102 may include three antennas, four antennas, five antennas, and/or any suitable number of antennas, such that the set of sequence instructions 102b1 may cause the reader 102 to cycle through any suitable number of antennas, as part of the frequency/antenna hopping described herein.

In certain embodiments, the set of sequence instructions 102b1 may include a pseudorandom sequence of 50 channels (e.g., frequencies) through which the reader 102 may transmit signals to connect with proximate tags using either the first antenna 102a1 or the second antenna 102a2, which may have different bandwidth ranges. As referenced herein, a “bandwidth range” generally references the frequency range through which an antenna has a return loss above a threshold value. For example, the first antenna 102a1 may have a first bandwidth range from approximately 902 Megahertz (MHz) to 928 MHz at a minimum return loss of at least approximately 18-20 decibels (dB), and the second antenna 102a2 may have a second bandwidth range from approximately 917 MHz to 922 MHz at the minimum return loss. These differences in bandwidth range between/among the various antennas (102a1, 102a2, etc.) may be the result of physical differences between/among the various antennas, such as antenna length/dimension. However, the various antennas 102a1, 102a2 may also have different polarizations, orientations, and/or any other characteristics or combinations thereof. For example, the first antenna 102a1 may be vertically polarized and the second antenna 102a2 may be horizontally polarized.

Continuing the prior example, at a first time, the set of sequence instructions 102b1 may cause the reader 102 to emit signals at 913 MHz and may also determine that the signal should be emitted by the first antenna 102a1 because the 913 MHz value falls within the first bandwidth range of the first antenna 102a1. Once transmitted, the set of sequence instructions 102b1 may determine/cause the reader 102 to emit a subsequent signal at 919 MHz. Accordingly, the set of sequence instructions 102b1 may also determine that the subsequent signal should be transmitted by the second antenna 102a2 because the 919 MHz value falls within the second bandwidth range of the second antenna 102a2. Of course, the 919 MHz value falls within both the first and second bandwidth ranges, but the set of sequence instructions 102b1 may determine that the subsequent signal should be transmitted via the second antenna 102a2 because the set of sequence instructions 102b1 is attempting to equalize the energy radiated into each polarization in the most efficient manor.

The server 110 includes one or more processors 110a, one or more memories 110b storing a tag database 110b1, and a networking interface 110c. The tag database 110b1 may be or include a listing of tags (e.g., tag 106a, tag 107a, tag 108a) that are proximate to specific readers (e.g., reader 102) and/or otherwise transmit data to/from the particular reader(s). More specifically, the tag database 110b1 listings may include identification information about each of the tags 106a, 107a, 108a and/or the assets 106, 107, 108 associated with the tags 106a, 107a, 108a, as well as location information determined by the reader 102. The tag database 110b1 may include any suitable information related to the tags and/or the assets associated with the tags.

To update the tag database 110b1, the reader 102 may periodically request and/or otherwise receive updates from various tags (e.g., tag 106a, tag 107a, tag 108a) disposed around an environment (e.g., example environment 100), using the first antenna 102a1 and/or the second antenna 102a2. Based on the signals received by the first antenna 102a1 and/or the second antenna 102a2, the reader 102 may determine (via the one or more processors 102c) one or more tags indicated in the received data. The reader 102 may then update the tag listing for each tag 106a, 107a, 108a by inputting the data received from the respective tags 106a, 107a, 108a into the corresponding tag listing of the tag database 110b1. For example, the tag database 110b1 may indicate at a first time that the reader 102 received data from the first tag 106a and the second tag 107a via the first antenna 102a1. At a second time, the reader 102 may transmit a request to and/or may otherwise receive an update from proximate tags indicating that the reader 102 received/captured data from the first tag 106a, the second tag 107a, and the third tag 108a via the second antenna 102a2. Thus, the entries of the tag database 110b1 may indicate that the N^thasset 108 moved into a receptive proximity of the reader 102 at some point between the first time and the second time, such that the reader 102 was able to receive data transmitted from the third tag 108a at the second time.

As previously mentioned, RFID readers (e.g., reader 102) often cycle through different channels when scanning/transmitting signals to locate proximate tags and thereby optimize tag detection under regulatory and/or operational constraints. As such, the set of sequence instructions 102b1 selects/determines a subsequent transmission channel based on a pseudo-randomly generated hop table. Practically speaking, these tables may be cleared with regulatory bodies like the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) and generally remain static for the device's (e.g., reader's 102) operation, ensuring continued compliance with the applicable regulations. For example, in the United States, each reader 102 may not remain on a particular channel for more than 400 milliseconds (ms) before switching to a new channel.

Thus, the set of sequence instructions 102b1 may include instructions to evaluate an internal clock (not shown) of the reader 102 to determine when to switch to a different channel and/or a different antenna 102a1, 102a2. By consistently channel hopping and antenna hopping, the set of sequence instructions 102b1 enables the reader 102 to spread the time allocation across antennas 102a1, 102a2 as efficiently as possible. Further, by choosing/utilizing antennas 102a1, 102a2 with different polarizations and/or orientations, the reader 102 can maximize the number of tag detections over time due to the various reception/transmission characteristics of each tag 106a, 107a, 108a (e.g., tag antenna orientation) while maintaining optimal/desired return loss values. The set of sequence instructions 102b1 thereby allows the reader 102 to adapt to any dynamic environment and diverse tag orientations, enhancing the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the tag detection process.

Thus, to fulfill the necessary requirements while simultaneously optimizing tag detection/identification capabilities, the reader 102 may update and/or otherwise track the usage of each antenna 102a1, 102a2. Generally, the set of sequence instructions 102b1 may include instructions that cause the reader 102 to intentionally cycle and/or otherwise utilize the antennas 102a1, 102a2 to ensure that the reader 102 may optimally detect proximate tags. Each time an antenna (102a1, 102a2) is selected and used to transmit a signal, the reader 102 may track the amount of time the antenna was used to transmit/receive on a particular channel. In this manner, the set of sequence instructions 102b1 cause the reader 102 to optimize the time spent transmitting/receiving signals on (1) particular channels and (2) in particular polarizations/orientations, which correspondingly optimizes the reader's 102 ability to communicate with/identify proximate tags (e.g., tags 106a, 107a, 108a).

The assets 106, 107, 108 may generally be any device, component, or object that an entity may desire to track and/or otherwise locate. For example, the assets 106, 107, 108 may be large and calibrated tools used in and/or for oil and gas equipment/operations, parcels for delivery by a shipping company, hospital equipment that is and/or may be moved to different floors/rooms, wristbands attached to hospital patients, and/or any other suitable objects or combinations thereof. While illustrated as three assets 106, 107, 108, it should be appreciated that the reader 102 may simultaneously communicate with any suitable number of assets 106, 107, 108 via the associated tags 106a, 107a, 108a. Thus, the N^thasset 108 may be a third asset, a fifth asset, a twentieth asset, a one-hundredth asset, and/or any other integer value asset.

Each asset 106, 107, 108 may also include a corresponding tag 106a, 107a, 108a that may be configured to respond to polling requests by transmitting information associated with the asset via the networking interface 106a1, 107a1, 108a1 to, for example, the reader 102. Each asset tag 106a, 107a, 108a may also include one or more processors 106a2, 107a2, 108a2 configured to interpret and/or execute such polling requests and/or other instructions contained in signals received from the reader 102, server 110, and/or other suitable device(s). For example, the processors 106a2, 107a2, 108a2 may be configured to interpret polling requests and/or other signals received from the reader 102 and thereby transmit data packets to the reader 102.

Moreover, in certain embodiments, a workstation (not shown) may be communicatively connected to the server 110, and a user/operator may access the server 110 to retrieve a location associated with an asset 106, 107, 108. The workstation may query the server 110 with the identification tag of the corresponding asset 106, 107, 108, and the server 110 may match the identification tag with a location entry in the tag database 110b1 associated with the corresponding asset 106, 107, 108. The server 110 may then forward the location entry to the workstation for viewing by the user/operator.

More generally, the one or more memories 102b, 110b may include one or more forms of volatile and/or non-volatile, fixed and/or removable memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), electronic programmable read-only memory (EPROM), random access memory (RAM), erasable electronic programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and/or other hard drives, flash memory, MicroSD cards, and others. In general, a computer program or computer based product, application, or code (e.g., set of sequence instructions 102b1, and/or other computing instructions described herein) may be stored on a computer usable storage medium, or tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., standard random access memory (RAM), an optical disc, a universal serial bus (USB) drive, or the like) having such computer-readable program code or computer instructions embodied therein, wherein the computer-readable program code or computer instructions may be installed on or otherwise adapted to be executed by the one or more processors 102c, 110a (e.g., working in connection with a respective operating system in the one or more memories 102b, 110b) to facilitate, implement, or perform the machine readable instructions, methods, processes, elements or limitations, as illustrated, depicted, or described for the various flowcharts, illustrations, diagrams, figures, and/or other disclosure herein.

In this regard, the program code may be implemented in any desired program language, and may be implemented as machine code, assembly code, byte code, interpretable source code or the like (e.g., via Golang, Python, C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Java, Scala, ActionScript, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, XML, etc.). Moreover, the one or more memories 102b, 110b may also store machine readable instructions, including any of one or more application(s), one or more software component(s), and/or one or more APIs, which may be implemented to facilitate or perform the features, functions, or other disclosure described herein, such as any methods, processes, elements or limitations, as illustrated, depicted, or described for the various flowcharts, illustrations, diagrams, figures, and/or other disclosure herein.

The one or more processors 102c, 110a may be connected to the one or more memories 102b, 110b via a computer bus (not shown) responsible for transmitting electronic data, data packets, or otherwise electronic signals to and from the one or more processors 102c, 110a and one or more memories 102b, 110b to implement or perform the machine readable instructions, methods, processes, elements or limitations, as illustrated, depicted, or described for the various flowcharts, illustrations, diagrams, figures, and/or other disclosure herein.

The one or more processors 102c, 110a may interface with the one or more memories 102b, 110b via the computer bus to execute any suitable application or executable instructions (e.g., set of sequence instructions 102b1) necessary to perform any of the actions associated with the methods of the present disclosure. The one or more processors 102c, 110a may also interface with the one or more memories 102b, 110b via the computer bus to create, read, update, delete, or otherwise access or interact with the data stored in the one or more memories 102b, 110b and/or external databases (e.g., a relational database, such as Oracle, DB2, MySQL, or a NoSQL based database, such as MongoDB). The data stored in the one or more memories 102b, 110b and/or an external database may include all or part of any of the data or information described herein, including, for example, asset tag 106a, 107a, 108a data packets, asset location data, pseudorandom channel sequences, antenna usage values, and/or other suitable information or combinations thereof.

The networking interfaces 106a1, 107a1, 108a1, 110c and/or the antennas 102a1, 102a2 may be configured to communicate (e.g., send and receive) data via one or more external/network port(s) to one or more networks or local terminals, as described herein. In some embodiments, the server 110 and/or the reader 102 may include a client-server platform technology such as ASP.NET, Java J2EE, Ruby on Rails, Node.js, a web service or online API, responsive for receiving and responding to electronic requests. The server 110 and/or the reader 102 may accordingly implement the client-server platform technology that may interact, via the computer bus, with the one or more memories 102b, 110b (including the applications(s), component(s), API(s), data, etc. stored therein) to implement or perform the machine readable instructions, methods, processes, elements or limitations, as illustrated, depicted, or described for the various flowcharts, illustrations, diagrams, figures, and/or other disclosure herein.

According to some embodiments, the networking interfaces 106a1, 107a1, 108a1, 110c and/or the antennas 102a1, 102a2 may include, or interact with, one or more transceivers (e.g., WWAN, WLAN, and/or WPAN transceivers) functioning in accordance with IEEE standards, 3GPP standards, or other standards, and that may be used in receipt and transmission of data via external/network ports connected to a network. In some embodiments, the network (not shown) may comprise a private network or local area network (LAN). Additionally, or alternatively, the network may comprise a public network such as the Internet. In some embodiments, the network may comprise routers, wireless switches, or other such wireless connection points communicating to the server 110 (via networking interface 110c) via wireless communications based on any one or more of various wireless standards, including by non-limiting example, an RFID standard, a BLUETOOTH standard (e.g., BLE), IEEE 802.11a/b/c/g (WIFI), or the like.

To illustrate types of antennas that may be included as part of the channel/antenna hopping embodiments described herein, FIG. 2A depicts an example multi-antenna configuration 200 for dynamic polarization selection by antenna bandwidth, in accordance with various embodiments described herein.

The example multi-antenna configuration 200 generally includes a body/frontal boundary 202 of an RFID reader (e.g., reader 102) that includes two bowtie-shaped antenna 204, 206. The first antenna 204 is oriented vertically and may have a specific polarization. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the first antenna 204 is relatively compact as compared to the second antenna 206, such that the first antenna 204 may have a frequency bandwidth that is different from the frequency bandwidth of the second antenna 206. The second antenna 206 is longer and/or otherwise physically larger than the first antenna 204, such that the second antenna 206 may have a larger frequency bandwidth. By contrast, the second antenna 206 is oriented horizontally, and may also have a specific polarization. In certain embodiments, the first antenna 204 polarization is different from the second antenna 206 polarization.

Based on these physical differences between the first antenna 204 and the second antenna 206, the RFID reader can optimize tag reading while satisfying all requirements (e.g., regulatory requirements) and without sacrificing return loss. For example, the first antenna 204 may have a first frequency bandwidth from approximately 902 MHz to 914 MHz, and the second antenna 206 may have a second frequency bandwidth from approximately 908 MHz to 928 MHz. In this example, the RFID reader can leverage sequencing instructions (e.g., set of sequence instructions 102b1) to determine that a signal should be transmitted by one of the two antennas 204, 206 on a channel corresponding to 912.5 MHz. The instructions may further evaluate the amount of time and/or any other suitable value (e.g., percentage usage, etc.) indicating the usage of the first antenna 204 and/or the second antenna 206 to determine that the first antenna 204 has been used to transmit/receive more than the second antenna 206. Accordingly, because the pseudo-randomly determined channel (912.5 MHz) is within the frequency bandwidths of both antennas 204, 206 and the first antenna 204 has been used more than the second antenna 206, the set of instructions may then determine that the second antenna 206 should be used to transmit the signal on the pseudo-randomly determined channel (912.5 MHz).

To further clarify the frequency bandwidths and return loss profiles of such multi-antenna systems, FIG. 2B depicts an example return loss profile graph 220 for a multi-antenna system in which techniques for dynamic polarization selection by antenna bandwidth may be implemented, in accordance with various embodiments described herein. The return loss profile graph 220 includes a first antenna return loss profile 222, a second antenna return loss profile 224, and a minimum return loss 226. The first antenna return loss profile 222 has a first frequency bandwidth edge 222a and a second frequency bandwidth edge 222b. The second return loss profile 224 also has a first frequency bandwidth edge 224a and a second frequency bandwidth edge 224b.

Generally speaking, a reader (e.g., reader 102) may utilize either the first antenna or the second antenna whenever the pseudo-randomly selected channel falls within a frequency bandwidth range where the return loss of the antenna is higher than the minimum return loss 226. In other words, the reader may utilize the second antenna to transmit a signal to any proximate tags when the pseudo-randomly selected channel falls between the first frequency bandwidth edge 224a and a second frequency bandwidth edge 224b. Further, the reader may utilize either the first antenna or the second antenna to transmit a signal when the pseudo-randomly selected channel falls between the first frequency bandwidth edge 222a and the second frequency bandwidth edge 222b.

For example, the first antenna return loss profile 222 may correspond to the first antenna 204 of FIG. 2A, and the second antenna return loss profile 224 may correspond to the second antenna 206. As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the first antenna return loss profile 222 has a significantly narrower frequency bandwidth than the second antenna return loss profile 224, indicating that the physical configuration of the second antenna (e.g., 206) enables high return losses across a larger bandwidth than the first antenna (e.g., 204). However, the first antenna may have a higher return loss than the second antenna across a portion of the first antenna's operating bandwidth, such that the reader (e.g., reader 102) may utilize the first antenna when the selected channel falls within the frequency bandwidth range represented by the first antenna return loss profile 222 (e.g., between the first frequency bandwidth edge 222a and the second frequency bandwidth edge 222b).

As a specific example, the first frequency bandwidth edge 222a and a second frequency bandwidth edge 222b extends from approximately 917 MHz to 922 MHz, the first frequency bandwidth edge 224a and a second frequency bandwidth edge 224b extends from approximately 900 MHz to 930 MHz, and the reader may determine (e.g., via a set of sequence instructions 102b1) that a signal is to be transmitted across a channel corresponding to 913 MHz. In this example, the reader may determine that the signal should be transmitted using the second antenna because only the second antenna has a high enough return loss at 913 MHz.

Continuing this example, after transmitting the signal using the second antenna, the reader may determine that a subsequent signal is to be transmitted across a different channel corresponding to 920 MHz. In this example, the reader may determine that either the first antenna or the second antenna may be used to transmit the subsequent signal because both antennas have a high enough return loss at the 920 MHz channel. Thus, the reader may determine which antenna to transmit the subsequent signal based on the usage values tracked for the first antenna and the second antenna. If the first antenna has not yet been used to transmit a signal and/or the reader determines that the first antenna has a lower usage value than the second antenna, the reader may determine that the subsequent signal should be transmitted using the first antenna. In this manner, the reader may potentially optimize tag captures by utilizing a variety of polarizations to capture differently oriented tag antennas while satisfying all applicable regulations and/or other constraints.

To better illustrate the reader selection between two antennas with return losses that satisfy the minimum return loss, FIG. 3A depicts another example return loss profile 300 for a multi-antenna system, in accordance with various embodiments described herein. The example return loss profile 300 includes a first antenna profile 302, a second antenna profile 304, a first transmission channel bandwidth value 306a, a second transmission channel bandwidth value 306b, and a minimum return loss value 308. In this example return loss profile 300, a reader (e.g., reader 102) may generally select an antenna to transmit a signal across any determined channel when the corresponding antenna profile indicates the antenna has a return loss value at the determined channel that is higher than the minimum return loss value 308.

Thus, the reader may generally select the first antenna associated with the first antenna profile 302 to transmit signals across any channel between the first transmission channel bandwidth value 306a and the second transmission channel bandwidth value 306b. By contrast, the second antenna has a return loss value that is lower than the minimum return loss value 308 at channels between the first transmission channel bandwidth value 306a and the third transmission channel bandwidth value 306c. Accordingly, the reader can only select the second antenna associated with the second antenna profile 304 to transmit signals across channels between the third transmission channel bandwidth value 306c and the second transmission channel bandwidth value 306b.

These antenna selection combinations are illustrated in FIG. 3B, which depicts an example antenna selection configuration 320 based on the example return loss profile 300 of FIG. 3A, in accordance with various embodiments described herein. Namely, the example antenna selection configuration 320 includes a first selection region 322, a second selection region 324, and a third selection region 326. Generally, a reader (e.g., reader 102) may select an antenna to transmit a signal based on the region 322, 324, 326 in which the pseudo-randomly determined channel falls.

For example, the first selection region 322 may generally correspond to the set of channel frequencies between the first transmission channel bandwidth value 306a and the third transmission channel bandwidth value 306c where only the first antenna has a return loss value that is higher than the minimum return loss value 308. Accordingly, the reader may always utilize the first antenna corresponding to the first antenna profile 302 to transmit signals when the pseudo-randomly determined channel falls within the first selection region 322.

The second selection region 324 may generally correspond to the set of channel frequencies between the second transmission channel bandwidth value 306b and the third transmission channel bandwidth value 306c where the second antenna always has a return loss value that is higher than the first antenna and the minimum return loss value 308. Accordingly, the reader may always utilize the second antenna corresponding to the second antenna profile 304 to transmit signals when the pseudo-randomly determined channel falls within the second selection region 324.

The third selection region 326 may generally correspond to the set of channel frequencies between the second transmission channel bandwidth value 306b and the third transmission channel bandwidth value 306c where both the first antenna and the second antenna have a return loss value that is higher than the minimum return loss value 308. Accordingly, the reader may determine whether to utilize the first antenna corresponding to the first antenna profile 302 or the second antenna corresponding to the second antenna profile 304 to transmit signals when the pseudo-randomly determined channel falls within the third selection region 326 based on usage values of the first/second antennas, as described herein.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example environment 400 for implementing example methods and/or operations described herein. FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of an example environment 400, components of which may be configured to implement techniques for dynamic polarization selection by antenna bandwidth, as described herein.

The environment 400 includes an assembly 402, which may for example be at least a portion of an RFID reader, e.g., as described with respect to FIGS. 1-3B. The environment 400 also includes a receiver 404 configured to receive signals transmitted by the assembly 402 via communications represented by the arrow connecting the assembly 402 and the receiver 404. The receiver 404 may, for example, be an RFID tag including an antenna connected to an integrated circuit. In some aspects, the receiver 404 may be an RFID tag including still additional components, e.g., a battery and/or one or more sensors. Although only one receiver