Liquid assets often pose significant challenges for RAIN RFID systems. In this blog, we’ll highlight how Times-7 antennas play a crucial role in overcoming these issues.
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Times-7
August 17, 2020
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Related products:
TrueNearfield™ Series
Liquid assets can range from filled bottles of oils, sauces, and drinks to medicinal vials and pharmaceutical drugs. Even fruit, vegetables, meat, and seafood, both fresh and frozen, fall into the liquid asset category because of their water content.
The reason why RAIN RFID struggles with liquid assets is due to the laws of physics.
Have you ever wondered how your food is heated in a microwave?
· Microwave frequencies are 300 MHz to 300 GHz and liquids (especially water) absorb this energy. The absorption is used in the microwave to cook food. RAIN RFID is part of the microwave spectrum and the same theory applies.
· In RAIN RFID, the radio frequency is absorbed by the liquid and only a little energy is left after the absorption to energize the tag, and even less energy is available for the tag to respond to the reader.
With modern tag and reader antenna designs, a few challenges with tracking liquid assets can be mitigated. Near-field emissions are magnetic rather than electric and therefore liquids do not absorb them.
Smaller loop tags are designed to create strong near-fields, large far-field inlay tags also incorporate a nearfield loop for these purposes.
That's why choosing the correct antenna is critical when it comes to reading liquid assets.
The True NearField reader antennas’ intense surface fields can penetrate through liquids. A True NearField antenna will achieve stronger read results because of the close proximity to the tracked item, which means that minimal RF radiation will be absorbed by the liquid.
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Use a True NearField antenna, to track individual vials or batches of liquid containers at close range. NearField antennas focus energy in a very short range, minimizing interference caused by liquid contents and enabling precise tag excitation. |
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Avoid densely packing the tagged vials. When items are stacked or closely grouped, the tags may become “blind” to the reader. Sparsely arrange the items to allow RF energy to effectively reach each tag. |
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Tags on vials may not be readable when moving through a conventional RFID-enabled portal (like a doorway or conveyor-mounted system) due to the signal limitations caused by liquids. Instead, place the vials close to the NearField antenna, within a few centimeters, to ensure consistent and accurate reads. |
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RFID portals are excellent for dry goods or large items, but not optimal for reading liquid-filled containers in bulk. Consider incorporating a dedicated NearField read station into your workflow, especially for check-in/check-out or inventory validation processes involving liquid vials. |
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Test the read setup under actual use conditions. Validate read rates and accuracy by simulating how the vials will be handled, whether hand-carried or tray placed. |
