Flexible identification systems and related methods

A method comprising:

• providing a plastic substrate;
• and
• forming a beacon circuit over the plastic substrate;
• providing a power source over the plastic substrate to power the beacon circuit;
• wherein:
• the plastic substrate is flexible;
• and
• forming the beacon circuit comprises:
• providing an antenna over the plastic substrate;
• providing a transmitter module over the plastic substrate to couple to the antenna;
• and
• providing one or more supporting components over the plastic substrate to couple to the transmitter module.

A system comprising:

• an apparatus comprising:
• a plastic substrate;
• a beacon circuit comprising:
• a transmitter module coupled to the plastic substrate and configured to emit a beacon signal detectable at a range of at least approximately 1 kilometer;
• an antenna supported by the plastic substrate and coupled to the transmitter module;
• one or more solid state components supported by the plastic substrate;
• a watchdog module comprising an internal clock and coupled to the antenna;
• a memory module coupled to the watchdog module;
• an identification code stored in the memory module and configured to define one or more time ratios between sequential receipt of two or more RF pulses of a wake-up signal;
• and
• an ASIC bare die coupled to the plastic substrate and comprising at least one of the transmitter module, the watchdog module, or the memory module;
• and
• a battery coupled to the flexible plastic substrate and configured to power the transmitter module for at least approximately 24 hours;
• wherein:
• the apparatus comprises a shape configured to be inconspicuously embedded in clothing;
• the transmitter module is configured to alternate between:
• a sleep mode to conserve a charge of the battery;
• and
• an active mode for transmission of the beacon signal;
• the beacon signal comprises an UWB signal at a frequency of over 1 gigahertz;
• the beacon circuit is configured to emit the beacon signal absent a frequency-setting crystal;
• the watchdog module is configured to:
• use the antenna to scan for the wake-up signal during the sleep mode;
• and
• enable the active mode when the wake-up signal received complies with the identification code;
• the plastic substrate is flexible;
• and
• the ASIC bare die comprises a thickness of between approximately 50 micrometers to approximately 100 micrometers and is configured to flex along with the plastic substrate.