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Vorwerk is presenting the first carpet containing integrated RFID technology

Vorwerk is presenting the first carpet containing integrated RFID technology for the intelligent navigation of service robots. An outstanding lead in technology resulting from a surface coverage and control accuracy unattained until now.

Hamlin, June 7th 2005 - Today textile products are an integral element of our daily lives. We can wear them, sit on them or walk across them. They serve towards functionality, a sense of aesthetics and provide for both atmosphere and style. Starting now, however, completely new areas of application are also conceivable, because textiles from everyday use have been successfully linked to integrated microelectronics, thus imparting them with a degree of functionality which had been unknown to date.

Intelligent carpets as a navigation system for robots

For the first time, Vorwerk Teppichwerke, the manufacturer of creative carpet solutions with a history of tradition, working jointly with Infineon Technologies AG, one of the most innovative companies in the field of semiconductor technology with headquarters in Munich, has successfully developed a textile floor covering as a one-of-its-kind electronic guidance system on the basis of RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) technology. This "Smart Carpet" enables robots equipped with an RFID reader to navigate automatically and intelligently across the floor. Robots of this type can be deployed for example as an automatically controlled transport unit or a self-propelling automated cleaner.

The advantages are self-evident:

navigation system for the efficient and economic utilisation of service robots
targeted navigation on nearly 100 per cent of the surface area
blocked surface areas are circumvented intelligently, and can be re-targeted later on
flexible, time-controlled approach and accessing of various precisely defined sectors
great savings of both time and energy - as compared with randomly controlled systems - through controlled navigation

Smart Carpet: To all "appearances", a quite normal carpet

Externally the "Smart Carpet" does not differ from a normal carpet. The secret lies in its backing. Invisibly placed RFID tags are integrated into the carpet's basic construction. There those tags are enscribed and read out electromagnetically. In turn, this serves to transfer information and control whatever crosses them. An individual RFID tag consists of an ultra-thin sheet of PET which has been equipped with metal conductors, an antenna coil and a tiny silicon microchip. These flat units are integrated into the carpet in such a way that they form a network across the entire carpet surface. The RFID tags do not impair walking comfort in the least thereby.

Each of the RFID tags has its own ID number which can be detected and identified by an RFID reader via wireless data transmission (13.56 MHz) across a distance of 10 centimetres. The power required for this process is supplied exclusively by the robot. The RFID tags themselves are completely passive, meaning that no electrical voltage whatsoever is laid down on the carpet.

The individual "signal transmitters" are linked by the robot into a virtual map by reading out the individual RFID tags in the carpet. The robot then moves precise

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	at org.apache.jasper.servlet.JspServlet.service(JspServlet.java:241)
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	at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationDispatcher.include(ApplicationDispatcher.java:498)
	at de.webarts.cms.fe.PageServlet.doGet(PageServlet.java:335)
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	at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.invoke(ContainerBase.java:995)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:191)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:643)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline.invoke(StandardPipeline.java:480)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.invoke(ContainerBase.java:995)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContext.invoke(StandardContext.java:2416)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:180)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:643)
	at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorDispatcherValve.invoke(ErrorDispatcherValve.java:171)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:641)
	at org.apache.catalina.valves.ErrorReportValve.invoke(ErrorReportValve.java:172)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:641)
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	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:641)
	at org.apache.catalina.valves.AccessLogValve.invoke(AccessLogValve.java:577)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:641)
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	at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.invoke(ContainerBase.java:995)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardEngineValve.invoke(StandardEngineValve.java:174)
	at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline$StandardPipelineValveContext.invokeNext(StandardPipeline.java:643)
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	at org.apache.catalina.core.ContainerBase.invoke(ContainerBase.java:995)
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