A Method to Assign Spread Codes Based on Passive RFID Communication for Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensors Using Spread Spectrum Transmission

Considerable research has been conducted on systems that collect real-world information by using numerous energy harvesting wireless sensors. The sensors need to be tiny, cheap, and consume ultra-low energy. However, such sensors have some functional limits, including being restricted to wireless communication transmission. Therefore, when more than one sensor simultaneously transmits information in these systems, the receiver may not be able to demodulate if the sensors cannot accommodate multiple access. To solve this problem, a number of proposals have been made based on spread spectrum technologies for resistance to interference. In this paper, we point out some problems regarding the application of such sensors, and explain the assumption of spread codes assignment based on passive radio frequency identification (RFID) communication. During the spread codes assignment, the system cannot work. Hence, efficient assignment method is more appropriate. We consider two assignment methods and assessed them in terms of total assignment time through an experiment. The results show the total assignment time in case of Electronic Product Code (EPC) Global Class-1 Generation-2 which is an international standard for wireless protocols and the relationship between the ratio of the time taken by the read/write command and the ratio of total assignment time by the two methods. This implies that more efficient methods are obtained by considering the time ratio of read/write command.