2.3. Software
The smart tag can be written, activated and read-out by means
of the reader connected by a USB port to a laptop running a communication
software specifically developed for this work.
The microcontroller of the RFID tag was programmed to manage
both the data acquisition and the RFID communications. Data
acquisition can be triggered by two methods that the user can
choose on the software: alarm triggered and time triggered. The
sampling frequency and the alarm range can also be defined by
the user through the communication software. In the alarm mode,
only sensor values exceeding an alarm threshold are stored with
the corresponding alarm time. In the time triggered mode, the system
acquires sensor data at the programmed sampling frequency.
Even in this mode, the system may acquire additional sensor values
if the light sensor gives an alarm.
The smart tag memory stored all the monitored values together
with the traceability data, which could be recalled at different
stages of the logistic chain.