User's Manual

MPR-1510 - 5 - Doc# 041313
AWID PROPRIETARY
1 INTRODUCTION
AWID's Sentinel-Sense MPR-1510 is a long-range (12 to 15 feet) Radio Frequency
IDentification (RFID) reader module with RS-232 I/O interface that works with most
leading passive UHF passive tags. This reader comes with a unique combination of long
read range, small size, and low power consumption. The reader module has an internal
power converter, allowing it to work with a wide range of supply inputs without affecting
its performance. Its primary applications are asset management and tracking, and fleet
management applications.
In order to operate an MPR-1510 you will need the following:
q Standard antenna(s) each with 6dBi gain or less
q Host software (AWID’s demo software or your own custom software)
q RFID Tags (EPC Class 0, 1, ISO Type B or EM Micro)
1.1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION & THEORY OF OPERATION
The MPR reader uses radio frequency to identify, locate and track pallets and/or items
that carry the appropriate RFID transponders. It works in non-line-of-sight situations and
in darkness, bright sun-light, or through dirt, grime and smudges.
A typical RFID system consists of three components – a reader (interrogator), a
transponder (card or tag), and a data processing controller. The reader has an internal
micro-controller section, a transmitter section, a receiver section, and a circular
polarized transmit/receive antenna. Passive transponders (tags or labels) consist of an
antenna and an RFID ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuits). During operation,
the transmitter sends out an electromagnetic wave to establish a zone of surveillance.
When a transponder enters this zone, the electromagnetic energy from the reader
begins to energize the IC in the transponder. Once the IC is energized, it goes through
an initialization process and is ready to accept further commands. Upon receiving a
command that queries its identity, the RFID ASIC begins to broadcast its identity
through a low-energy back-scattering process, which selectively reflects or “back-
scatters” the electromagnetic energy to the interrogator. The receiving circuits in the
reader sense and decode this “back-scattered” signal and determine the identity of the
transponder.
Passive tags are “beam powered”, which is the electromagnetic energy radiated by the
transmitter section of the reader. Upon receiving a legitimated command, the tags will
cause the matching of the tags antenna to vary from match to mismatch, thereby
causing the tags to either absorb the RF energy or to reflect the RF energy. This
absorption or reflection sequence is commanded by the tags’ internal memory and this
is how the tags’ internal data are “conveyed” to the reader. The reader in turn monitors
the perturbation of the RF energy field, and thereby receives the varying degree of
signal reflected from the tags.
One of the unique design features for an RFID reader is that it must simultaneously
transmit a strong CW signal and at the same time, receive a weak reflected signal with
little frequency separation. In a traditional design, such functions are implemented