Surface material enhancement with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags

摘要

An RFID pressure assembly 104, for installation with a surface material 304 such as a floor or wall, comprises an RFID tag 402 having active and inactive states 406,408 and configured to respond to an interrogation signal 112 only when in the active state, and a pressure switch coupled to the RFID tag configured to respond to a pressure generated by a person 202 on the surface material to switch the tag into the active state. The tag may comprise an antenna coupled to an integrated circuit that stores an appliance control command or a positional indicator, which may comprise an indication of distance to a structural feature of a building, a geospatial or mapping coordinate, or a building room identifier. The integrated circuit may respond to the interrogation signal by wirelessly sending the appliance control command or positional indicator 114 via the antenna. Multiple RFID assemblies may be distributed over a flooring material in a spaced-apart arrangement (figure 1). A method of programming an RFID pressure assembly is also disclosed and comprises storing a positional indicator in an integrated circuit of an RFID pressure assembly after placing an RFID tag in an active state by applying pressure to a pressure switch.