A Hybrid BLE-LF Tag for Extended-Range Cattle RFID

This work explores the integration into a semiactive RFID tag of a custom, ISO-compatible LF wake-up ASIC operating at 134.2 kHz with a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) advertisement response strategy. This integration aims to extend the reading range, enhancing bulk RFID reading for highly efficient traceability and monitoring applications in the cattle industry and dairy farms. A holistic analysis was carried out to validate the design of the LF tag, and a measured reading distance of 14 × that of the state-of-the-art passive LF ISO11784/85 tags was achieved. The proposed tag is powered by a small coin cell battery and achieves a lifespan that exceeds that of dairy cattle, remaining low-power, robust and adhering to current standards.