Using Fuzzy Logic for data priority aware collection in RFID sensing wireless networks

Abstract

Long being used for identification purposes, a new set of applications is now available thanks to the development of RFID technology. One of which is remote sensing of environmental values using passive RFID tags. This leap forward allowed a more energy efficient and cheaper solution for applications like logistics or urban infrastructure monitoring. Nevertheless, serious issues raised with the use of RFID: (i) reading collisions and (ii) gathering of tag information. Indeed, tags information retrieved by readers have to be transmitted towards a base station through a multihop scheme which can interfere with neighboring readers activity. In this paper, we propose cross-layer solutions meant for both scheduling of readers' activity to avoid collisions, and a multihop routing towards base stations, to gather read tag data. This routing is performed with a data priority aware mechanism allowing end-to-end delay reduction of urgent data packets delivery up to 13% faster compared to standard ones. Using fuzzy logic, we combine several observed metrics to reduce the load of forwarding nodes and improve latency as well as data rate. We validate our proposal running simulations on industrial and urban scenarios.