Methods and systems for passive rfid-based activity determination

A networked system for determining occupancy in a seating environment comprising a plurality of seats, the system comprising:

• a plurality of RFID tags attached to the seats, wherein each seat has a group of passive RFID tags attached thereto;
• and
• a computing apparatus communicatively linked with the plurality of RFID tags, the computing apparatus being configured to:
• receive, over a predetermined time period, in response to an interrogation signal, one or more response signals from one or more of the passive RFID tags in the seating environment;
• determine, for each passive RFID tag in the seating environment, a normalised count value based on a number of response signals received from said passive RFID tag over the predetermined time period;
• and
• determine an occupancy state for each seat in the seating environment based on the determined normalised count values.

A method for determining an activity being performed by a person in an environment, the environment comprising a plurality of passive RFID tags, wherein the method comprises:

• receiving, over a sample period, in response to an interrogation signal, one or more response signals from one or more of the passive RFID tags;
• determining, for each passive RFID tag, a normalised count value based on a number of response signals received from said passive RFID tag over the sample period;
• and
• using a machine learning algorithm to determine the activity being performed in the environment, the machine learning algorithm being configured to take the normalised count values as inputs, and determine, based on the normalised count values, the activity being performed in the environment during the sample period.

A system for determining an activity being performed in an environment, the system comprising:

• a plurality of passive RFID tags located in the environment;
• and
• a computing apparatus communicatively linked with the plurality of RFID tags, the computing apparatus being configured to:
• receive, over a sample period, in response to an interrogation signal, one or more response signals from one or more of the passive RFID tags;
• determine, for each passive RFID tag, a normalised count value based on a number of response signals received from said passive RFID tag over the sample period;
• and
• use a machine learning algorithm to determine the activity being performed in the environment, the machine learning algorithm being configured to take the normalised count values as inputs, and determine, based on the normalised count values, the activity being performed in the environment during the sample period.