Methods, systems, and products self-identify an electronic device to a remote control. The remote control queries the electronic device, and the electronic device sends a response. A collision avoidance mechanism allows difference devices to respond to the remote control.

An RFID reader includes a transmitter, a receiver, and an evaluator. The receiver receives signals from RFID tags within a given number of slots of a time frame with a given frame size and provides a number of successful slots and a number of collided slots. The evaluator sets a modified frame size based on an estimated number of RFID tags which is determined based on the frame size, the number of successful slots, and the number of collided slots. The invention also refers to a corresponding method.

A method of utilizing beamforming to selectively locate one or more ambient electromagnetic power harvesting (AEPH) chips, implemented by a reader apparatus comprising multiple antennas, the method comprises transmitting, to the AEPH chips, an interrogation signal from multiple transmit antennas by a reader application executing on a processor of the reader apparatus in a first frequency band to activate the AEPH chips; receiving, from at least one AEPH chip by multiple receive antennas of the reader apparatus, one or more signals in response to the interrogation signal; processing the one or more signals to determine a direction of the at least one AEPH chip; and adjusting, using a beamformer, a beam direction of the multiple transmit antennas of the reader apparatus in the direction of the at least one AEPH chip to deliver the maximum power to the at least one AEPH chip.

Systems and methods for providing an estimate of a population of passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) sensors in a coverage area of an RFID reader system are disclosed. In accordance with embodiments of this invention, the contention resolutions or results of each slot in an interrogation receive frame are determined. The contention resolutions are then used to determine the probabilities of different population estimates. A population estimate is then selected as the population based on the probability of the estimate meeting predetermined criteria.

An interrogator receives a response from a responder that has detected a predetermined state with priority among responses from a plurality of responders. A tag determines a time slot selected in a case in which a sensor has detected a predetermined state to be a time slot earlier than a time slot selected in a case in which the sensor has not detected the predetermined state.

A system, exhibiting a communication station for communicating with a number of radio tags in a time slot communication process, in which a number of time slots per time slot cycle in a repeating sequence are available for communication, and each time slot is characterized by a distinct time slot symbol, wherein the communication station is designed to send out a synchronization data signal exhibiting the time slot symbol for the currently present time slot, and wherein a radio tag is designed for changing from a sleep state into an active state at a wakeup instant, and for receiving the synchronization data signal in the active state and, if the received time slot symbol indicates a time slot intended for it, for defining a new wakeup instant corresponding to the next appearance of the time slot intended for it in a time slot cycle that follows the currently present time slot cycle.

Methods, systems, and products self-identify an electronic device to a remote control. The remote control queries the electronic device, and the electronic device sends a response. A collision avoidance mechanism allows difference devices to respond to the remote control.

A communication device is provided for identifying and/or locating an RFID transponder. The communication device includes a first RFID reader and at least one second RFID reader. The first and/or the at least one second RFID reader is configured to send out a query signal to the RFID transponder and to receive a response signal from the RFID transponder. The communication device also includes a trigger device configured to send a trigger signal to the first and/or the at least one second RFID reader, and as a result of which, the first and/or the at least one second RFID reader is configured to send out the query signal.

System and method for scheduling and coordinating transmission signals in a wireless data communications network, comprising a master node and at least one tag node. In some embodiments, the network may also include a slave node. The master node divides time into repeating time division blocks comprising a configuration window and at least one transaction window. During the configuration window, the master node provides operating parameters to the tag or slave nodes, including a time slot within the transaction window that is reserved for the tag or slave nodes to broadcast data to the master node. The transaction window is subdivided into multiple reserved time slots, and each slot is assigned to a specific tag or slave node. When a reserved time slot arrives, the tag or slave node will broadcast data signals to the master node. The master periodically adjusts the transmission schedule for each tag or slave node, as needed, to ensure that every tag or slave node continues to broadcast only during its reserved time slot, thereby reducing communication data collisions and optimizing the overall performance and throughput of the data communications network.

System and method for scheduling and coordinating transmission signals in a wireless data communications network, comprising a master node and at least one tag node. In some embodiments, the network may also include a slave node. The master node divides time into repeating time division blocks comprising a configuration window and at least one transaction window. During the configuration window, the master node provides operating parameters to the tag or slave nodes, including a time slot within the transaction window that is reserved for the tag or slave nodes to broadcast data to the master node. The transaction window is subdivided into multiple reserved time slots, and each slot is assigned to a specific tag or slave node. When a reserved time slot arrives, the tag or slave node will broadcast data signals to the master node. The master periodically adjusts the transmission schedule for each tag or slave node, as needed, to ensure that every tag or slave node continues to broadcast only during its reserved time slot, thereby reducing communication data collisions and optimizing the overall performance and throughput of the data communications network.