EE Capstone Spring 2008

Team RFIDMike GauthiereMike Loptien

Chris ReidKirk SpowartVincent Wu

What are RFID tags?• Two different kinds: transponders and beacons

• Passive tags or transponders are activated when receiving a signal from a reader, such as the toll payment system on E-470

• Powered by the RFID reader

• Range from centimeters (ISO 14443) to a few meters (ISO 18000-6) to possibly a few hundred meters with new Hitachi chip

• Features non-volatile, writable EEPROM to store data

What are RFID tags?• Beacons or active tags send a signal with a

unique identifier at preset intervals, anywhere from once every few seconds to once a day depending on how important it is to know the location

• The beacon’s signal is often picked up by at least three different reader antennas to give accurate location information

• Powered by battery life of ~ 10 years• Range of hundreds of meters• Features non-volatile writable EEPROM with

more functionality inside than passive tags

What will we do with RFID technology?

• We will create a General Purpose Handheld RFID reader

• This reader will be able to read RFID tags placed in multiple locations

• The reader will look up information related to these tags from a database stored on an SD card

• If the information is not found in memory, the reader will attempt to download the information via WIFI connection

• The information will be displayed in a user-friendly format on a touch screen LCD display

What will we do with RFID technology?

• Audio information will also be output through a standard stereo jack on the reader that can be used with headphones

• There will be an option to select which tag’s information to display out of all those in proximity

• Signal triangulation could be used to sense direction and distance to the detected tags

Artist’s Rendering #1 of RFID Reader

Artist’s Rendering #2 of RFID Reader

Artist’s Rendering #3 of RFID Reader

Real World Applications

• Museums• Zoos• Grocery Stores• GPS Trips through

State/National Parks• Highway Signs

Required Function List

• Sense and read all RFID tags in vicinity• Retrieve information tied to sensed ID’s

from database• Database stored on SD card or

downloaded through WIFI connection• User-friendly graphical interface,

possibly touch screen controlled

Optional Function List

• Standards compliant device, works with off-the-shelf standardized RFID tags

• Ability to read both passive and active RFID tags

• Ability to evaluate approximate distance from tags using signal strength or triangulation

• Ability to read information from sensor type RFID tags

Block Diagram

Implementation of Hardware

• Processor: ARM 7– May be needed to handle high data volume for screen

• RFID transceiver: ID-12– 125 kHz module w/ RS232 Interface & Built-in antenna

• Screen: Sharp 4.3” 24bit Sony PSP screen– High resolution color screen for user friendlyness

• Touch sensor: 4-wire resistive layer– Designed to match size of PSP screen

• Battery: 7.4 V 2000 mAH 2 cell LiPo– Lightweight & space efficient, excellent capacity– Should be able to handle power needs & give good battery life

Implementation of Hardware

• RFID tags: 125 kHz passive (ISO 18000-2)– Simple to get started with– Would like to be able to read other standardized RFID tags after

success with this one. (Active tags & other passive tags)

• Memory: 1 GB SD memory card– Non-Volatile & ubiquitious

• To Be Determined:– Audio controller/D to A converter– WIFI controller

Implementation of Software

• Operating system– Handle RFID data, touch device data, etc.

• User Interface– Friendly– Graphics intensive– Interpretation of touch information

• Local Database: XML File– Human Readable, Standardized

• Online Database– Web Server Running PHP Interface to MySQL Database– Send HTTP Response, receive XML formated file

Project BudgetQTY Item Price Total Cost Part Number

6 Active RFID tags 20 120 varies10 Passive RFID tags 2 20 EM40011 RFID Reader Chip 30 30 ID-121 ARM7 Processor 5 5 varies1 LCD Screen 70 70 PSP1 Touch Layer 25 25 PSP1 Battery Pack 60 60 Rechargeable1 SD Card 1GB 20 20 varies3 PCB 60 180 varies3 Dev Boards 80 240 varies1 Audio Jack & Headphones 15 15 varies1 Wifi Card 20 20 varies1 Misc Elec Parts 180 180 varies

Total 985

ID Task Name Duration Start

1 PDR 4 days Mon 1/28/08

2 UROP Request 3 days Wed 1/30/08

3

4

5 User Manual 69 days Mon 1/28/08

6 Technical Reference Manual 69 days Mon 1/28/08

7

8 Order Components 5 days Mon 2/4/08

9

10 PCB Design 20 days Fri 2/1/08

11

12 Dev Board Familiarization 10 days Mon 2/11/08

13 Processor Familiarization (code) 3 days Wed 1/30/08

14 RFID Transciever (Hardware) 10 days Mon 2/11/08

15 RFID Tranceiver (Software) 10 days Sat 2/23/08

16 Memory Interface (Hardware) 10 days Wed 2/20/08

17 Memory Interface (Software) 10 days Tue 3/4/08

18 Screen Interface (Hardware) 10 days Fri 2/29/08

19 Screen Interface (Software) 10 days Thu 3/13/08

20 Tag ID Database (Software) 5 days Mon 1/28/08

21 User Interface 42 days Tue 2/19/08

22 Operating system 42 days Tue 2/19/08

23 Write CDR Presentation 4 days Mon 2/25/08

24 CDR 1 day Thu 2/28/08

25

26 Milestone 1 1 day Thu 3/20/08

27 Spring Break 6 days Fri 3/21/08

28 Touhscreen Interface 13 days Mon 3/31/08

29 Identify Higher Priority Tags (Software) 6 days Mon 3/31/08

30

31 Milestone 2 1 day Thu 4/17/08

32 Wifi Interface 9 days Fri 4/18/08

33 Audio Output 9 days Fri 4/18/08

34 Web Database 9 days Fri 4/18/08

35

36 Expo 1 day Thu 5/1/08

3/20

4/17

5/1

16 19 22 25 28 31 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 3February March April May

Schedule

Schedule• PDR: initial design• CDR: order components, PCB design,

board & processor familiarization, begin hardware modules

• Milestone 1: finish RFID transceiver, memory and screen interface, tag ID database

• Milestone 2: finish touch screen interface, identify higher priority tags

• Expo: finish WIFI interface, audio output, web database

Division of Responsibilities

• Embedded systems & microprocessors: Mike L/Mike G

• Power & batteries: Chris/Mike G• RF & antennas: Kirk/Mike L• Circuit construction: Chris/Vince• Low level software: Kirk/Mike L• High level software: Vince/Mike G/Chris• Communications: Kirk

Potential Risks of Project• Risk #1: No previous

experience with RFID technology

• Recovery plan #1: Professor Mihran has a lot of experience with RFID technology, so would be a good resource

• Risk #2: Possible reader confusion in presence of many different RFID tags

• Recovery plan #2: additional programming may be needed to create an anti-collision algorithm

Potential Risks of Project• Risk #3: RFID and GPS

technology can be expensive

• Recovery plan #3: many possible sources of funding available such as UROP grants

• Risk #4: Difficulty in calculating the distance between RFID reader and tag

• Recovery Plan #4: Use other methods of assigning priority, could be left out if time is limited

Potential Risks of Project

• Risk #5: Possible touch screen feasibility issues

• Recovery plan #5: use soft buttons instead of a touch screen

Feasibility of Project

• RFID communication is a simple concept, so our project can have various degrees of complexity depending on time

• Many different options available such as touch screen interface, GPS integration, WIFI, etc.

• Many RFID peripherals and reader chips exist and are easy to use

Questions???