FOR A WIRELESS ITEM LABEL LOCATOR (WILL)whitmore/courses/ensc305/projects/2008/... · 2010. 8....

PROPOSAL FOR A WIRELESS ITEM LABEL LOCATOR (WILL)

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January 18th, 2008

Prof. Patrick Leung School of Engineering Science Simon Fraser University Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6

Re: ENSC 440 Project Proposal for a Wireless Item Label Locator Dear Prof. Leung: The attached document, Proposal for a Wireless Item Label Locator, outlines our project for ENSC 440. We aim to design and implement a product that will guide the user, particularly a vision-impaired one, to easily locate an item using RFID item tags and a remote tag locator. The purpose of this proposal is to provide an overview of our product, outline of commercially available design solutions and our proposed design, and our sources of information and funding, a tentative projected budget, and information on project scheduling and organization. The Third Eye Ltd comprises of three innovative and ambitious engineering students: Tongxin Feng, Sieun Lee and Jieun Choi, who believe the role of technology is to create positive impact by enabling and empowering people. If you have any questions or concerns about our project, do not hesitate to call us at (604)779-6672, or email us at [email protected]. Sincerely, Tongxin Feng President and CEO Third Eye Ltd. Enclosure: Proposal for a Wireless Item Label Locator


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Project Team: Jieun Choi Sieun Lee

Tongxin Feng

Contact Person: Tongxin Feng [email protected]

Submitted to: Patrick Leung – ENSC 440 Steve Whitmore – ENSC 305

Brad Oldham Jason Lee

Issued date: January 21st, 2008 Revision: 2.1

THIRD EYE PROPOSAL FOR A WIRELESS ITEM LABEL LOCATOR

(WILL)


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TABLE

TUTable 1. BudgetUT ...........................................................................................................................................14

TUTable 2. Funding UT..........................................................................................................................................14

TUTable 3. Project Task Schedule UT....................................................................................................................15

FIGURE

TUFigure 1. where's my stick? UT ...........................................................................................................................4

TUFigure 2. System overview UT ............................................................................................................................7

TUFigure 3. System Modules UT.............................................................................................................................7

TUFigure 4. FlowchartUT .......................................................................................................................................8

TUFigure 5. Gantt ChartUT...................................................................................................................................15


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Executive Summary

As we were searching problems related to health, medical issues, we could not help but wonder what the days would be like for people with disabilities. As we narrow our focus to people with seeing disabilities, we asked ourselves the question:

How do vision‐impaired people find their belongings every day?

A possible solution is an electronic object locator which guides the user to the location of the item through sound. Currently, there are several products on the market that perform such function, although not exclusively designed for the vision‐impaired. These products are marketed as “key finders” aimed for those who frequently misplace and search for items such as keys or a remote controller. However, there are several problems that none of these products has made significant impact or commercial success: sonic technology cannot detect blocked items well and often generates false alarm; other products that uses active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags require frequent change of tag batteries which is not practical for users with vision loss; the tags are relatives big and bulky, making it difficult to attach them on small items.

Our project focuses on the solution that will address these problems and enables a vision‐impaired person to easily and quickly locate an item. We choose to use passive RFID tags as our main wireless communication component for its easy implementation, wireless power, and compact size. These tags are attached to items, and when the user presses a button on the remote locator, the corresponding tag responds, and the remote locator indicates the position of the tag through a series of pulse sound that varies in tone and frequency according to the distance between the remote and the tag. This solution eliminates batteries from the object tags, as passive RFID tags are wirelessly powered by the remote locator. The tags never run out of battery, and this leads to reliable performance, lower production and operational cost, and reduced size of the tags.

The Third Eye (TTE) consists of three senior engineering science students with experience in software design, sensors and actuators, high frequency electronics, and signal processing. Other skills include real time operating systems and microprocessor programming.

The project cycle will span a 13‐week period with the scheduled completion date of April 6 P

thP, 2008. The

project is budgeted at $700.00, which we plan to obtain from ESSS, School of Engineering Science and other sources.

Figure 1. where's my stick?


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Table of Contents TUExecutive Summary UT.......................................................................................................................................4

TU1.UT TUIntroductionUT ..........................................................................................................................................6

TU2.UT TUSystem Overview UT ..................................................................................................................................6

TU2.1.UT TUThe Technology UT .............................................................................................................................8

TU2.2.UT TUAdvantages UT..................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

TU3.UT TUPossible Design Solutions UT....................................................................................................................11

TU3.1.UT TUAcoustic Key Finders (“Sound‐Activated”)UT ..................................................................................11

TUa.UT TUUser‐generated signal UT .................................................................................................................11

TUb.UT TUMachine‐generated signal UT ..........................................................................................................11

TU3.2.UT TURadio Frequency Key Finders UT ......................................................................................................11

TUa.UT TUBase‐Tags UT ....................................................................................................................................11

TUb.UT TUBase/Tags Combination UT ..............................................................................................................11

TUc.UT TULimitation of existing object locators UT..........................................................................................11

TU4.UT TUProposed Design Solution UT ...................................................................................................................12

TU5.UT TUSources of Information UT .........................................................................................................................8

TU6.UT TUBudget and Funding UT ............................................................................................................................13

TU6.1.UT TUBudgetUT .........................................................................................................................................14

TU6.2.UT TUFunding UT .......................................................................................................................................14

TU7.UT TUSchedule UT..............................................................................................................................................15

TU8.UT TUTeam OrganizationUT..............................................................................................................................15

TU9.UT TUCompany Profile UT..................................................................................................................................16

TU10.UT TUConclusion UT.......................................................................................................................................17

TU11.UT TUSources and References UT ..................................................................................................................17

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1. Introduction

In its 2001 report, A Profile of Disability in Canada, Statistics Canada identified 610,950 Canadians with a seeing disability. Age‐related macular degeneration is Canada’s leading cause of blindness, and with the increasing life expectancy, it is likely that the number will continue to grow as developing of serious loss of vision is irreversible. Those who have lost their vision speak of their loss of independence as they often must rely on help from others to carry out daily activities such as shopping and cleaning.

The role of technology must be improving the quality of people’s lives by enabling and empowering them to do things, and our first step was to imagine ourselves living as vision‐impaired. A simple and intuitive solution to help those with such disability is a device that lets the user find an item with out seeing.

There are already several products that would perform such function; they are often marketed as “key finders”, targeted toward those ‘absent‐minded’ people who often spend frustrating time searching for misplaced items such as keys and remote controllers. Most people have lost something, and the idea of attaching electronic tags that signals its location seems like a brilliant idea. However, the available products garner mostly negative reviews, and the consumers point out that the tags make false alarms, and often do not respond, mainly because they run out of battery in few months. Locating a nearly silent tags and replacing batteries would prove to be an even greater for those with vision loss.

Our system, Wireless Item Label Locator, replaces the power‐consuming item tags with passive RFIDs which do not require batteries. Radio‐frequency identification (RFID) is an Hautomatic identificationH method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or Htransponders H. P

[1]P The user will be guided by the sound, not from the tags but from the hand‐held remote locator, which

will signal the direction and distance of the tag to the user. Our goal is to apply RFID technology to make a wireless locating system which helps vision‐impaired people to locate the item attached by a perticular RFID tag more easily.

This document is a proposal providing an overview of our product, outlining design considerations, sources of information and funding, and project scheduling. Alternate solutions and existing forms of this system are discussed and critiqued. Projected financial requirements and sources of funding are provided, as is Gantt chart.


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2. System Overview Our project uses passive RFID tags which are of the size of a passport photo. These tags can be easily place them on items such as cell phones, wallets, bags, pencil cases, calculators etc. A remote locator is programmed with unique protocols to find these RFID tags individually and thus find the item the tags are attached to.

Figure 2. System overview

The user will press a button on the remote locator, which only associate to one RFID tag. The remote will send signals to its surroundings to look for the tag. The associated tag integrated circuit will be powered up by the signal, and out bounce back signal with its identification. The locator will pick up this signal if it is within a certain range, and make uniquely coded sounds to indicate to the user the tag is close by. Hence, helping the user to find the item the tag is attached to more easily.

Our design will be divided into 5 modules: Central Control Module (CCM), RF Signal Processing Module (SPM), User Input Module (UIM), Speaker Output Module (SOM), and Tag Identification Module (TIM). Since we are using passive RFID tags, only the remote locator will be self powered, using easily changed batteries.

Figure 3. System Modules

CCM

SPM UIM TIM SOM


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The CCM will be implemented in a micro‐controller, and its main function will be communicating and controlling other modules.

The SPM will be responsible for receiving and transmitting RF signals to RFID tags, and process the signal to the CCM. The UIM will handle user interrupt such as pressing buttons. It will ask the CCM to respond. The TIM will be programmed to identify tags. We will use customized protocols to identify different tags. The SOM will, according to different finding, play different sounds to indicate the user about the location of the tags.

Figure 4. Flowchart

2.1. The Technology RFID includes 2 parts: integrated circuit, antenna. The integrated circuits store and process information, modulate and demodulate radio frequency signals. There are 3 types of RFID tags: passive, semi‐passive, and active. Passive RFID tag has no internal power, actives when a reader is nearby to power it up by

User Input interrupt

Send RF SignalPower up tags

Receive bounced back

Correct Tag ID

Active Speaker

NO

YE

YE

YE

NO

NO

User found item

Turn off Speaker

YE

More advanced

algorithm


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sending signals. Semi‐passive RFID tag is battery assisted. Both active and semi‐passive RFID tags has internal power source with the tag, usually very small batteries.


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RFID is a technology to uniquely identify objects and automatically

track their location Though not strictly ‘RFID’, GPS gives precise location of objects on a global scale.

Passive RFID:

Tag has unlimited lifespan

Tag energized by reader

Active RFID:

200m read-range

3-10 years tag life Low-Frequency

(LF) RFID

High-Frequency

(HF) RFID

Ultra-High

Frequency

GPS

Real-Time Location

Beacon Active RFID

Least interference from metals, liquids

Very small tag size possible

Suitable for tracking everyday items

long read-range (3.5m and up)

lowest tag price

Locates objects or people in Real-Time

Indicates presence or absence of items

Animal

Access Control

Challenging Materials Tracking

Item-Level

Event Mgmt.

Case

Pallet Tracking

High-Value Asset

Real-Time Tracking

RFID is a technology to uniquely identify objects and automatically

track their location Though not strictly ‘RFID’, GPS gives precise location of objects on a global scale.

Active RFID:

200m read-range

3-10 years tag life Low-Frequency

(LF) RFID

High-Frequency

(HF) RFID

Ultra-High

Frequency

GPS

Real-Time Location

Beacon Active RFID

Least interference from metals, liquids

Very small tag size possible

Suitable for tracking everyday items

long read-range (3.5m and up)

lowest tag price

Locates objects or people in Real-Time

Indicates presence or absence of items

Animal

Access Control

Challenging Materials Tracking

Item-Level

Event Mgmt.

Case

Pallet Tracking

High-Value Asset

Real-Time Tracking


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3. Possible Design Solutions Object locators are commonly marketed as “key finders” and available from various vendors. These can be classified into two groups by the type of the signal wave: acoustic wave and radio‐frequency wave.

3.1. Acoustic Key Finders (“SoundActivated”)

a. Usergenerated signal This is the cheapest and widely available system. The object tag is composed of an acoustic sensor and a speaker. When the user claps or whistles, it responds by making beeping noise to guide the user to the attached item.

b. Machinegenerated signal This system consists of a pair of tags. When the button on the tag is pressed, it generates a series of “beeps” with a specific sequence and tone. This is recognized by the other tag, which subsequently starts beeping as well.

The main problem of the acoustic key finder is that it is highly susceptible to clapping or high‐pitched noise and prone to frequent false alarm. Secondly, products in this category allow only one item to be tagged. This is particularly true for the user‐generated signal type; the user cannot be expected to make different sound signals accurately and reliably. For the second type, the user is required to purchase another set of tags in order to track another item.

3.2. Radio Frequency Key Finders

a. BaseTags Items are attached to tags with RFIDs and a speaker. The remote controller (base) has buttons that correspond to each tag; when a button is pressed within a given proximity (normally 30~40 ft), the corresponding tag responds and make noise.

b. Base/Tags Combination A variation of above, this type addresses the question “but what if you lose the remote?” Each piece can function as a remote and a sensor, and if the user has any one of the remote/tags, he or she can find the rest. The problem with this model is that each piece must be sizable to accommodate transmitter, receiver, and speaker along with several buttons.

c. Limitation of existing object locators All of above models aim to guide the user to an item by making sound from a tag attached to it. This basic concept is seemingly simple and particularly useful for the vision‐impaired; however, its implementation so far has been impractical with various limitations. According to the Amazon product


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reviews, majority of consumers who purchased such product have been dissatisfied, often experiencing frustration over the product not functioning as it should. . [amazon]

The primary concern is the battery life. For some products, tags are reported to run out of power in a period as short as two months. This is mainly due to two reasons: for some products, the tags are constantly “listening” for the signal from the remote, consuming power even when they are not in use. Secondly, generating a loud, consistent noise (commonly around 90dB) requires significant amount of power. The tag is required to be compact, and it operates on a common ‘button cell’ battery. . [amazon]

As the battery runs low, the level of beeping noise also decreases. Soon it becomes difficult to hear the tag even when it is beeping, especially if it is buried under other objects such as clothes. . [amazon]

After the battery runs out completely, the tag stops beeping. Ordinary users may eventually find the tags by searching; however, for blind users, it is much more difficult to find them without the aid of their vision.

Regularly replacing batteries of the tags can be one solution, but one customer review sums up the inconvenience of this idea: “if you can’t even remember where you put your remote, how can you remember to change the batteries every few months?” It is an even greater challenge for blind people to replace small button cells without seeing. [amazon]

Another common source of the user complaint is the size of the tag. Commercially available tags are at least as large as a car key remote, and consumers find them too bulky, uncomfortable and unattractive to attach to their ever‐shrinking gadgets such as cell phones. This problem is also the direct result of a speaker device that is required to be capable of making sound of high frequency and large volume. [amazon]

4. Proposed Design Solution Our proposed solution is to build an object locating system with passive RFID item tags. When prompted by the user, the remote locator will sense the location of the requested tag, and guide the user to it by sounding a pulse signal that changes in tone and frequency based on the distance between the remote and the tag. A vision‐impaired user will be able to easily locate the tagged item by following the direction in which the signal becomes stronger.

Unlike common acoustic key finders, the system uses radio‐frequency wave and it does not generate false alarm in a noisy environment. Each RFID tag has unique identification, and the system can be configured to track multiple items. A passive RFID tag does not require power source, and this effectively eliminates many problems due to the short tag battery life of currently marketed products. The blind user does not have to change the tag batteries every few months, and the frustration of not being able to locate the silent tags with low power no longer exists. The tags can be found as long as the remote locator is charged and functional. Also, because an RFID tag is a single integrated circuit, it is

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more reliable and less susceptible to malfunction and damage than a conventional item tag consisting of a sensor, power source, and a speaker.

This solution can be particularly useful for the vision‐impaired, but any customer will find it very handy. After the battery life, the most common complaint about existing object locating systems is that tags are as big and bulky as a car key remote. An RFID tag is a size a passport photo and it is very thin; this can be conveniently attached to items such as a small cell phone or a remote with no hanging holes, just like a regular sticker tag. The remote locator is also portable, and it can be used both indoors and outdoors. Ultimately, the user would save time by quickly locating items and become free from experiencing stress and frustration of losing items such as keys, cell phones, and remotes.

The main constraint in completing this project is the limited timeline. With only thirteen weeks to complete the project, our model will have few tags, and it will demonstrate the remote locator tracking the distance of the tags by sounding pulse signals of varying tones and frequency.

The project can be further improved with more time and money. First, we would explore the emerging technology of wireless power transfer, and possibly combine the RFID tag with a small, wirelessly powered speaker that will make noise to guide the user. A tactile direction indicator along with sound signal will be a great addition for a vision‐impaired user. Lastly, we would seriously consider the marketing aspect of this useful product. Because the small and flat dimension of an RFID tag, there are many possibilities for attractive design. The tags can be potentially designed like stickers with various fun designs, and attract the younger market as a cool, maybe even collectible, gadget of both form and function. The remote locator can be incorporated into other portable devices such as a digital watch or a music player, which would come with a set of button‐like tags for tracking missing items.

5. Source of Information The information will come from various areas. For researching existing products, portal sites will be used such as Ebay and Amazon.com where customers rate the products and write the reviews. For general technology research, we will use tech sites and Wikipedia. And for detail of other products, we will use patent sites to gain design information.

Other recourses will come from professors, TAs, classmates, and friends. Also for more user friendly product, we will contact vision ‐impaired personals through certain communities.


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6. Budget and Funding

6.1. Budget

Table 1. Budget

Component Description Estimated CostMicroprocessor and Development Kit 200.00$ RFID Accesories 150.00$ Electronic Components 100.00$ Miscellaneous 200.00$ Total 650.00$

6.2. Funding

Table 2. Funding

Name of Funding Amount ApplicantEngineering Science Student Endowment Fund(Departmental nomination/recommendation for scholarships and Awards, SFU Financial Assistance) ‐$ Tongxin FengWighton Fund ‐$ Tongxin FengEngineering Science Department 50.00$ Tongxin FengExternal Company Funds ‐$ Tongxin Feng


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7. Schedule

3‐Jan 18‐Jan 2‐Feb 17‐Feb 3‐Mar 18‐Mar 2‐Apr

ResearchProposal/Funding

Place OrdersProgress Report

Function SpecificationDesign Specification

Embeded Software DevelopmentModule Test and AssemblyIntegrated Module Debug

Usability TestProject Report

Final Demo

Figure 5. Gantt Chart

Table 3. Project Task Schedule

8. Team Organization Third Eye is founded by three SFU engineering students with a high passion on providing a better world to live in. Each member has interest in various fields such as sensors, wireless network, and electronic


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magnetic; therefore, the company will gain benefits by developing a product which is considered thoroughly in all different perspectives.

The company will research existing products in the current market and analyze the problems in the products. And we will improve the design of the product and perform the testing to ensure the quality assurance. Also marketing study will be included in the project tasks.

To operate the company efficiently in timely manner to achieve the best, we held meetings two times every week to keep updated. We will discuss possible improvements or updates; therefore, all the members will be aware of new changes that might affect their part and make modifications concurrently between different parts of the project. We have our company blog where we will update any resources such as documents or websites. And each member can write their own design note or raise a flag if there are some issues and discuss about it. We will also post our meeting minutes to keep track of our development direction and progress to meet the schedule.

Each member will be assigned to certain parts of the projects. Tongxin Feng is President and CEO. Based upon our research, she will assign task to each member and operate overall project task. And she will find a parts and funding by communicating with other people and organization. Jieun Choi is VP Management. She will manage the company daily tasks and monitoring the progress of each member. Sieun Lee is VP Resource. She will organize all the resources on the company blog. She will also keep track of documents. All members will be responsible for external and internal communication and technical operation in their own assigned parts.

Although each part is distributed to different members, all members will contribute to other parts beside the assigned parts when it is required or any fields that is intact to their fields. By sharing the responsibility of each part of projects, team member will not only feel responsible to their own parts but also get more interested in other part and able to investigate and improve the overall picture of the project.

To achieve strong team work, we will have team building events such as dine out or recreation activities to create healthy relationships among team members.

9. Company Profile

Tongxin Feng (President and CEO) is a fourth year Electronic Engineering student at SFU. Her focus is communication systems and wireless communications, with competent skills on programming, software and hardware. She is very interested in image/video processing. She has excellent communication skills developed through school projects and past co‐op work terms, that will serve her well as President and CEO.


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Jieun Choi (VP Management) is 5 P

thP year completing both electronic and system option in engineering

program at SFU. Her work experience as a quality assurance enhanced her testing knowledge and her insights to improve the existing products. She extended her knowledge in feedback control system area when she participated in research project involved a touch sensor. She is detailed oriented person and still able to focus on the big picture. Her strengths as well as his determination will serve to ensure that the company’s plans are carried out successfully.

Sieun Lee (VP Resource) is a 5 P

thP year Engineering students in Engineering physic option at SFU. She has a

strong background in signal processing and real‐time programming. She was the previous president in Engineering Without Boarders (EWB) where she gained her research skills in various areas and also editing skills. She is the idea for VP Resource.

10. Conclusion

WILL form The Third Eye will help the visual impaired person greatly to enhance their everyday life experience. We provided a tool to have people with disability so that their daily life can be more convenient. Furthermore, this prototype is not limited to visually impaired people, the technology developed in this project and the functionality designs can also be implemented in similar products for senior or anyone in need in our society as well.

Our project proposals shows that we can make better product than the existing one in the market. And we are confident we can achieve our goal in the suggested time and budget.

11. Sources and References

[1] HTUhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID UTH

[2] HTUhttp://www.nje.ca/Index.htm UTH (use the diagram)

[3] HTUhttp://www.clipartguide.com/_thumbs/0060‐0502‐2816‐3938.jpgUTH (use the picture)

[4] HTUhttp://www.amazon.com/ UTH( the reviews of several products)

FOR A WIRELESS ITEM LABEL LOCATOR (WILL)whitmore/courses/ensc305/projects/2008/... · 2010. 8....

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