receiver device and the central computer system, including, at least, a computer processor, communications components and system software to communicate with the observer transmitter/receiver device at specified/predetermined time intervals to receive observer- and patient-specific information.

An RFID system includes multiple antennas and uses amplitude and phase information of the RFID signals received by each antenna to determine the position of RFID tags in the vicinity. More than one antenna can receive the RFID signals during a single read cycle, enabling the RFID system to operate more quickly than a system that energizes antennas separately.

A technique for transmitting data from a passive radio device (100) is described. As to a method aspect of the technique, an antenna (102) of the passive radio device (100) is exposed to an incident radio signal (502). A frequency domain representation of the incident radio signal (502) comprised at least one muted gap between active subcarriers within a bandwidth of the incident radio signal (502). The incident radio signal (502) is backscattered from the antenna by modulating an impedance of the antenna according to the data using at least two different modulation frequencies that differ by less than the bandwidth.

A method for close-range detection, includes transmitting, via a radar transceiver, radar signals to detect an object. The method also includes determining whether the object includes a pattern code based on reflections of the radar signals received by the radar transceiver. In response to determining that the object includes the pattern code, the method includes identifying range information about a range between the electronic device and the pattern code. The method further includes selecting, based on the range information, one or more signals from the reflections of the radar signals that are reflected off of the pattern code. Additionally, the method includes identifying, based on the one or more signals, information about the pattern code.

Provided are a tag and a method, performed by the tag, of transmitting a response signal regarding a tag search signal. The method includes: receiving, from at least one of a plurality of slave nodes, the tag search signal including identifying data for identifying the tag; charging an energy storage element inside the tag by using the received tag search signal; obtaining the identifying data for identifying the tag from the received tag search signal; determining whether the obtained identifying data matches identification information pre-stored in the tag; and when the energy storage element is charged to a certain numerical value or above and the obtained identifying data matches the identification information pre-stored in the tag, outputting the response signal regarding the tag search signal.

Encoded information means located on an infrastructure to be decoded by sensors located on mobiles, in such a way that these means encode the position they occupy in the infrastructure and allow for a mobile travelling along the same trajectory, provided with the adequate sensor, to read, decode and transform it immediately into information on its exact position in the infrastructure and being characterised by the fact that along the same trajectory described by a mobile it is possible to encode information in the infrastructure by means of different objects presenting dielectric change boundaries or dielectric/metal boundaries at different heights or distances regarding the origin of the onboard sensor, these boundaries being interrogated by a sensor on board the mobile by means of pressure or electromagnetic waves and by measuring the time the waves take to return to the sensor, making it possible to determine the distance at which the reflections occur and in this way to extract the information.

A product tagging system is provided. The product tagging system includes at least one RF backscatter transmitter configured to emit a Radio Frequency (RF) signal on a frequency. The product tagging system further includes a passive RF backscatter tag associated with a product and configured to reflect and frequency shift the RF signal to a different frequency. The product tagging system also includes at least one RF backscatter receiver configured to read the product on the different frequency by detecting a distributed ambient backscatter signal generated by a reflection and frequency shifting of the RF signal by the passive RF backscatter tag.