Adaptive RFID inventory system

An adaptive inventory management system, comprising:

• a plurality of items positioned within a defined space, wherein each of the plurality of items is associated with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, wherein each RFID tag stores a unique identifier;
• a global inventory database subsystem having a processing system, wherein an at least one memory of the processing system is configured to store program instructions;
• and
• an RFID interrogator subsystem comprising a plurality of RFID interrogators mounted in respective fixed geospatial locations in the defined space, wherein the plurality of fixed RFID interrogators includes a direct wireless connection between respective RFID interrogators for the sharing of certain data, and wherein each of the RFID interrogators is configured to read the unique identifier of the RFID tag associated with each of the plurality of items that are within a defined boundary of at least one scan zone generated by the respective RFID interrogator, and to communicate the unique identifier of the each scanned RFID tag identified within each scan zone of the respective RFID interrogator to the processing system;
• wherein the at least one memory of the processing system is configured to store program instructions that when executed cause the defined boundaries each scan zone for each RFID interrogator to be selectively configured to effect user desired levels of fidelity and/or resolution with respect to the generated unique identifier of the each scanned RFID tag within the defined space, and wherein the scan zones projected by each RFID interrogator are selectively configured to effect user desired levels of fidelity and/or resolution.

An adaptive inventory management system for use in a materials handling facility, comprising:

• a plurality of items, wherein each of the plurality of items is associated with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, wherein each RFID tag stores a unique identifier;
• a global inventory database subsystem having a processing system, wherein an at least one memory of the processing system is configured to store program instructions;
• and
• an RFID interrogator subsystem comprising a plurality of RFID interrogators mounted in respective fixed geospatial locations in the materials handling facility, wherein the plurality of fixed RFID interrogators includes a direct wireless connection between respective RFID interrogators for the sharing of certain data, wherein the RFID interrogator subsystem further comprises at least one mobile RFID interrogator;
• and wherein each of the RFID interrogators is configured to read the unique identifier of the RFID tag associated with each of the plurality of items that are within a defined boundary of at least one scan zone generated by the respective RFID interrogator, and to communicate the unique identifier of the each scanned RFID tag identified within each scan zone of the respective RFID interrogator to the processing system;
• wherein the at least one memory of the processing system is configured to store program instructions that when executed cause the defined boundaries each scan zone for each RFID interrogator to be selectively configured to effect user desired levels of fidelity and/or resolution with respect to the generated unique identifier of each scanned RFID tag within a defined space of the materials handling facility.