IE-RAP: An Intelligence and Efficient Reader Anti-Collision Protocol for Dense RFID Networks
Hadiseh Rezaei, Rahim Taheri, Mohammad Shojafar
TL;DR
IE-RAP tackles collisions in dense RFID networks with a centralized protocol that integrates TDMA and FDMA, augmented by the SIFT distribution for slot selection and an Information Sharing Phase to avoid rereading and minimize idle-channel time. The server-coordinated approach reduces energy consumption, lowers average waiting time, and improves throughput, even with mobile readers, as demonstrated by simulations showing throughput gains around 26% and waiting-time reductions around 74% with energy savings over benchmarks. The method relies on distance estimation between readers and a simple refusal-to-re-read policy during ISP, enabling faster acquisition of tag IDs and efficient channel reuse. The work provides practical gains for dense deployments and suggests future enhancements using learning-based scheduling to further optimize channel and slot allocation in real time.
Abstract
An advanced technology known as a radio frequency identification (RFID) system enables seamless wireless communication between tags and readers. This system operates in what is referred to as a dense reader environment, where readers are placed close to each other to optimize coverage. However, this setup comes with its challenges, as it increases the likelihood of collisions between readers and tags (reader-to-reader and reader-to-tag), leading to reduced network performance. To address this issue, various protocols have been proposed, with centralized solutions emerging as promising options due to their ability to deliver higher throughput. In this paper, we propose the Intelligence and Efficient Reader Anti-collision Protocol (IE-RAP) that improves network performance such as throughput, average waiting time, and energy consumption, which employs a powerful combination of Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) and Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) mechanisms. IE-RAP improves the efficiency of RFID networks through techniques such as the SIFT function and distance calculation between readers. By preventing re-read tags and ensuring the on-time release of the communication channel, we effectively eliminate unnecessary collisions. Our simulations emphasize the superiority of our proposed method, it increases 26% throughput, reduces 74% the average waiting time, and lower by 52% the energy consumption compared to existing approaches. Importantly, our solution supports the seamless integration of mobile readers within the network.