Research Of RFID Reader Management And Coordination Technology

Considering the multi-reader deployment in large scale RFID implementation, readers are not working independently but collaborate with each other with some logical relation in a certain context, thus they form a reader network. RFID system needs to manage and monitor the reader network in order to keep it working in healthy state. Effective collection of RFID data requires collaboration between multiple readers. In order to provide RFID data that applications interest, it is important to coordinate readers'data collection behaviors based on business context. So far, as for multi-reader coordination, lots of researches have been done about the reader collision problem, while research for data collection issues is still needed.This paper performs an in-depth analysis of RFID reader management and coordination technology, puts forward a component based management solution. We solve the problems of complicity through multiple-layer logical model. This solution based on a component based RFID middleware framework, giving several functional modules of reader coordination, reader configuration and reader monitoring, which are placed in the edge layer and the management layer. Through providing application level interfaces to control readers and methods to coordinate readers, we design and implement a new RFID reader management framework which embodies a flexible, scalable architecture. This paper also introduces and extends logical reader concept, based on which we design a modeling method for RFID reader network by describing the logical relationships between those physical independent readers. Applying the coordination strategy from logical model, middleware system can coordinates the data collection operations of multiple readers in a certain business context and finally provides RFID data that client application interests. The implemented system is based on the JMX, and is compliant with the EPCglobal Reader Management Protocol and Application Level Events specification.The contents of this paper are organized as follows: Firstly, we summarize the technologies which will be used in RFID reader management; analyze some standards issued by international organizations, and architecture of the RFID middleware and the management solutions put forward by some big companies. Secondly, through analyzing the traits of RFID reader management as well as the challenges encountered, we summarize the function architecture of the reader management modules in RFID middleware. And then we come up with a logical reader network modeling method and logical reader coordination strategy. Finally, we introduce our RFID reader management architecture and implementation solution.