The core breakthrough of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology lies in its bulk reading capability: it can instantly identify hundreds of tags in a single read, without the need for item-by-item aiming. Once each piece of power material is affixed with an RFID electronic tag, it is assigned a unique "digital ID card". The entire lifecycle of the materials — warehousing, storage, requisition, and inventory counting — can be automatically recorded and tracked by the system.

However, RFID tags alone are insufficient. Though handheld RFID readers represent a generational upgrade over barcodes, they still require manual movement to scan zone by zone. The advent of RFID inventory robots essentially equips RFID with "legs and a brain". Integrated with high-gain RFID antenna arrays, LiDAR or visual SLAM navigation systems, the robots can autonomously cruise and complete full-site inventory snapshots without human intervention.

Three core technologies determine whether inventory robots can deliver reliable performance.

First, anti-metal interference capability. In power grid warehouses, metal racks and metal equipment cause strong reflection and shielding of RFID signals, which is the biggest factor reducing tag recognition rate. Mature solutions usually adopt customized anti-metal tags with a ferrite absorbing layer on the back. They stabilize the reading range between 1.2 and 1.5 meters, achieving a measured reading rate of over 99.2%.

Second, bulk reading speed and anti-collision algorithm. In dense rack environments, simultaneous responses from hundreds of tags tend to cause signal collision. Solutions equipped with anti-collision algorithms can achieve a success rate of 99.8% for batch reading of 200 tags in one scan. On this basis, some leading solutions deliver a high-speed reading rate of 200 tags per second. Combined with AI vision-assisted verification, the overall recognition rate is nearly 100%.

Third, autonomous navigation and path planning. Warehouse racks feature narrow aisles and complicated passages, so robots need flexible obstacle avoidance and path optimization capabilities. Current mainstream solutions adopt LiDAR SLAM navigation. Some cutting-edge solutions have incorporated quadruped bionic robots, which can cross obstacles, climb steep slopes and move through narrow gaps between racks. This upgrades inventory counting from 2D plane scanning to full-coverage 3D inventory inspection with no blind spots.