The Internet of Things (IoT) has a lot to offer and contribute to the retail industry, from the innovations in retail store experience to the increased efficiency in the store management and supply chain optimization. On its way to real-world applications, Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) became the main enabler for the final IoT deployment. However, to improve the technology performance even further, it is important to overcome the fundamental limitations of its physical layer and, consequently, to better understand how to use the technology in an optimal way. The analysis provided in this paper employs the simulation/measurement study on RFID technology advancement and the influence of radio propagation in a realistic model of the retail environment. The results are provided for different types of the retail layouts and materials that influence tag responsiveness.

On the way from the Internet of things (IoT) to the Internet of underground things (IoUT) the main challenge is antenna design. The enabling technologies still rely on simple design and low cost, but the systems are more complex. The LoRa-based system combined with a machine learning approach can be used for the estimation of soil moisture by using signal strength data, but for the improvement of the system performance we propose the optimization of the antenna for underground use. The soil properties are frequency-dependent and varying in time, which may cause variations in the signal wavelength and input impedance of the antenna underground. Instead of using wideband antenna design or standard helical antenna provided in LoRa module, which are typical in the IoUT research community for communication links, we propose a narrow-band antenna design for the application in soil moisture sensing. It is shown that the approach of simply matching the antenna buried in dry sand can provide a substantial signal level difference, ranging from approximately 10 dB (achieved by proof-of-concept measurements) to as much as 40 dB (calculated by a full wave simulator) in reflection coefficient when the moisture content is being increased by 20%. This can ensure more reliable radio sensing in novel sensorless technology where soil moisture information is extracted from the signal strength of a transmitting device.

The capabilities of electrically small spherical helical antennas for wireless power transmission at small and moderate distances are analyzed. Influence of design on antenna radiation resistance, efficiency, and mode ratio is examined. These are the factors that, according to the theoretical considerations depicted herein, govern the maximum transfer performances. Various designs and configurations are considered for the purpose, with accent on small-size receivers suitable for implementation in powering common-sized gadgets. It is shown that spherical helix design is easily manipulated to achieve a reduced antenna size. Good radiation characteristics and impedance match are maintained by multiple-arm folded antenna design and by adjusting the separation between the arms.

In this paper we provide new recommendations for a type of antenna design in applications where a human is present in the vicinity of a wireless power transfer (WPT) system by means of power transfer efficiency (PTE) and specific absorption rate (SAR). The interaction between a homogenous human model and different WPT systems is investigated at 13.56 MHz using spherical mode theory antenna model (SMT-AM) and full-wave numerical analysis. The human model exposure and the performance of the proposed WPT system are analyzed further for some typical scenarios. It is shown that the position in which the human model is closer to the receiver is favorable over the position closer to the transmitter, concerning both PTE and SAR. Also, the consideration of variable receiver load indicates that different levels of SAR coupled by degraded PTE can be expected. The proposed antennas are designed, and proof of concept WPT measurements are carried out.

In this paper, human body exposure to high frequency electromagnetic field radiated by wireless power transfer system antennas is analysed by numerical modelling using commercial software FEKO. The analysis is carried out for two...