Title: Standard for General Requirements and Protocols for Software-defined Physical Layer of Wireless Backscatter Networks

Scope:  This standard specifies physical and logical requirements that enable wireless backscatter networking systems to implement a software-defined physical layer (SD-PHY). The system comprises RF sources, tags, and receivers (RF source and receiver can be integrated into one physical entity), where the RF source sends out excitation signals such as the continuous-wave (CW) RF signal to the tag; the tag modulates the excitation signal by impedance matching and then backscatters the modulated signal to the receiver. The system architecture specified in this standard is similar to the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system, which however distinguishes itself from traditional RFID systems in the following two aspects: 1) The capability of using ambient RF sources, for example, IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Long Range (LoRa) as excitation signals; 2) the capability of adjusting the PHY layer behavior of the tag with software. The standard provides general requirements and protocols for implementing a wireless backscatter networking system enabling SD-PHY as follows: – Physical interactions among RF sources, tags, and receivers, including signaling and communication protocols. – Operating procedures and commands for reprogramming the PHY layer of the wireless backscatter system. – Schemes that support co-existing SD-PHY enabled backscatter networks and other already-deployed wireless infrastructures.

Sponsoring Society and Standards Committee: IEEE Industrial Electronics Society/ Industrial Electronics Society Standards Committee (IES/IES)