International Business Machines Corporation

Joann Huffman

Rhonda L Childress

David B Kumhyr

Stewart Jason Hyman

Bradley Dale Childs

Stephen James Watt

Stehen James Watt

Methods, systems, and media to improve polling accuracy in RFID systems are disclosed. Embodiments comprise receiving information from one or more tags by a tag reader, comparing the information from the tags to other information, and adding the tag to an inventory if the tag does not exist in the other information. While some embodiments compare the tag information from the tags to baseline inventories for other areas, some embodiments compare it to current inventories for the other areas or compare it to a combination of both inventories. Some embodiments involve polling RFID tags in storage containers. Other embodiments involve machine-accessible mediums with instructions to receive information from the tag reader, analyze the information with baseline and current inventories of other areas, and store identification information for the tag in a current inventory database if the information is absent from the baseline and current inventories.

Methods and systems to improve RFID inventory polling accuracy

Container manifests are tracked using a radio frequency identification (RFID) contents reader affixed to a container in which a plurality of RFID-tagged items are disposed, the contents reader being configured to collect and store identification information from all of the tagged items; and using an active RFID tag emulator affixed to the container which responds to an external reader activation code by receiving the collected information from the affixed RFID contents reader, and by transmitting the identification information to the external reader.

Container manifest integrity maintenance system and method

A method to improve polling accuracy in RFID systems is disclosed. Embodiments comprise receiving information from one or more tags by a tag reader, comparing the information from the tags to other information, and adding the tag to an inventory if the tag does not exist in the other information. While some embodiments compare the tag information from the tags to baseline inventories for other areas, some embodiments compare it to current inventories for the other areas or compare it to a combination of both inventories. Some embodiments involve polling RFID tags in storage containers.

A system, method, and medium for tracking the contents of a container in which the items stored in the container are provided with radio frequency identification ('RFID') tags, and a tracker affixed to the container periodically polls the items in the container to collect identification information. An electronic manifest, also attached to the container, is updated periodically to reflect items which have been added to the container or removed from the container since the last polling. The tracker emulates an RFID tag when polled by an external reader, responding by uploading the entire electronic manifest to the external reader. The external reader and the affixed reader preferably utilize distinct RFID protocols so as to produce a hierarchical manifest data structure with high integrity.

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Joann Huffman