kinema wrote:The antenna coil may be a bit of a manufacturing challenge but not an impossibility.
Grand Idea Studios designed a 125Khz reader which is sold by Parallax. The antenna is part of the circuit traces.
with tags scattered arround in known locations for positioning assistance.
Using IR beacons could present a more cost-effective solution. The cost of the transmitter would be close to the cost of a passive RFID tag (at today's prices), and the cost of the receiver would be substantially cheaper. A passive RFID device wouldn't require power, but a beacon could be designed to be interrogated by the robot thus preserving battery life. An IR beacon would also have a larger range than a passive RFID tag (feet versus inches).
Have you ever thought of a RFID reader product?
An inexpensive reader that uses the "SpeedPass" type tags would be a welcome addition. I have an access control system using the Parallax reader. The Parallax tags are on the large size, but managable. What I would like to do is drop readers all over the home, so I can use one tag to unlock doors, access my PC, etc. At $40 a reader, the cost isn't out of the question, but is sure would be easier to get approval from upper management (my wife), if it could be done less expensively.