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RFID Inventory Service

Overview

RFID Inventory Service - Edgex application service for processing tag reads, producing events [Arrived, Moved, Departed], configure and manage the LLRP readers via commands

Build Native

make build

Build Docker

make docker

Inventory Events

There are 3 basic inventory events that are generated and sent to EdgeX's core-data. Here are some example EdgeX Events with accompanying EdgeX Readings.

  • InventoryEventArrived
{
  "id": "6def8859-5a12-4c83-b68c-256303146682",
  "device": "rfid-llrp-inventory",
  "created": 1598043284110,
  "origin": 1598043284109799400,
  "readings": [
    {
      "id": "8d15d035-402f-4abc-85fc-a7ed7213122a",
      "created": 1598043284110,
      "origin": 1598043284109799400,
      "device": "rfid-llrp-inventory",
      "name": "InventoryEventArrived",
      "value": "{\"epc\":\"30340bb6884cb101a13bc744\",\"tid\":\"\",\"timestamp\":1598043284104,\"location\":\"SpeedwayR-10-EF-18_1\"}"
    }
  ]
}
  • InventoryEventMoved
{
  "id": "c78c304e-1906-4d17-bf26-5075756a231f",
  "device": "rfid-llrp-inventory",
  "created": 1598401259699,
  "origin": 1598401259697580500,
  "readings": [
    {
      "id": "323694d9-1a48-417a-9f43-25998536ae8f",
      "created": 1598401259699,
      "origin": 1598401259697580500,
      "device": "rfid-llrp-inventory",
      "name": "InventoryEventMoved",
      "value": "{\"epc\":\"30340bb6884cb101a13bc744\",\"tid\":\"\",\"timestamp\":1598401259691,\"old_location\":\"Freezer\",\"new_location\":\"Kitchen\"}"
    }
  ]
}
  • InventoryEventDeparted
{
  "id": "4d042708-c5de-41fa-827a-3f24b364c6de",
  "device": "rfid-llrp-inventory",
  "created": 1598062424895,
  "origin": 1598062424894043600,
  "readings": [
    {
      "id": "928ff90d-02d1-43be-81a6-a0d75886b0e4",
      "created": 1598062424895,
      "origin": 1598062424894043600,
      "device": "rfid-llrp-inventory",
      "name": "InventoryEventDeparted",
      "value": "{\"epc\":\"30340bb6884cb101a13bc744\",\"tid\":\"\",\"timestamp\":1598062424893,\"last_read\":1598062392524,\"last_known_location\":\"SpeedwayR-10-EF-18_1\"}"
    },
    {
      "id": "abfff90d-02d1-43be-81a6-a0d75886cdaf",
      "created": 1598062424895,
      "origin": 1598062424894043600,
      "device": "rfid-llrp-inventory",
      "name": "InventoryEventDeparted",
      "value": "{\"epc\":\"30340bb6884cb101a13bc688\",\"tid\":\"\",\"timestamp\":1598062424893,\"last_read\":1598062392512,\"last_known_location\":\"POS Terminals\"}"
    }
  ]
}

Note: The readings field of the EdgeX Event is an array and multiple Inventory Events may be sent via a single EdgeX Event. Each EdgeX Reading corresponds to a single Inventory Event.

Arrived

Arrived events are generated when ANY of the following conditions are met:

  • A tag is read that has never been read before
  • A tag is read that is currently in the Departed state
  • A tag aged-out of the inventory and has been read again

Moved

Moved events are generated when ALL of the following conditions are met:

  • A tag is read by an Antenna (Incoming Antenna) that is not the current Location
  • The Incoming Antenna's Alias does not match the current Location's Alias
  • The Incoming Antenna has read that tag at least 2 times total (including this one)
  • The moving average of RSSI values from the Incoming Antenna are greater than the current Location's adjusted moving average (See: Mobility Profile)

Departed

Departed events are generated when:

  • A tag is in the Present state and has not been read in more than the configured DepartedThresholdSeconds

NOTE: Departed tags have their tag statistics cleared, essentially resetting any values used by the tag algorithm. So if this tag is seen again, the Location will be set to the first Antenna that reads the tag again.

Tag State Machine

Here is a diagram of the internal tag state machine. Every tag starts in the Unknown state (more precisely does not exist at all in memory). Throughout the lifecycle of the tag, events will be generated that will cause it to move between Present and Departed. Eventually once a tag has been in the Departed state for long enough it will "Age Out" which removes it from memory, effectively putting it back into the Unknown state.

Tag State Diagram

Tag Location Algorithm

Every tag is associated with a single Location which is the best estimation of the Reader and Antenna that this tag is closest to.

The location algorithm is based upon comparing moving averages of various RSSI values from each RFID Antenna. Over time these values will be decayed based on the configurable Mobility Profile. Once the algorithm computes a higher adjusted value for a new location, a Moved event is generated.

RSSI stands for Received Signal Strength Indicator. It is an estimated measure of power (in dBm) that the RFID reader receives from the RFID tag's backscatter.

In a perfect world as a tag gets closer to an antenna the RSSI would increase and vice-versa. In reality there are a lot of physics involved which make this a less than accurate representation, which is why we apply algorithms to the raw RSSI values.

Note: Locations are actually based on Aliases and multiple antennas may be mapped to the same Alias, which will cause them to be treated as the same within the tag algorithm. This can be especially useful when using a dual-linear antenna and mapping both polarities to the same Alias.

Configuration

The following configuration options affect how the tag location algorithm works under the hood.

  • AdjustLastReadOnByOrigin [bool]: If true, this will override the tag read timestamps sent from the sensor with an adjusted one based on the UTC time the LLRP Device Service received the message from the device (aka Origin). Essentially all timestamps will be shifted by the difference in time from when the sensor says it was read versus when it was actually received. This option attempts to account for message latency and time drift between sensors by standardizing all timestamps. If false, timestamps will retain their original values sent from the sensor.

    • default: true
    • computation: readOn = (Origin - sentOn) + readOn

  • DepartedThresholdSeconds [int]: How long in seconds a tag should not be read before it will generate a Departed event.

    • default: 600

  • DepartedCheckIntervalSeconds [int]: How often to run the background task that checks if a Tag needs to be marked Departed. Smaller intervals will cause more frequent checks and less variability at the expense of CPU utilization and lock contention. Larger intervals on the other hand may cause greater latency between when a tag passes the DepartedThresholdSeconds and when the Departed event is actually generated (waiting for the next check to occur).

    • default: 30

  • AgeOutHours [int]: How long in hours to keep Departed tags in our in-memory inventory before they are aged-out (purged). This is done for CPU and RAM conservation in deployments with a large turnover of unique tags. An aged-out tag will be purged from memory and if it is read again it will be treated as the first time seeing that tag.

    • default: 336 (aka: 2 weeks)

Mobility Profile

The following configuration options define the Mobility Profile values. These values are used in the Location algorithm as an adjustment function which will decay RSSI values over time. This offset value is then applied to the existing Tag's Location and compared to the non-adjusted average. Positive offset values will increase the likelihood of a tag staying in the same location, whereas negative offset values will increase the likelihood that the tag will move to the new location it was just read at.

The main goal of the Mobility Profile is to provide a way to customize the various tradeoffs when dealing with erratic data such as RSSI values. In general there is a tradeoff between responsiveness (how quickly tag movement is detected) and stability (preventing sporadic readings from generating erroneous events). By tweaking these values you will be able to find the balance that is right for your specific use-case.

Suppose the following variables:

  • incomingRSSI Mean RSSI of last windowSize reads by incoming read's location
  • existingRSSI Mean RSSI of last windowSize reads by tag's existing location
  • offset Result of Mobility Profile's computations

The location will change when the following equation is true:

  • incomingRSSI > (existingRSSI + offset)

Mobility Profile Diagram

Configure Mobility Profile

Note: All values can be modified via ApplicationSettings inside Edgex Consul.

  • MobilityProfileSlope [float]: Used to determine the offset applied to older RSSI values (aka rate of decay)

    • units: dBm per millisecond

  • MobilityProfileThreshold [float]: RSSI threshold that must be exceeded for the tag to move from the previous sensor

    • units: dBm

  • MobilityProfileHoldoffMillis [float]: Amount of time in which the offset used is equal to the threshold, effectively the slope is not used

    • units: milliseconds

Example Mobility Profile Values

Here are some example mobility profile values based on our previous experience. These values can be used as a reference when creating your own Mobility Profile.

Asset Tracking *
Slope -0.008
Threshold 6.0
Holdoff Millis 500.0

* These are the default mobility profile values.

Retail Garment
Slope -0.0005
Threshold 6.0
Holdoff Millis 60000.0

Setting the Aliases

  • Every device(reader) + antenna port represents a tag location and needs an alias such as Freezer, Backroom etc. to give more meaning to the data. The default alias set by the application has a format of <deviceName>_<antennaId> e.g. Reader-10-EF-25_1 where Reader-10-EF-25 is the deviceName and 1 is the antennaId

    To get the list of LLRP devices or readers connected, GET to the /api/v1/readers endpoint:

      curl -o- localhost:48086/api/v1/readers

        {
      "Readers": [
        "SpeedwayR-10-EF-25"
      ]
    }

  • User needs to configure the alias using Consul. This can be achieved via Consul’s UI or CLI

    • Setting Alias via Consul UI

      • Create a folder named Aliases under Edgex Consul and add Key Value pairs.

        Creating Aliases folder

      • Key is the default alias which is <deviceName>_<antennaId>. The value must be the alias value. Examples of KV pairs:

        • Speedway-10-EF-25_1: Freezer
        • Speedway-10-EF-25_2: Backstock

        Adding KV pairs

        Aliases created

      • Everytime the user creates/updates the Aliases folder the configuration changes apply to the application dynamically, and the updated alias can be seen under tag location (location_alias)

        GET to the /api/v1/inventory/snapshot endpoint:

          curl -o- localhost:48086/api/v1/inventory/snapshot

           [
     {
       "epc": "30143639f8419145db602154",
       "tid": "",
       "location": {
         "device_name": "SpeedwayR-10-EF-25",
         "antenna_id": 1
       },
       "location_alias": "Freezer",
       "last_read": 1601441311411,
       "last_arrived": 1601441265669,
       "last_departed": 0,
       "state": "Present",
       "stats_map": {
         "SpeedwayR-10-EF-25_1": {
           "last_read": 1601441311411,
           "mean_rssi": -54.25
         }
       }
     }
   ]

    • Setting Alias via Consul CLI

      • Aliases can also be set via Consul's API. Ex:

          curl \
    --request PUT \
    --data "Freezer" \
    http://localhost:8500/v1/kv/edgex/appservices/1.0/rfid-llrp-inventory/Aliases/SpeedwayR-10-EF-18_1

Behaviors

The code processes ROAccessReports coming from the LLRP Device Service, and so you can direct those Readers through that service. Alternatively, this code includes a "Behaviors" concept, which abstracts and simplifies LLRP Reader configuration at the expense of configuration expressiveness.

A Behavior provides a limited set of options applicable to inventory applications. This service determines and applies the LLRP options that best match the desired Behavior using information about the current environment and Readers' capabilities.

Here's how the service works with Behaviors:

  • On startup, it retrieves the current device list from EdgeX's Metadata service.
  • It uses the LLRP device service to reset those Readers to their factory default configs and deletes any ROSpecs they currently have.
  • Next, it generates an ROSpec per Reader based on its device capabilities, the current desired behavior, and certain environmental factors.
  • It sends those ROSpecs to each Reader.
  • When directed to start reading, it enables and/or starts the ROSpecs on each device.
    • If the desired behavior has an infinite duration, they start automatically.
    • If the behavior has a GPI trigger, it waits til that trigger starts it.
    • If the behavior has a finite duration (i.e., is a one-off), the service sends it a Start command.
  • When it gets a stop request, it stops and/or disables ROSpecs, as necessary.

Important Limitations

  • Since this code makes use of various commands on the device service, your devices must be registered with the LLRP device service using device profiles with names matching the deviceCommands and deviceResources it needs. The full list can be found below.
  • In particular, Impinj devices must be registered with the device service using a profile that has an enableImpinjExt deviceCommand, to set to a deviceResource representing a CustomMessage that enables Impinj's custom extensions. An example profile that meets these conditions is available in the LLRP Device Service.
  • You can modify a Behavior at any time, but doing so resets managed Readers' configurations, and thus if they were reading, they will stop.
  • The current code uses only a single default Behavior that applies to all Readers, and currently isn't persisted between restarts. The code is written in a way to support multiple Behaviors, but since there are many ways one can reasonably relate behaviors and devices, extending this is left for future development or as an exercise for the user.

Working with Behaviors

To start all Readers reading with the current behavior, POST to the /command/reading/start endpoint:

curl -o- -X POST localhost:48086/api/v1/command/reading/start

To stop reading, POST to the /command/reading/stop endpoint:

curl -o- -X POST localhost:48086/api/v1/command/reading/stop

To view the default Behavior:

curl -o- localhost:48086/api/v1/behaviors/default

{
    "ImpinjOptions": {
        "SuppressMonza": false
    },
    "ScanType": "Normal",
    "Duration": 0,
    "Power": {
        "Max": 3000
    }
}

To modify the default Behavior, PUT a new one at that endpoint. The new behavior completely replaces the old one. The following example uses jq to generate the JSON Behavior structure, the details of which are explained below. This particular Behavior enables a Fast scan at 30 dBm:

curl -o- localhost:48086/api/v1/behaviors/default -XPUT \
    --data @<(jq -n '{ScanType: "Fast", Power: {Max: 3000}}')

If you attempt to set the Behavior to something that can't be supported all the Readers to which it should apply, you'll receive an error response, and the Behavior won't change:

curl -o- -XPUT localhost:48086/api/v1/behaviors/default \
    --data @<(jq -n '{ScanType: "Fast"}')

new behavior is invalid for "Speedway": target power (0.00 dBm)
is lower than the lowest supported (10.00 dBm): behavior cannot be satisfied

Supported Behavior Options

  • ScanType is a string which should be set to one of the following:
    • Fast singulates tags as often as possible, with little regard for duplicates. This mode makes sense when tags are likely to "move fast" through antennas' Fields of View (FoV), or when the tag population is small and you want to detect as soon as possible when a tag is no longer present. For large, static tag populations, this mode is likely to repeatedly inventory only the strongest tags.
    • Normal mode reads tags in a way that keeps them quiet for a short while, but allow that to "timeout" so you'll see it multiple times as long as it's still in the Reader's antenna's Field of View (FoV). This mode is better than Fast at finding weaker tags, but as the popluation size grows, it'll become more difficult for the Reader to outpace tag timeouts.
    • Deep mode, like Normal, suppresses responses to find weaker tags, but does so in a way that makes it more likely to find even the weakest tags. It attempts to keep tags quiet until it has read every tag. If it reaches a point that it can no longer find tags, it changes strategies to attempt to re-inventory the population. It can take longer for this mode to notice a tag has entered or exited its FoV.
  • Duration is a number of milliseconds between 0 and 4,294,967,295 (2^32-1) that determines how long the Behavior should run. If the value is zero, the Behavior applies until the service receives a stop command.
  • Power is an object, though the current version accepts only one key:
    • Max is the 100x the maximum desired dBm output from the Reader to its antennas; actual radiated power depends on the gains and losses associated with the antenna and cabling. The service accepts values between -32,768 and 32,767 (the space of an int16), but it configures the Reader with its highest available power less than or equal to the given target. The service rejects the Behavior if its Power.Max is less than the lowest value supported by the Readers to which the Behavior should apply.
  • Frequencies is a list of frequencies, in kHz, for which the Power.Max is legal. In non-frequency Hopping regulatory regions, this element is required, while in frequency Hopping regions, this element is ignored. In the first case, the service must tell the Reader what frequency to operate, but some regions allow different power levels at different frequencies. For these Readers, the service will only choose a Frequency from this list, or will reject the Behavior if the Reader lacks any matching frequencies. The US is a Hopping region, so this value is ignored for a Reader legal to operate in the US.
  • GPITrigger is an optional object that configures a GPI trigger. When the service receives a start command, rather than starting the Behavior right away, the service tells the Reader to read whenever a GPI pin switches to a certain state. Likewise, the service handles stop by disabling the config on the Reader. The required elements match that of the LLRP structure:
    • Port is a uint16 port number.
    • Event is a bool with meaning for the GPI
    • Timeout is a uint32 number of milliseconds after which the trigger times out; if it's 0, it never times out.
  • ImpinjOptions is an optional object with values that only apply if the target Reader supports them:

    • SuppressMonza is a boolean that, if true, enables Impinj's "TagFocus" feature. When an Impinj reader uses this mode and singulates tags in "Session 1" (a concept that applies to the EPCGlobal Gen2 standard), it refreshes Monza tags' S1 flag to the "B state", so those tags are inventoried only once when they enter the antenna's FoV. When this option is enabled on a Behavior, the service changes its Fast and Normal scans to use this. Since a Deep scan already attempts to keep all tags quiet until it inventories the full tag population, this option doesn't have an effect when the ScanType is Deep.

      Note that this feature only works on Impinj Monza tags when they're being read by an Impinj Reader; other readers are not configured with this option, and other tag types will act as they do under a Normal scan.

Device Profile Requirements

As mentioned above, this service calls the Device Service with specific deviceCommands and expects specific deviceResources. Thus, those deviceCommands and deviceResources must be defined in the deviceProfiles for which devices are registered with the LLRP Device Service.

All Devices

All devices must be registered with a deviceProfile that provides the following:

  • The following deviceResources must be available:
    • EdgeX "String" types, the values of which encode json-representations of LLRP messages and/or parameters that can be marshaled by Go's standard json package into the Go structs defined in the LLRP package:
      • ReaderCapabilities with a readWrite of "R" or "RW" encoding an LLRP GetReaderCapabilitiesResponse message.
      • ReaderConfig with a readWrite of "W" or "RW" encoding an LLRP GetReaderConfigResponse message.
      • ROSpec with a readWrite of "W" or "RW" encoding an LLRP ROSpec parameter.
    • An EdgeX "uint32" type with readWrite of "W" or "RW" named ROSpecID, the string value of which encodes an LLRP ROSpecID as a base-10 unsigned integer.
    • An EdgeX "String" type with readWrite of "W" or "RW" named "Action", which the device service uses to determine which deviceCommand was called.
  • The following deviceCommands must be available:
    • capabilities must have a get for ReaderCapabilities.
    • config must have a set that accepts ReaderConfig.
    • roSpec must have a set that accepts ROSpec.
    • The following deviceCommands must have two sets -- the first must accept ROSpecID and the second must set Action with the appropriate parameter value:
      • enableROSpec must set Action with the parameter value "Enable"
      • startROSpec must set Action with the parameter value "Start"
      • stopROSpec must set Action with the parameter value "Stop"
      • disableROSpec must set Action with the parameter value "Disable"
      • deleteROSpec must set Action with the parameter value "Delete"

Impinj Devices

In addition to the above, Impinj Readers must be registered with a profile that has a deviceResource named ImpinjCustomExtensionMessage with the attributes vendor: "25882" and subtype: "21" and a deviceCommand named enableImpinjExt with a set that targets that deviceResource.

When this service sees an Impinj device, it sends a PUT request with {"ImpinjCustomExtensionMessage": "AAAAAA=="} to {deviceService}/api/v1/commands/{deviceName}/enableImpinjExt; if that deviceCommand and deviceResource exist, the Device Service will send a CustomMessage to the reader, enabling this service to send Impinj's CustomParameters. This is required because Impinj Readers reject LLRP CustomParameters unless a Client sends the afore-described CustomMessage at some earlier point in their communication. If that resource or command doesn't exist for the device, this service will receive a 404 from the Device Service, preventing it from operating as designed.

Snap Build and Install

The service can also be run as snap - Snap documentation

Pre-requisites

  • Edgex core services
  • Edgex LLRP device service

Build Snap Package

Execute the following commands from the project's root directory.

  • snapcraft clean
  • snapcraft (build happens on the VM) or snapcraft --destructive-mode (build happens on the host)
  • On success, this creates a *.snap package under the root directory.

Install Snap Package

  • sudo snap install --dangerous *.snap

Two options are available for installing snap - --dangerous & --devmode

If additional permissions are required then use the --devmode option else use --dangerous.

Note: If application is confined and want to install a local version, then use --dangerous option. Specifying --devmode, implies --dangerous option.

Other helpful Snap commands:

  • List installed snap packages: snap list
  • List of snap services: snap services
  • View logs: journalctl -fu snap.edgex-rfid-llrp-inventory.rfid-llrp-inventory
  • Stop the snap service: sudo snap stop edgex-rfid-llrp-inventory.rfid-llrp-inventory
  • Remove the snap package: sudo snap remove edgex-rfid-llrp-inventory