Abstract:

One essential challenge of teaching the foundations of radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies is the concentration of the main principles of different science disciplines. Knowledge in electrical engineering, modulation techniques, computer science and information technology are required. A lecture with RFID topics needs these prerequisites.
When looking to different curricula of technical studies, only a small number of RFID related lectures and tutorials are available. The challenge of teaching RFID is to cover a very broad spectrum of technical sciences: electrical engineering, electronics, transmission technologies, mathematics and informatics attest of a horizontal orientated content.
In this work, a set of simulation tools are presented which can assist the lecturer to organize and perform an impressive RFID course. As software framework the science and mathematics program Matlab without any additional toolboxes will be used. Three examples from an new initiated RFID-lecture with accompanying tutorials show the intuitive way to teach selected and high sophisticated content in performing and evaluating RFID topics.
The first example concerns about calculating the reading distance depending of geometry, electrical values and electronic consumption. One big challenge is to differentiate the effectiveness between proximity and vicinity RFID principles in their corresponding reading range.
The second example shows modulation techniques and the corresponding spectrum using different regulation specifications. Last, it will be shown why anti-collision methods are necessary during the presence of numerous transponders in the reading area of a RFID interrogator and how these methods can be simulated. Basically, there are two main methods (stochastic and deterministic procedures) to identify each transponder out of a bulk. One of them, the slotted-ALOHA anti-collision can be analyzed by stochastic and probabilistic methods and can be simulated with demonstrative graphical output.
All presented simulation tools can be easily used in education lectures to present different RFID topics in general but it can also be used particularly during RFID tutorials to implement and test new methods by the students themselves. Accurate deployed the methods give the lecturer a rich set of assistance and can reduce both the teaching time and the learning time.

Keywords:

rfid, education, simulation tool, matlab.