I am looking for the correct RFID tag/reader system for my design. The general block diagram of the system is above. The requirements for the system are as follows:
Passive tags of some form and an active reader; the reader will be interfacing with an Arduino or equivalent.
Up to 50 tags can be located in each zone, with a total across all zones of up to 70 tags.
No writing of the tags is required or the specific locations of tags; just reading which tag is in which zone.
No time requirement on the scanning; a number of seconds to find all the tags is perfectly fine as the tags are stationary for minutes at a time.
A low cost system is preferred.
It seems like the best option would be a mid-range transmitter in the center, but I'm not sure about 1) the best system to get the required range, and 2) a way to determine which zone each tag is in. The other option I was thinking was a large NFC antenna/reader in each zone or one encompassing the entire system, but that probably has its own limitations.