A Internet of Things (IoT) tag for measuring transmitted force applied on the IoT tag, including a substrate, a force sensor integrated on the substrate, and a sensing circuit integrated on the substrate and configured to output a digital word measurement in response to an applied force on the force sensor.

A gaming table contains a number of antennas that are de-tuned from the resonant frequency of a single RFID tag. This increases the power required to read the single tag but matches the resonant frequency for reading a stack of RFID tags. The gaming table may further include a network analyzer and a set of capacitors that are dynamically switched among the antennas according to measuring the reflection coefficient of the antennas.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled readers and systems and methods for filtering cross reads of RFID tags and use thereof. The systems and methods may be configured to operate with mobile and/or fixed RFID readers. The systems and methods may provide for claim based filtering of cross reads based upon adjusting operating powers of RFID readers and/or antenna. The systems and methods may also be configured to apply weights to claims thereby providing efficient and/or accurate filtering of cross reads. The systems and methods may also provide for a database that may also be presented to a user to illustrate locations of inventory at any point in time or over a period of time, or to facilitate the ability of a user to physically locate inventory to be acted upon.

Systems and methods for self-checkout at a point-of-sale are provided. The system and method includes using a plurality of radio frequency identification (RFID) transceivers within a store, and an RFID reader configured to receive an RFID code from an RFID tag activated by the plurality of radio frequency identification (RFID) transceivers. The system and method also includes using a classifier configured to determine whether the RFID tag is inside or outside a designated area, wherein the classifier is trained in a manner that a number of items incorrectly identified as being purchased is below a threshold to minimize customer dissatisfaction (CDS) determined as the ratio of the value of items charged to the customer but not purchased by a customer to the total charge to the customer.

A radio frequency identification (RFID) system first interrogates, in a first mode, one or more particular target zones of the plurality of target zones including a given target zone. Each particular target zone is interrogated with one of the antennas at a time at a first power for the particular target zone. The RFID system monitors, upon first interrogating, for a trigger condition to occur. In response to the trigger condition not occurring, the RFID system continues the first interrogation in the first mode. In response to the trigger condition occurring, the RFID system second interrogates the given target zone in a second mode at a second power with a plurality of the antennas. The second power for the given target zone is greater in an aggregate across the second interrogating antennas than the first power for the given target zone.

An antenna apparatus having a substrate, an antenna on the substrate, and a power supply circuit element on the substrate and connected to the antenna. The antenna includes coil-shaped first and second coil antenna units respectively having coil axes that intersect with the substrate. The first coil antenna unit and the second coil antenna unit are arranged on the substrate such that a direction in which a current flows through one of the coil antenna units is clockwise and a direction in which the current flows through the other of the coil antenna units is counterclockwise. The power supply circuit element is positioned between the first coil antenna unit and the second coil antenna unit.

According to one embodiment, an antenna apparatus includes a ground plate having an opening, a ground layer on a first side of the ground plate, an antenna on the first side of the ground plate and connected to the ground layer, the antenna being disposed around the opening, and a conductive member on the first side of the ground plate to contact an outer perimeter of the opening. The conductive member is electrically connected to the ground layer.

Provided herein are automated article dispensing systems having inventory management capabilities, and methods for managing inventory of articles in automated dispensing systems. In particular, the systems and methods disclosed herein utilize an inventory management assembly which includes one or more sensors configured to detect directly or indirectly one or more parameters related to quality and/or quantity the articles and an inventory management processing module configured to compute inventory related data based at least on the one or more parameters.

A method for collision avoidance in a multi-reader environment comprising a plurality of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) interrogators, the method comprises each of the plurality of interrogators entering a quiet state during which none of the interrogators transmits, each of the plurality of interrogators selecting a transmit time after the quiet period during which each of the interrogator will attempt to transmit, each of the plurality of interrogators monitoring their associated receive path, an interrogator of the plurality of interrogators transmitting an instruction during its selected transmit time indicating the beginning of a session when the interrogator does not detect data on its receive path prior to its select transmit time, the interrogator comparing its receive path to its transmit path when it transmits the instruction, the interrogator returning to the quiet state when the receive path does not match the transmit path, and the interrogator completing the session when the receive path matches the transmit path.

An RFID-enabled storage container and systems and methods for assembly and use thereof. The RFID-enabled storage container may include adjustable shelving with built-in antennas, such that the shelving may be customized as may be needed. The system may include a storage container, an inventory management system, and one or more point of use terminals. The storage container may identify and check inventory stored thereon, and provide such information to the inventory management system. The storage container may notify the inventory management system when a product is no longer detected within its inventory, and the inventory management system may monitor the one or more point of use terminals to determine if the undetected product has been used at one of the point of use terminals. The inventory management system may also predict inventory needs as well as maintain age and other data for inventory and provide feedback via an illumination indication.