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Motion Capture Using RFID and the Kalman Filter

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Analysis of Kalman Filter-Based Localization for HIMR RFID Systems
Qian Yang, David G. Taylor, Muhammad B. Akbar, Gregory D. Durgin
IEEE Journal of Radio Frequency Identification, 2019

A new paper demonstrating the power of the Kalman filter is now available.  GTPG researcher Qian Yang and coauthors use sensor-fusion data from a microwave backscatter link to demonstrate mm-scale localization of RF transponders.  This study is unique because it breaks down the individual contributions of signal strength, backscatter phase, and inertial sensor measurements to a very precise position estimation problem.  This work is an important next-step in the “holy grail” of wireless position location: precise motion-capture at a distance in 3D.

2015: The Bounce Across Atlanta

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2015: Francesco Amato builds the first microwave Quantum Tunneling Tag (QTR). This 5.8 GHz tag will scatter a signal over a kilometer across midtown Atlanta, consuming only 23 microWatts in the process.

It started with a simple test question back in 2008 and snowballed into a research program.  In 2015, Francesco Amato built and demonstrated the world’s first “quantum tunneling tag” (QTR), which is an antenna terminated in a tunnel diode that, when biased with minimal DC voltage, acts as a microwave reflection amplifier.  The most dramatic display of the power of a QTR came when Francesco scattered a detectable signal 1.2 km across midtown Atlanta while consuming only 23 microWatts of power.

Fun fact #1:  The 1.2 km measurement used a QTR mounted on the 10-story swimming pool deck of ECE accountant Siri Melkote, who was kind enough to allow access to her condo.

Fun fact #2:  Tunnel diodes are, conceptually, on of the simplest semiconductor devices you can imagine: just and over-doped PN-junction.  Leo Esaki won the Nobel Prize for their invention back in 1973.  However, there are very few mainstream applications for the devices, meaning that the GTPG pays nearly $50 per device to construct its RF tags!

ORS Poster for Alhassoun Team

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The poster for Mohammad Alhassoun’s ORS team is now available. Entitled “A 24 GHz Semi-Passive RFID Tag”, the poster is the culmination of a year-long study by undergraduate ORS researchers Jesse Jiang, Kibeom Kim, Siddharth Kotapati, and Volkan Gurses. Sponsored by Anaren, this team won the “Peer Review Award” at the ORS banquet, which was accompanied by $200 checks for each student and mentor. A version of this poster was also presented at the IEEE RFID 2019 conference in Phoenix.

Download here:  Alhassoun Poster