An apparatus for providing perishable product freshness information is provided. The apparatus includes a portable device having an input device for receiving a product identifier associated with a perishable product, a sensor reader for receiving data from one or more sensors in proximity of the perishable product and the portable device, a display device to display information, and a control circuit. The control circuit is configured to: receive the product identifier associated with the perishable product, retrieve a list of one or more external sensors to detect, cause the sensor reader to scan for data from the one or more external sensors, receive detected sensor data from one or more sensors detected by the sensor reader, and cause the display device to display information associated with product freshness determined based on the stored sensor data and a sensor data history associated with the perishable product.

Systems and methods for monitoring an attachment, such as a breaker head, for a mining machine. The system includes a breaker head, a wireless identification tag, a sensor, and an electronic processor. The wireless identification tag is coupled to the breaker head and includes a tag memory storing an identifier of the breaker head and an antenna. The sensor is configured to generate measurement data associated with the breaker head. The electronic processor is configured to receive measurement data from the sensor, generate a notification based on the measurement data, and transmit the notification to the wireless identification tag. Additionally, the wireless identification tag is configured to store the notification. The notification can then be later retrieved from the wireless identification tag by various devices, such as a further mining machine or a reader device of maintenance personnel.

Disclosed is a method of gathering data from a hybrid RFID chip to determine usage of an item or article of clothing using a mobile device like a phone, laptop, or tablet. The hybrid RFID chip consists of a processor, a memory, a radio transceiver, a power harvesting antenna, and an impedance circuit that converts ambient radio frequency (RF) energy to electrical energy. The RFID chip receives a first power level from ambient RF energy and periodically broadcasts an identity. The mobile device can receive the broadcast identity, store the identity, transmit the identity and location to a remote server, and receive a notification message from the remote server. The remote serve can determine usage of the item or article of clothing by comparing current records to previous records of RFID chip identity, location, and mobile device application identity.

A system is disclosed for monitoring waste collected by a service vehicle. The system may include a lift actuator configured to cause lifting of the waste, a power takeoff driven by a powertrain of the service vehicle to power the lift actuator, and a sensor configured to generate a speed signal indicative of a speed of the powertrain. The system may also include an output device, and a controller in communication with the sensor and the output device. The controller may be configured to receive the speed signal from the sensor, determine an amount of waste lifted by the lift actuator based on the speed signal, and relay the amount of waste to the output device.

Described is a wear part for minerals processing equipment. The wear part comprises an inner surface for contact with slurry when the minerals processing equipment is in use and an outer surface of the wear part. The wear part further comprises at least one sacrificial wear sensor located at a predetermined distance between the inner surface and the outer surface, the at least one sacrificial wear sensor being arranged to wirelessly communicate with a remote wear monitoring unit.

A User Equipment having at least one sensor, a short range communications interface, a long range communications interface and a controller, wherein the controller is configured for: establishing a connection with a first access point through the short range communications interface; receiving operating instructions for the at least one sensor from the first access point; causing the at least one sensor to operate according to the operating instructions; receiving sensor data from the at least one sensor; and for reporting the sensor data through the long range communications interface.

Embodiments of the present invention provide devices (tags), systems, and methods to determine structural integrity and other states of orthodontic-elements, such as orthodontic-brackets, orthodontic-archwires, orthodontic-expanders, orthodontic-elastic-bands, and orthodontic-power-chains, to name a few, in a non-invasive and contactless way, with respect to monitoring; and using comparatively safe and/or low energy electromagnetic radiation, such as radio waves. Negligible-sized backscatter-tags with sensors are implanted in or attached to such orthodontic-elements. Such arrangements may permit monitoring of forces acting on teeth by various orthodontic-elements. Using backscatter imaging technology, the structural integrity and other states of the orthodontic-elements may be monitored; which may allow non-invasive and contactless detection of problems such as cracking, bending, excessive pressure, improper temperature, and/or the like. Additionally, initially unknown locations of the implanted negligible-sized backscatter-tags with sensors may be readily determined upon a given scanning (reading) session; and thus mapped to provide an effective image of the orthodontic-elements.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide measures, including apparatuses, circuitry, methods and computer programs, for use in monitoring user activity. Orientation data for a user is generated. The generated orientation data is inserted into advertising packets of a wireless communication protocol. The advertising packets comprising the generated orientation data are broadcast according to the wireless communication protocol.

A system for the remote care of an item of vegetation used as a potential source of food for an animal, to include at least one of a proximity tag, RFID tag, transponder device, a predetermined machine-readable pattern, and geo-location device associated with the item of vegetation, and an aerial drone. The aerial drone includes a microprocessor, a sensor coupled to the microprocessor and configured to detect the at least one of the proximity tag, RFID tag, transponder device, predetermined machine-readable pattern, and the geo-location device, and a carrier configured to carry a substance comprising at least one of a solid, gas, and liquid. The aerial drone is configured to act in response to instructions issued by the microprocessor.

A sensor device includes a first antenna configured to receive an interrogation radio frequency (RF) signal; a first sensor configured to detect a first state of a first sensed signal, to output a first sensor signal responsive to the first state meeting a first threshold condition; a first circuit coupled to the first antenna, the first circuit configured to receive the interrogation RF signal from the first antenna, modulate a second RF signal, and transmit the modulated second RF signal as a RF response signal; and a first tag controller configured to receive the first sensor signal and to selectively connect or disconnect the first antenna to or from ground responsive to the first sensor signal, wherein connecting the first antenna to ground prevents the first antenna from transmitting the RF response signal.