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This paper presents the design, realization, and experimental validation of a battery-assisted radio frequency identification (RFID) tag with sensing and computing capabilities conceived to explore heterogeneous RFID-based sensor network applications. The tag (hereafter called mote) features an ultra-low-power ferroelectric random-access-memory microcontroller, a LED, temperature and light sensors, three-axis accelerometer, non-volatile storage, and a new-generation I ² C-RFID chip for communication with standard UHF EPCglobal Class-1 Generation-2 readers. A preliminary RFID mote prototype, fabricated on a printed circuit board using low-cost discrete components and equipped with a small 225-mAh coin battery, provides an estimated lifetime of 3 years when sensing and computing tasks are performed every 30 s. In addition, the reliable RFID communication range up to 22 m achieved in an indoor …