The Design of a Vision-assisted Dynamic Antenna Positioning RFID-based Inventory Robot Utilizing a 3DOF Manipulator

This paper introduces the design and evaluation of an RFID-based inventory robot that uses vision and a 3-degree-of-freedom (DOF) manipulator for dynamic antenna positioning. The robotic system is designed to enhance RFID tag detection performance and efficiency in inventory management by autonomously detecting objects, orienting an RFID antenna towards them, and executing a circular scanning motion that ensures complete coverage of the object’s surface. This paper also present a comparative analysis of three scanning strategies: (1) a conventional fixed antenna approach, where the antenna remains stationary on one side of the robot; (2) a predefined path strategy, where the manipulator moves the antenna across preset spatial points to maximize coverage; and (3) an intelligent detection and dynamic positioning method. In the latter, a pre-trained YOLO model identifies probable products and utilizes forward and inverse kinematics to precisely position the manipulator’s end effector (The antenna) to perform a tailored circular motion around the object, ensuring comprehensive RFID tag scanning. Experimental results, illustrated through comparative graphs, highlight the superior performance of the vision-assisted dynamic positioning approach. This method significantly outperforms the fixed and predefined path strategies in terms of the total number of RFID tags read over time, particularly in scenarios with varied object heights and spatial distributions. The work in this paper marks a step forward in the development of autonomous inventory robots and autonomous warehouse systems, offering enhanced capabilities for real-time inventory tracking and management.