The Study On A Lightweight RFID Middleware

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an automatic identification technology which identifies the target and obtains relevant data through radio frequency signal. RFID is a rapid, real-time, accurate data collection and processing high-tech.RFID middleware is an essential intermediate link which links the lower hardware devices and the upper software applications. However, RFID middleware software products are expensive and it is difficult for the enterprise to develop and maintain such a middleware. These difficulties hindered the promotion of RFID technology.Whether in software companies or universities, RFID middleware implementations most follow the ALE specification which is proposed by EPCglobal. However, typical method of ALE implementation is not easy. In this context, this paper presents a different method to implement RFID middleware—a lightweight RFID middleware. It has basic functions of ALE specification. They are collecting EPC tag data, filtering data, and reporting data to applications. It has features of simple structure, easy implementation, use and maintenance, and good scalability.Middleware system discussed in this paper considers MySQL database as the integration point of data collection, data processing and data reporting. In order to collect tag data and report data to different applications, we use MySQL database application programming interface (API) not only to connect middleware and the RFID reader but also to connect middleware and upper application systems. Data filtering and data queries are carried out through the SQL statement. Lightweight RFID middleware has simple structure which is including the adapter corresponding to the reader and the MySQL database. It is easy to use and maintain because RFID middleware operation is simplified to MySQL database operation and maintenance. It is easy to expand, because as long as there is a corresponding data extraction program, the lightweight RFID middleware can extract data to a temporary database, filter, and convert data to the format required by the application system, and then upgrade the main database in application system.After the design of the lightweight RFID middleware, several key module implementations such as data collection, data filtering and data conversion are discussed. And then a few interfaces of the middleware system developed are shown. Finally, the work of this paper is sumed up and future study directions are proposed.