ENERGY MANAGEMENT IN RFID SYSTEMS WITH LONG TERM ACTIVE SENSING

The inventive RFID Environmental Monitoring System (RFID_EMS) includes an RFID-based Environmental Monitor and Energy Management Logic for reducing energy consumption in active RFID tags used for long-term active sensing of storage and transit conditions of shipping containers. The RFID-based Environmental Monitor consists of an active RFID tag containing an RF transponder, microcontroller, sensors and associated interface circuitry. The Energy Management Logic provides hardware and software which work together, and consists of executable software or microcontroller logic that monitors and regulates energy use by an RFID tag and associated sensors, and may control the state of specialized peripheral circuits on the tag. By reading the RFID_EMS tag, the invention enables the determination of the condition of precision equipment prior to use, including equipment that requires high readiness after long periods of transit and/or storage.