Detecting Breaks in Cold Chain Integrity Using Chipless RFID Time Temperature Sensors

This article presents a low-cost, food-safe chipless radio-frequency identification (RFID) time-temperature (TT) sensor that operates in the 3-5 GHz [ultra wide band (UWB)] band. The sensor is capable of detecting three types of TT exposure events typically found in cold chain operations. We achieve this by interfacing a chipless RFID tag with three cooking oils having melting points of 142 degrees C, 17.3 degrees C, and 23.6 degrees C, respectively. The three TT events induce unique changes in the oil phase (solid to liquid) for all three oil types and this manifests as distinct signal responses from the chipless RFID tag. We discuss how logistic providers can infer TT exposure data at key steps in the cold chain via quantitative data obtained from these responses. Planned sensor improvements and future research directions are also discussed.

Automated summary

This article presents a low-cost and food-safe chipless RFID time-temperature sensor that operates in the 3-5 GHz UWB band. The sensor can detect three types of temperature exposure events in cold chain operations by analyzing the phase change of cooking oils. Logistic providers can use the data obtained from the sensor to infer temperature exposure at key steps in the cold chain. The article also discusses planned sensor improvements and future research directions.