Energy-based order of arrival estimation via UWB-UHF RFID

The order-of-arrival (OOA) estimation of moving items is essential for various emerging applications, for example, baggage sorting and dispatching in airports. In this paper, we show how OOA estimation can be performed by an UWB-UHF RFID system that allows identification and tracking of passive and semi-passive tags attached to objects moving on a conveyor belt. Particle filtering on the energy samples of the backscattered signal is introduced for OOA estimation. A case study shows the performance of the proposed particle filter for various settings of practical interest.