RFID tags for ambient intelligence: present solutions and future challenges

The present paper aims at delivering a broad overview of current state of the art technologies in the field of RFID including standardization issues. On that basis the potential use of RFID in ambient intelligence (AmI) scenarios will be discussed highlighting the two main visions and paradigms that are proposed in the field: one concentrates all the information on centralized or distributed data servers that are accessed through web services pointed by the URL addresses stored in the tags read by the user; the other is built on the use of tags or sensors as a media to gather information in the close environment of the user in order to enrich its experience. Finally, we will have a look at the various tag functionalities and performances that need improvements to meet AmI requirements and we will discuss the associated research and technology development challenges.