Hanshow, a Chinese specialist in digital retail technology, has started a multi-year research partnership with the UK’s University of Cambridge to develop augmented RFID powered by distributed hardware architectures.

The collaboration brings together Cambridge’s expertise in low-power sensing and communication with Hanshow’s industrial-scale deployment capabilities, aiming to set a technological benchmark for the global retail sector.

As retailers worldwide transition to increasingly automated, data-rich and energy-efficient store environments, demand is rising for IoT systems that can sense, adapt and operate reliably at scale. The partnership will tackle this head-on by integrating Cambridge research in intelligent sensing, energy harvesting and algorithmic optimisation with Hanshow’s edge-computing platforms and real-world retail data infrastructure.

The joint project will explore innovative smart RFID technologies for energy harvesting, backscatter signal reflection and reliable signal acquisition. By combining theoretical modelling, simulation and in-store experimentation, the team aims to improve signal coverage, data fidelity and resilience in complex retail environments.

For University of Cambridge (www.cam.ac.uk) researchers, the collaboration offers an opportunity to demonstrate how engineering in distributed hardware can deliver measurable commercial and societal impact. For Hanshow, it provides a direct innovation pathway to future AIoT-driven retail that enhances operational accuracy, reduces energy consumption and supports more sustainable, responsive store infrastructures.

“With this collaboration, Hanshow is taking a decisive step towards reshaping the technological backbone of future retail,” said Min Liang, CTO of Hanshow (www.hanshow.com). “Working with Cambridge enables us to convert advanced research into scalable, intelligent systems that deliver meaningful value for retailers worldwide.”

Michael Crisp, associate professor at the university’s engineering department, added: “By combining our work in low-energy, high-efficiency hardware with Hanshow’s global innovation capacity, we can accelerate the arrival of truly adaptive retail IoT. This partnership is a powerful example of how academic–industry collaboration can drive real-world impact.”

The programme will progress through a series of research milestones and experimental deployments, generating academic outputs and commercially ready technologies. It forms a central part of Hanshow’s global R&D strategy to connect digital and physical retail through AIoT architectures that improve efficiency, transparency and sustainability.