New UHF RFID Technology Developed at
the University of Kansas

Organizations may more quickly and efficiently track their assets—from laptops, tools, and machines to containers of water and metal drums—by using technology developed at the University of Kansas. Researchers at KU's Information and Telecommunication Technology Center (ITTC) have created one of the best-performing, least costly, and thinnest radio frequency identification (RFID) tags specifically designed to work on metal or objects containing liquid.

Five unique, U.S. patent-pending technologies enable the KU-Tag to deliver exceptional performance when placed directly on metal or near liquid. Prior to the ITTC invention, trace amounts of a metal or liquid—for example, foil found in potato chip bags, or dishwasher detergent—led to distorted communication between RFID tags and the devices that read them. RFID tag technology, a successor to bar code technology, identifies tagged items through radio communication between an electronic reader and tags containing data on microchips. Dr. Daniel Deavours, creator of the KU-Tag and an ITTC research assistant professor, noted that the KU-Tag performs 20 to 80 percent better than any other tag purported to work near metal or water and tested by his team at the RFID Alliance Lab at ITTC.

"The KU-tag provides a long-needed solution to the RFID industry," said Toby Rush, president of Rush Tracking Systems, an RFID systems integrator.

"This solves a nagging problem with RFID tags that has plagued the industry for a long time," said Deavours, after conducting numerous performance tests at the Lab. "We had seen a lot of attempts at solutions to the metal/liquid problem from industry, but none had been satisfactory. The tags we've developed work better on metal than most tags do in free space."

Deavours foresees the KU-Tag, which is thinner than a quarter, transforming internal asset tracking, allowing users to reliably place RFID tags on any object regardless of what it is made of or contains. For example, electronic readers placed throughout a manufacturing plant could send out radio signals to which each tag would respond with its identifying information. The tags could also be embedded in reusable containers, since the tag would always work well regardless of what was inside the container. The KU-Tag could also be useful for hospitals tracking medical supplies and equipment, Deavours said.

Research and development of the patent-pending technology have been funded by ITTC. The Center's Office of Applied Technology is currently seeking industry partners to transfer the KU-Tag to the commercial sector. For more information, please contact Keith Braman, Associate Director for Applied Technology, Information and Telecommunication Technology Center (ITTC) at the University of Kansas: 785-864-7697 or kbraman@ittc.ku.edu.

Copyright @ 2006 The University of Kansas