A Practical System for a Low Cost Smart Tag and Applicator

A feasibility study is proposed for developing a practical low cost smart tag and a remote programmer/reader system using a radio frequency link. The required information will be stored in the tag's non-volitile memory. The information can be written and read out as many times as needed. A novel applicator for the smart tag is also proposed. The applicator will be simple in design. It will apply the smart tag onto any type of package, box, bag, luggage, and crate of various thickness and stiffness while they are transported on a conveyer. The tag will be applied to the item as it is moving with arbitrary order, shape, size, orientation, and position. The conveyor can reach maximum speed of two hundred feet per minute. The material covering the item can be cloth, metal, plastic, paper or wood. During Phase I, the feasibility of the smart tag and the applicator will be experimentally demonstrated. During Phase II, prototypes of the smart tag, the remote programmer/reader system and the versatile applicator will be fabricated. In Phase III, smart tag, remote programmer/reader system and the tag applicator will be commercialized. The results of the Phase I and II programs will be a practical low cost smart tag, a remote programmer/reader system and a novel versatile applicator. The smart tags and the applicator can be used for tagging any type of conveyor transported item. It can also be used in many other applications where automatic tagging is required.