In this paper, we present an evaluation of two forward error correction (FEC) codes, Hamming codes and Reed-Solomon codes, used in the tag communications within the ISO 18000-63 (Gen2) passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag identification protocol. Gen2 tags utilize backscatter communication, and their communication signal is often -60dBm or lower when it reaches the reader. Signals at this power level are very susceptible to noise and other interference effects, and they are at the limits of the typical reader's receive sensitivity. The communications from the Gen2 tag to the reader are protected with a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) that detects, but does not correct, potential communication errors. We present an evaluation of Hamming codes and Reed-Solomon codes used within the tag's communication during the Gen2 identification process. We find that the Hamming codes provide minimal improvement over CRC and do not perform well under high error rates. The Reed-Solomon codes, in contrast, are able to correct nearly all common transmission errors in an environment with a bit error rate of 0.025, resulting in a message retransmission rate of less than 2% as compared to a retransmission rate of approximately 65% for messages protected with just a CRC.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.