Abstract: A method and apparatus are set forth for reading RFID tags through a medium, comprising positioning a plurality of interrogator rings in relation to the medium, each interrogator ring having a field controller connected to a plurality of antenna modules, wherein each of the antenna modules is positioned over a respective RFID tag, and connecting the host device and plurality of interrogator rings in a node-gateway configuration over a serial bus to enable the host device to communicate with and provide power to each field controller for interrogating the RFID tags via the plurality of antenna modules.