Hybrid RFID/WSNs for Logistics Management

Abstract

An information system is always expected to provide answers to four questions: Who, What, When and Where, questions which are known as the 4W questions. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) can provide the “What” and “When”, while Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is one of the most popular ways to provides the “Who” (ID). Localization, supported by WSN, provides the “Where”. This chapter introduces the latest research regarding the combination of Radio Frequency Identification, Sensors and Wireless Sensor Networks. The research described in this chapter focuses on infrastructures in logistics applications. The perceptions, definitions and classifications for RFID are first introduced. Then the way to integrate RFID with WSNs is presented, followed by hybrid RFID/sensor network architecture. Finally, a potential use of RFID/sensor network in humanitarian logistics management is described.