From Backscatter to Digital Twins: The Evolving Landscape of Additively Manufactured and Lens-Based RFIDs for Ultra-Long Range, sub-cm Accuracy, and Origami-Inspired Reconfigurability

This paper reviews key advancements in RFID technology over the past decade and proposes future directions for its evolution. Notable progress has been made in additively manufactured and millimeter-wave (mm-wave) RFIDs, enhancing flexibility, scalability, and data throughput. Building on these innovations, we propose developments aimed at enabling ultra-long-range sensing, sub-centimeter localization, and high data rate transfer. We explore trends like origami-inspired reconfig-urability, lens-based designs, and machine learning to improve RFID precision and adaptability. Additionally, we discuss the potential for fully energy-autonomous RFIDs and mm-wave technol-ogy for high-speed, long-range communication, positioning RFID as a central technology for next-generation IoT applications such as industrial IoT, virtual reality, smart cities, and autonomous vehicles.