STA request and Description of Operaton

0481-EX-ST-2007 Text Documents

3M Company

2007-09-21ELS_84688

                                                                      ATTACHMENT A

                      Request for STA and Description of Program


3M Company seeks special temporary authority (STA) for a 6-month period to conduct
tests in connection with a federal funded program. STA is requested because of the short-
term nature of program and so that testing may begin promptly as requested by the
federal agency. Because of the classified nature of the program, the government agency
cannot be disclosed.

The basic goal of the program is the development of an RFID system that can provide
longer range, more robust reads of RFID tagged objects than attainable with
commercially available RFID equipment. This enhanced performance is needed to meet
the operational requirements of certain activities related to Homeland Security. In order
to provide the enhanced performance, the RFID system developed under this contract
utilizes higher EIRP powers than allowed by FCC part 15 regulations. The higher EIRP is
obtained through the use of higher RFID reader transmitted powers and/or higher RFID
reader antenna gains. Another key requirement is the need to operate at “non-standard”
frequencies, that is, frequencies not necessarily allocated for RFID applications. The
realization of these performance parameters is accomplished through the use of:

   1) A commercially available FCC approved, 902-928 MHz, frequency hopping, 1W
      RFID reader to supply the basic properly modulated (per the EPC Gen 2 protocol
      spec) rf signals that would normally be used for a UHF RFID system.
   2) A frequency conversion module whose primary functions are to:
          a. Up or down convert (unless it is desired to stay within the 902-928 MHz
              band) the 902 to 928 frequency hopped rf signals to another frequency
              range somewhere within the range of 300 MHz to 3 GHz.
          b. Amplify the signals to produce adjustable output powers with a maximum
              conducted output power of 50 W
          c. Down or up convert the rf signals backscattered from the RFID tag to the
              902 to 928 MHz range so that they can be successfully decoded by the
              commercially available reader
   3) An RFID reader antenna(s) that may have gains of up to 20 dBi or dBic
      depending upon the antennas polarization
   4) Specially designed RFID tags that will operate at specific frequency ranges within
      the 300 MHz to 3 GHz band.
   5) A computer to control the reader, operating frequency, output power and number
      of antennas plus to provide the resultant data obtained from reading the RFID
      tags.

Although the system is designed to operate anywhere within the 300 MHz to 3 GHz
range, testing will be limited to a region around 433 MHz, the normal 902-928 MHz band
and a region around 2.45 GHz. In this way there will not be any interference with existing
services such as GPS, cell phones, etc.


The testing will be performed at the 3M road test track located in Cottage Grove, MN as
described in the application. The tests include

   1. Tagging of vehicles (automobiles) at either the license plate or windshield areas.
   2. Placement of the readers and antennas along the side of the test track road with
      relatively low (1m) antenna heights and the antennas oriented to “look” across the
      lanes of the test track road.
   3. The running of a series of tests where various vehicle speeds, numbers of
      vehicles, etc. are employed to determine the ability to read the RFID tags.

and a second series of tests where

   1. A portal approximately 3m high with a width ranging from 3 to 30m and having
      RFID reader antennas (2 to 4 total) at heights of about 1 to 2 m above the ground
      that are aimed to “look” inward across the portal.
   2. The running of a series of tests where people will walk through the portal carrying
      RFID tagged objects. The people may also be tagged. The tests will determine the
      ability of the system to read the RFID tags.

The specific objective of the tests is to demonstrate increased read range and read
robustness of passive RFID in order to meet the requirements of the government agency
applications.



Document Created: 2007-09-21 14:30:53
Document Modified: 2007-09-21 14:30:53

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