Keynote: The Potential of Programmable and Configurable Techniques Towards Low-Voltage RFIDs

RFID systems often have low-power, low-energy, and low supply voltage constraints while simultaneously requiring ever increasing computation in that constrained environment. The past two decades have seen considerable amount of energy-efficient computing techniques based on analog techniques validating Carver Mead's 1990 hypothosis that analog computing should be 1000x or more efficient than corresponding digital computation. One approach that enables programmable and configurable approaches are the large-scale Field Programmable Analog Arrays (FPAA), an approach that includes a family of devices, and resulting design tools that are innovating a path for automated analog design. This talk will review these various approaches, discuss how to adapt these techniques to RFID applications, as well as give a picture of where these techniques could positively impact RFID applications. The talk will discuss how FPAA devices could be adapted to operate in very low voltage applications (e.g. 250-500mV) typical of RFIC voltage supplies.