1 A Local and Remote Radio Frequency Identification Learning Environment Andrew Shields & David Butcher Wireless and Mobility Research Group, Institute of Technology Tralee, Ireland

2 Overview v What is RFID? v Remote Laboratories v RFID Education v Interactivity v Remote RFID Learning Environment System Overview v Conclusions

3 Introduction v There are a number of avenues that can be followed in the area of RFID education, depending on the requirements of the students. v This project will concentrate on the use of Remote Laboratories in aiding RFID Education v The primary objective is to develop suitable PC based laboratory experiments for RFID education.

4 What is RFID? v Used for automatic identification of items. –Walmart –US Department of Defence –Tesco –Others v RFID equipment consists of –RFID reader, also known as an interrogator. –Antenna for wireless communication –Tags used to store digital information on an embedded chip. u The tag also contains an antenna for communicating with the reader

5 What is RFID? v RFID provides an advantage over bar code technology –Non-line of sight –Ultra High Frequency (UHF) equipment has enhanced the suitability of RFID in the supply chain. –Potential replacement of existing barcode technologies

6 Remote Laboratories v Interaction with hardware is an important aspect of the learning experience. v Remote laboratory experiments using CBL, allow the investigation of real objects in real time and provide hands-on experience. v Students can conduct remote experiments by controlling and viewing hardware and record the results. v For the design of these types of environments, the following aspects are important: –On the client's side, only standard web browser software independent of the operating system should be necessary.

7 RFID Education –RFID industry is in the midst of a transformation. u Agreement on RFID standards –Many steps involved in implementing an RFID solution. –Difficult to know where to begin! u Different frequencies, u Tags, u Readers, u Middleware u Industry demand for higher accuracy and read rates from RFID increases complexity.

8 RFID Education –Few individuals have this level of knowledge –Therefore a greater focus needs to be put on RFID education. –RFID courses generally offer a broad base of general RFID knowledge. –Many of these introductory courses typically cover information regarding how RFID technology works, u Network elements, u Technology standards u General applications of the technology. u Some RFID laboratory activities

9 Remote Learning v One of the most exciting new trends in education is the use of remote learning. v Remote learning can have a number of advantages over a conventional classroom. v Some students are reserved and shy by nature and are reluctant to ask questions or may not ask even a single question throughout a course. v In a remote learning class with technical support, the reserved students excel - they can ask as many questions as they want. v Remote Learning should to be considered in any learning environment.

10 Interactivity v Interaction is an important concept v Research has shown that students' retention of knowledge increased from 20% to 75% when students interact with the teaching materials. v Difficult to use interfaces may affect the usefulness of the learning environment. –May lead to misinterpretations or results and distract from the learning experience.

11 Interactivity v In the traditional learning procedure. –first step is a lecture supported by a laboratory session. –A possible alternative is that, after an introductory lecture, the next lecture could use a CBL environment. –Using CBL, the students have greater flexibility and can utilise different time frames for learning each lecture.

12 Computer Based Learning v Using CBL, students can use Internet access to complete a series of remote experiments. v These may require trial and error cycles, linked into each lecture. v Students acquire a certain amount of knowledge about the subject during lectures. v Afterwards the CBL re-enforces the material. v Each student should give the lecturer feedback, regarding the benefits, and drawbacks of the CBL environment.

13 Remote RFID Learning Environment System Overview v Takes from and builds upon a number of existing systems. v These were adapted to fit the requirements of an RFID learning environment. v Allows remote RFID experiment setup (RFID Readers and sensors) to be accessed by students. v The system and can be separated into two distinct domains. –Students accessing the system using a web browser. –The system setup at the research centre.

14 Remote RFID Learning Environment System Overview

15 Web Interface v Acts as a gateway between the remote client workstations and the laboratory server. v The Laboratory Server is directly connected to the RFID equipment v The student using the web interface can move the RFID tags relative to the reader.

16 Laboratory Server v A stepper motor interfaced to the Laboratory Server is used to control the distance from the tag to the reader. v A prototype electro-mechanical platform was developed to control the movement of an RFID tag along the horizon axis. v This contained a stepper motor that interfaced to a PC using a custom built stepper motor control circuit. v This can be used to determine the optimal range of the tags for differing tag frequencies for the reader.

17 Stepper Motor and Platform Motor Horizontal movement

18 Conclusions v Lecturers need awareness –To have a general view of the class –Monitor the class progress, –Detect problems in order to intervene in time. v Students need awareness –To have a view about their position in comparison to other groups. –To find potential collaborators to exchange documents, ideas, to ask for help. v CBL systems play an important role in facilitating the teaching and learning processes.

19 Conclusions v Aims to improve the proliferation of RFID into the educational sector. v The suggested environment provides –A way of giving students practical RFID experience at a low cost. –Removes the need for expertise in setting up equipment. –RFID funding may not be available in smaller schools and colleges. v The RFID CBL system may be enhanced by –Adding active RFID readers and sensor tags to the remote equipment. –Sensor tags may, for example, include temperature data and motion detection capabilities. –Alternative communication solutions could use other distributed computing paradigms such as COM, CORBA or RMI. –More advanced platform to control the movement of the tag and reader