Tanmaya Kumar 3 rd May 2011

Outline  Problem and Objective  Key personnel  Approach  Risks  Test Cases  Results  Impact  Tasks as Executed

Problem and Objective  Problem: In a warehouse or retail store setup a sizable chunk of time is spent by employees walking up to each item on each isle and checking it off a list. Creating, Maintaining, and replenishing inventory and correct positioning for items in a huge store is very difficult and time consuming, and, very cost ineffective.  Objective: The objective of the project is to streamline the process of developing and maintaining regular inventory in a store or warehouse environment. This involves a combination of projects each accomplishing a separate task- a step in the creation or maintenance of inventory. The projects include RFID tag data collection and insertion into a main database, and, extending to the combination of robotics and RFID to maintain a current and regular live inventory of the store floor. The project will also extend on to being a customer support system for location of particular items in the store.

Key Personnel  Tanmaya Kumar Kumar is a junior in the Computer Science and Computer Engineering Department expecting to graduate with a BS degree in the Spring of 2012 (May, 2012). He has relevant previous experience in programming and a deep interest in artificial intelligence.  Dr. Craig Thompson (Champion / Advisor) Dr. Thompson is Professor and Acxiom Database Chair in Engineering in the Computer Science and Computer Engineering Department at University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He has a background in database management, artificial intelligence, middleware, software architectures, agents, virtual worlds, and pervasive computing.

Approach  High level design: The project involves multiple components and elements: The Robot RFID Reader (Stationary): Symbol Forklift Reader Database Population Generator App The back end database RFID Handheld tag reader Locator Tags Recalibration, Updating and Location search

Risks RiskSteps Taken 1. Metal Shelves Reflect RF WavesTesting at multiple high-low strength frequencies to find optimum read values 2. Inconsistent read data due to reflectionMultiple reads(test cases) at different angles and different frequency values 3. Inconsistent read data sue to speed and location variation Multiple reads at different speeds and different locations in the aisle, including standing stationary reads 4. Read data varies even at same test conditions due to RF Limitations Multiple reads with same test conditions and averaging out the data 5. Different read data when standing and moving robot Test cases with a combination of standing and moving reads

Test Cases Reader PositionDescriptionAntenna Power (dBm)No. of Runs 1. Center AisleStanding with the reader held at a height of 1m Forward – Backward Runs2 forward and backward runs at 200mm/s: 200(F) -200(B) Forward – Stop – Backward2 forward and backward runs at 200mm/s with a 5 second stop in the center of the aisle: Forward – Stop – Forward Backward – Stop - Backward Walking with the readerWalking forwards from start to end of aisle with reader at 1m height 15001

Results  We tested the system by collecting data from the runs listed in the test cases table. The preliminary results for the runs were as follows:  Best Antenna Strength for gathering Data: 2700 – 3000 dBm.  Most Successful Run (Most tags captured): Forward – Backward with 5 second stops.  The results are preliminary in nature and require further testing, however, there are some caveats to the signal strength and start - stop mechanism of the test case. The ability of the reader to capture more RFID tags within the 2700 – 3000 dBm range increases significantly but it also picks up random tags with the same frequency as well. The number of dirty reads becomes a lot more consistent and later sorting becomes very task intensive. Also, the start – stop method for testing is a very time consuming method in a large scale environment.

Impact  Currently retailers like Wal-Mart spend uncountable hours and money maintaining inventory and making sure items are in the correct spots in their stores. A push is underway towards using RFID to tag every single object in the store, most commonly jeans(Dillards and JCPenney), maintaining a live inventory will help immensely towards streamlining the process.

Tasks to be Executed and Schedule  Tasks: Data Capture Create Database Robot Path Control and Tag Data Collection Implement location triangulation algorithms Debugging Documentation

Schedule TaskFall 1. Data Capture… 2. Create Database … 3. Robot Path Control and Tag Data Coll… 4. Debugging 5. Documentation…

Questions Thank you!