Low-Cost Wireless Transponder System for Industrial and Biomedical Applications

Wireless measurement systems utilizing radio frequency identification device (RFID) transponders offer a new and exciting means of measurement and identification suitable for many industrial and biomedical applications. For the majority of these applications, a small, inexpensive radio request sensor system is necessary. To satisfy these requirements, we developed a high integrated RFID transponder system with an on board ultra low-power micro-controller for sensor data read-out and data storage. The sensor system includes hard-and software power saving modes to allow battery powered operation for years. In this paper, an industrial and biomedical sensor/transponder application is described. In addition, the principles, measurements, data-flow and assembly of the sensor/transponder unit are presented and discussed.