Use of RFIDS and GPS to track children

Use of RFIDS and GPS to track children

Highlights

The objective was to implement and design a GPS and RFID based efficient and reliable solution to monitor children.

The RFID technology has gotten utilized in several applications, including factory integration and automation, B2C and B2B networks, and library management systems.

A GPS and RFID underlying architecture comprises of a tag containing a chip and an antenna.

The reader contains a transceiver and antenna while a workstation hosts the database and middleware.

Several frequency ranges get used for RFID tracking technology with varying detection ranges.

Identification and tracking are a powerful capability. Identification is instrumental in organizing, counting, and classifying objects. These operations are essential to several aspects of day to day life. These aspects include various phases of supply chain management, planning of distribution, manufacturing, and they operate on scales from the global trade level to individual customer level. Traditionally identification got carried out physically that is by observation of object’s characteristics (Quilter, 2019). When copies of produced objects that appear identical get identified, distinguishing markings get added. Accurate and efficient means that recognize those markings and determine the objects get required. Thus arising an identification and tracking system that identify those markings and readers that read the markings.

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification while GPS stands for Global Positioning System. RFID is a method of identifying objects by attaching a unique characteristic of the object using radio signals or waves. Individual features can include a unique identifying number on a silicon chipset attached to the object (Hutabarat et al., 2016). These technologies offer magnitude orders greater accuracy and efficiency than other traditional technologies. Although radio frequency identification is not a new invention, recent advancement in semiconductor techniques has made this method cost-effective and practical.

Compared to visual locating and markings, RFID and GPS have several advantages, including the ability to identify objects that are out of sight. This advantage means that an individual can get identified even when unique characteristic get removed obscured, or marred, or are in a congested area or space (Hutabarat et al., 2016). Elements utilized to aide n identification are RFID and GPS tags. Tags have two components a transceiver and a memory component that holds identification information and data.

This project aimed to design and implement an RFID and GPS tracking system for children. The system gets intended to track a child in movement in a wide area, including malls and parks using RFID and GPS technologies. The proposed architecture has software and hardware components. The hardware components include RFID and GPS active tags, tag readers, database server, and web server (Hutabarat et al., 2016). The database and web servers get located in a master station. Tag readers can get distributed in open area and social places such as parks and theatres.

These tags get worn by children and get fed with the child’s profile and guardian contact information. Communication between the web server and tag reader gets carried out wirelessly (Hutabarat et al., 2016). The software architecture comprises of communication drivers that manage communication and network functions in the master station, an API – application user interface that analyzes and handle the data, a friendly graphical user interface, and a database that store clients’ data and tag readings.

References

Hutabarat, D. P., Hendry, H., Pranoto, J. A., & Kurniawan, A. (2016, September). Human tracking in certain indoor and outdoor area by combining the use of RFID and GPS. In 2016 IEEE Asia Pacific Conference on Wireless and Mobile (APWiMob) (pp. 59-62). IEEE.

Quilter, J. (2019). Child/Individual Tracking System. U.S. Patent Application No. 15/820,677.

Benefits of blockchain technology in transportation

Deployment of blockchain technology has many benefits to the transportation industry. The implementation of these techniques implies better and enhanced freight tracking. As the demand for on-demand and same-day delivery increases and customer expectations get higher, transportation and freight companies get an increasing need to innovate and invest in technology. These companies need to authenticated secure information and data to improve and enhance their operations consistently (Newman, 2018). Deployment and utilization of blockchain technology solve most of these issues. A network can validate and contribute data by deploying blockchain techniques for data authentication and if no longer vulnerable to tampering. The increased and enhanced reliability of tracking data can also impact the conservation of goods getting shipped.

Utilization of artificial intelligence and the internet of things enables to enhance efficiency. With the help of artificial intelligence and the internet of things advancements, blockchain can get very useful in capacity monitoring. The volume of cargo often determines the shipping freight cost. By utilizing the internet of things, sensors in shipping vehicles and other channels can determine expenses accurately, and transmit all this data to the blockchain (Newman, 2018). Blockchain technology is getting utilized to maintain the integrity of valuable goods in transit, but also create a secure and immutable record of the shipping process documentations. Global shipping and delivery goes through several checkpoints and gets handled by several logistics companies during transit, having this type of information and data on an accurate and secure record is an enormous advantage to shippers and logistics companies.

Benefits of supply chain digitization

Supply chain digitization enables an organization to address the ever-changing customer’s requirements, efficiency expectations, and also supply-side challenges. This digitization brings about the supply chain 4.0 phenomenon, which has several benefits. These benefits of supply chain digitization include more flexibility within the organization. Real-time and ad hoc planning enables flexible reactions to change in supply and demand situations (Venrell-Herrero et al., 2017). Frozen periods and planning cycles get minimized, and planning becomes a continuous process that gets able to react to changing constraints and requirements dynamically.

Once the shipping process begins, enhanced flexibility in the delivery process enables customers to reroute destination to the most convenient pick-up points or area. Supply chain digitization makes its management more accurate. The generation of performance monitoring systems provides end to end and real-time transparency within an organization (Venrell-Herrero et al., 2017). The integration and implementation of data suppliers, service providers and others in supply chain digitization ensure all stakeholders decide and steer based on the same information and data.

Supply chain failure

Organizations require supply chain consulting and digitization when looking to benchmark company operations performance with those of competitors or need to streamline the firm’s logistics processes. Among the primary causes of supply chain failure, lack of communication ranks the highest. The organization risk losing the account and no meeting expectations if customers do not access the right products with appropriate documentation and at the right price. Effective and efficient supply chain management relies on communication and keeping the client informed of any delays, challenges, or any other obstacles (Venrell-Herrero et al., 2017). Other factors can include delayed shipping, lack of market expertise, lack of appropriate risk management implementations, and future forecasting trends using outdated or historical information and data.

References

Newman, N. (2018). Can blockchain transform transport?. Engineering & Technology, 13(6), 58-61.

Vendrell-Herrero, F., Bustinza, O. F., Parry, G., & Georgantzis, N. (2017). Servitization, digitization and supply chain interdependency. Industrial Marketing Management, 60, 69-81.