Project is in processing!!!

We have come out the database for Attendance Taking.

RFID Project - Attendance Taking

I. Roles and Responsibility

Group Name: PPLS a.k.a. Peoples
Group Leader: Poh Perng Jie
Members: Pham Thai Quy, Lee Kerui, Seah Xing Xian

- Perng Jie: database, finalization, report
- Thai Quy: codes, report
- Kerui: codes, report
- Xiang Xian: interface design, codes, report

II. Scenario - Student

1. A monitor and a card reader will be placed next to each other.
2. On the monitor screen, it will show the web page with the login page.
3. The students will have to tap their student cards onto the card reader for authentication to the Lecture Theatre and for attendance taking purposes.
4. After they have tapped their student cards against the card reader, the system will automatically check with the database for existing ID.
5. If the students are late, the system will display the font in red instead.
6. Attendance taking via this method will prevent any "unauthorized" students from access to the LT.
7. And since each student card has its own unique ID, it will check against the database to retrieve their details (i.e. the number of times they are absent; and their current CA results), and show it on the lecture's screen.

III. Scenario - System

1. After the students have tapped their card, the system will automatically calculate their current CA results and display on the screen.
2. The system will also check against its database to retrieve information on their attendance status.
3. When the students come late for number times, an email notification will be sent to him/her informing about it.

RFID Assignment 2 is in process!!!!!!

Last tuesday (7 July), our group met up and discussed about RFID Assignment 2. Xing Xian came out the idea that we took a short video to present the application of RFID in real life. We started doing the ppt.



Yesterday (13 July), we all stayed back school and started taking video.

This morning, we came to school very early (8am), went to library and finished the video, ppt



RFID sensor detector will be implemented in entrances and exits in rooms. The sensor will detect the tag and turn on the light automatically when the person enters the room, and turn off automatically when the person exits. There will be a big innovation for RFID.

Week 6 - E-learning

There were two tasks need to be completed in this week.

1. eLearning Assignment & Quiz

We need to refer properly to the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID and attempt the quiz with 10 questions. That was a good chance to test my knowledge and understanding about RFID. All the questions are not so difficult but require to think carefully before choosing the correct answer.

2. Assigment 1 Powerpoint

We need to give our feedback /comment on the Assignment 1 Powepoint presentation of our classmates. Each group has its own perspective so every group is different and they are all interesting. Some groups have strength in analysing answers, some groups are good at giving examples, some groups design ppt very well, etc.

I have found that e-learning is a good chance to improve study sucess by applying the current knowledge, doing research, discussing, ...

Week 5: Lab 3 + Assignment 1 Presentation

Lab 3: Access Control System using RFID technology

In this lab, we had to design a Java programming to run the experiment follow the instructions. That was a good practise in doing Java programming and understanding RFID technology. There are a lot of applications base on RFID technology that we thought out after finishing this lab.

Assignment 1 Presentation

There are five teams and each team has their own perspective about RFID and its benefit. The most common among all the presenting teams is "RFID is very useful and popular with lots of important applications".

RFID provides the total solution: 100% identification and reading accuracy and reliability in liquid, metal or organic material environments, in multiple orientations or close proximity, and in multi-item bulk.


Benefits of using RFID Technology:

• Perfect asset management
• Inventory control and distribution
• Product availability
• Productivity gains in distribution and receiving
• Reduce inventory losses and write-offs
• Labor cost reductions
• Reduce administrative errors
• Visibility and accountability at every point in the business process
• Improved and optimized speed and reliability of the business processes
• Anti-counterfeiting
• Improved security, reduced theft and fraud
• Improved information flow and data integrity
  

Week 4: Using RFID technology to track outdoor assets

We've run through the introduction to tracking of outdoor assests using RFID technology. A typical implementation of such tracking system would be in the Automotive Manufacturing Industry environment.

• A brand new car from the manufacturing plant is unloaded from a trunk
• Car's ID number and bar-coded instructions pertaining to the details of this car is scanned into an RFID tag which is hung in on the car's rear-view mirror
• Car is move to a vacant parking lot
• The location receivers read the tag and reflect the exact car location on the map at the selt-service kiosk

These are some of key benefits for implementing such a tracking system:

• Ensure visibility of all vehicles in the premise
• Provide up-to-date information of the vehicle details
• Locate a vehicle quickly and easily (save timea and cost)
• Generate accurate inventory report
• Prevent theft and misplace of vehicle

Exercise A: Activating Tags using AeroScout Tag Manager and Activator

Tag on the right hand side comes with call button functionality where you can configure to send messages when the button is pressed or released. Each Tag carries a unique MAC (media access control) address that the location engine uses it to identify the identify of the assets that are being tagged.

I learnt how to activate them and use it in my application.


Exercise B: Configure the tracking system using AeroScout Engine

The AeroScout Engine is the software responsible for processing the data received from the field to compute the real-time positioning of the assests.

I learnt how to download map, configure location receivers and exciters to track the vehicle in the parking lots


Exercise C: Analyze presence, choke-point & real-time location using AeroScout Engine

I observed the different way of reporting an asset location and learnt how to activate tag positioning in the AeroScout Engine

Week 3: RFID Technology in Inventory Control + Lab 1

The benefits that RFID provides are many. Following are some that made RFID more superior to other Identification Technology such as barcode.

Passive RFID tag

Passive RFID technology is currently the most commonly applied technology. Passive tag success can be attributed to its relatively lower cost and simplicity in used. The tags come in many sizes and form. They are light-weight and relatively low cost to maintain.
Passive RFID tags are categorized based on the frequency they operate in – Low frequency (LF), High frequency (HF) and Ultra-high frequency (UHF).

Week 2: RFID Case Studies and RFID Standard

As we have learned during week 1, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is a relatively new technology to the supply chain, although it has been around since the 50's. RFID tags can be used in different configurations: Active/ Passive, Read-only, Write once/ read many (WORM), Read/ Write.

There are many benefits of RFID:

• RFID technology has the ability to send relatively large amounts of data with the product as it travels through the supply chain
• Read/ write RFID tags can be updated through the manufacturing steps of a product
• By lowering the error rate of goods moved through the supply chain, vendors can share in the savings realized by RFID technology

By using RFID, Wal-Mart saved EIGHT BILLION DOLLARS!!!

• 6.7 billion -- eliminating the need to have people scan barcodes on pallets
• $600 million -- reduced out of stock
• $575 million -- RFID scanning of products automatically reduces administrative error and vendor fraud
• $300 million -- better tracking of the more than 1 billion pallets and cases that move through its distribution centers each year
• $180 million -- improved visibility of what products are in the supply chain in its own distribution centers
• Total = $8.35 billion -- total pre-tax saving is higher than the total revenue of more than half the companies on the Fortune 500.

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ECPglobal:

• Standards and govemance
• Public policy
• Training templates
• Brands, marketing

Migration Paths

• Global Trade Item Number (GTIN): Item, case, pallet; 14-digit generalization of product barcodes
• Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC): Logistics units (shipping containers); SSCC is unique to a particular shipment
• Global Location Number (GLN): Physical, functional, legal entities; company division or department, down to specific storage area within a building
• Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI): Rented or loaned objects (pallets, gas cylinders, beer kegs...)
• Global Individual Asset Identifier (GIAI): High-value long-lived assets

EPCglobal Network Infrastructure

(Grandiose) vision is global common standardized network infrastructure:

• Tags with EPC's identify physical objects
• Readers with filtering/ aggregation gather information about tags
• Information about EPC's exchanged using Physical Markup Language
• PML resources identified on the Internet by the Object Naming Service

Instant ONS

• EPC is communicated in URI format
• Tag EPC (binary data) converted to pure identity
• Call ONS to find servers with information on EPC

Instant PML

• Markup language based on XML
• Core elements are sensors, observations, observables
• Example: tag read...

EPCIS: Addresses two fundamentally different types of data

• time-stamped data
• attribute data

EPCglobal Summary

• EPCglobal vision is Internet of Things
• Key standards already existing or soon to come: Electronic Product Code, Tag standards (class 0/1, Gen II)
• Network vision is more complex, path to realization difficult: PML, ONS, EPCIS, Savant, Partial/ delayed implementations likely
  

Week 1: Introduction to RFID

After week 1, I had a basic knowledge about RFID system. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of an object (typically referred to as an RFID tag) applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID)

Actually RFID is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders.

There are three basic components of RFID system (Infrastructure):

- An RFID Tag

- An RFID Reader

- A predefined format for the information

RFID Tag includes three essential elements: antenna, integrated circuit, memory.

There are three types of tags: 

- Passive tags

- Semi-passive tags (battery-assisted)

- Active tags

I acknowledge that RFID technology impacts strongly supply chain management. There are many benefits of using RFID technology as mentioned on the videos. RFID helps to improve system efficiency, tracking, and communication, while preventing data entry and collection errors. 

“Time is money”, that is right. Speed is an important factor for most data capture systems. With today's decreasing production cycle times, the amount of time needed to access or update the RFID pallet identification system must fit within a very small time window. 

Using RFID technology is getting the benefit over the bar coding. RFID tags contain a read-write option which means that data stored on a RFID label can only be read or modified by authorized users. There is the added benefit that the reader can read numerous tags at the same time. Add to this the fact that RFID tags are not only robust, they are very secure.

The familiar example of using RFID technology is in library. The use of RFID tags for document tracking greatly reduces the time spent searching for books or documents. Checkout becomes a much faster process as stacks of books can be checked out with one scan of a reader without opening or handling the books. 

Besides, RFID can lead to reduced labor costs, improved inventory availability and reduced inventory stock outs.The technology can also help combat counterfeiting and supply chain security breaches.

In conclusion, RFID technology is applied widely in a lot of fields nowadays. It is necessary to use RFID in manufacturing and other related areas for the same goal, time saving, because “Time is money”.

Just started !~

Hi everyone!~

It's pretty good to learn a new thing, isn't it?

Okay, let's start with RFID!~