UHF-RFID Technology for Indoor Localization in Industrial Internet of Things Scenarios

This doctoral thesis mainly discusses the topic of radiolocalization techniques for vehicles and moving/static objects, based on Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) passive technology in the Ultra-High-Frequency (UHF) band. This emerging technology represents one of the main competitors of the barcode for the identification of objects or products, and also a promising low-cost and high reliability solution to realize real-time localization systems for indoor environments, which find interest in a manifold of industrial scenarios. This technology is nowadays already widely employed in warehouses and large stores for the optimized management of goods, or in airports for baggage handling. In particular, the work of this thesis focuses on three fundamental aspects. The first one is the localization of vehicles, mainly mobile robots equipped with RFID readers, through an infrastructure of RFID tags installed in known positions and through the combination of measurements gathered by RFID systems with those of other kinematic sensors installed on board the vehicle. The second problem concerns the 2D and 3D localization of static objects equipped with RFID tags with mobile ground or aerial vehicles. This problem can be solved through techniques that exploit the principle of the synthetic array. Finally, the application of RFID technology for localization and other applications is studied in an industrial scenario, with the aim of highlighting the advantages and limitations encountered during the development of a research project for a high-stock indoor warehouse in collaboration with a paper-industry company.