Wireless Monitoring of Water Level using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in Introduction to Research in ICT Marc Dominic Cabioc Elera Marie Joaquin Denmark Padua Jeymark Palma John Nino Requina BSIT 3A October 23, 2009 Wireless Flood Monitoring Using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology ABSTRACT Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is commonly used for object identification and tracking. In this study we explore the feasibility of its use in wireless monitoring of water level that will serve as an early warning system for flood occurrence.
To measure the level of water, water detecting sensors monitors the signal and sends it to the RFID tag. A receiver unit emits an electromagnetic field which when detected by the passive RFID tag causes it to transmit water level data in its memory to the receiver. This data will soon be sent to a data collecting computer where a mobile phone is connected. Registered mobile numbers will be sent a notification about the status of the water level and warn them about the occurrence of flood in their area.
Potential application of this study could be in the field of disaster control where water level can be monitored to predict the occurrence of flood near the area using wireless and mobile technology. Although limitation in transmission range require proximity reading of sensor, using existing equipment that regularly pass over the field as mount for the interrogator would increase feasibility of this system. Chapter 1 The Problem Chapter 1 consists of five parts; namely: (1) Background of the Study, (2) Objectives of the Study, (3) Significance of the Study, (4) Definition of Terms, and (5) Delimitation of the Study.
Part One, Background of the Study, presents the rationale of the thesis project/research study. Part Two, Objective of the Study, includes general and specific objective of the proposed project. It states the aims of the study, on what to solve, prove and implement. Part Three, Significance of the Study, indicates the advantages that can be obtained from the implementations of the study. Part Four, Definition of Terms, gives the conceptual and operational meanings of the important terms used in the study. Part Five, Delimitation of the Study, discuss the scope and limitation of the project.
Background of the Study Floods make an enormous impact on the environment and society today. Floods destroy properties including homes business establishments and infrastructures. Also, in cases of severe floods many people lost their lives and some suffers into the long term effect of flooding. Early warning to the people near flood prone areas could help lessen the harmful effects of flooding. Radio Frequency Identification is one the most commonly used technology when it comes to wireless transmission of data in terms of smaller amount of data and provides limitless future potentials.
As the industry has witnessed rapid growth in developing and applying RFID technology we must take advantage and se this technology to build a system that help in save property and lives in the future. In this study we integrate the use of RFID technology in the4 field of disaster control by creating a system that will help prevent massive destruction of flood in a certain area. By using the technology to transmit signals to a remote system in order to monitor the level of water in riverbanks and predict the occurrence of flood.
The implementation of this technology will help prevent lost of lives and property because of early warning and prevention. Statement of the Problem The feasibility of RFID technology when used in wireless monitoring of water level. Objectives of the Study The main purpose of this study is to develop a system that measures the water level of a certain area in order to predict the future occurrence of flooding and to send warning information to the local population. This study also aims to assess the performance of the project in accordance with certain criteria. Specifically answer the following questions: 1.
What are the components of the system proposed? 2. What is the feasibility of RFID Technology as to be used as a tool in this study? 3. How will this system benefits the people in the area of implementation? 4. What is the level of precision of monitoring water level using RFID Technology? Significance of the Study The study will give great innovation especially to the residents near the riverbanks where flooding is their major problem during rainy days. Through monitoring of the water levels this could be the basis of possible flood occurrence. Early warning of upcoming flood will help save life and properties.
Also the area’s disaster control unit will function well in bringing warning to the residents of the upcoming flood if they will utilize this technology. Another significance of this study is to prove the transmission range of RFID when integrated into other devices and how useful the technology is. This study will also lead to future innovation that will use RFID technology in it most feasible aspects to aid people’s needs. The researchers will also apply knowledge they learned from their previous lessons and gain insights during the progress of the study.
Thus this study makes significance because RFID’s feasibility was explored for the development of a wireless water level monitoring as the basis of flood occurrence. Definition of Terms For better understanding of the study, the following words are operationally defined: RFID System In this study RFID System is referred to a system that include includes three components: (1) a tag or transponder, (2) an interrogator (reader), and (3) an antenna that emits radio signals to activate the tag and read/write data to it. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
In this study, Radio frequency Identification or RFID is referred to a technology used as means of monitoring water level for prediction of flood to flood-prone areas. RFID Tags or Transponder In this study RFID Tags or Transponder is referred to a device which is part of the RFID system where in it acts as a listener for radio signals sent by the reader. When it receive radio query it responds to it by transmitting information in its memory to the reader. RFID Reader, Interrogator or Transceiver In this study RFID Reader, Interrogator or Transceiver is referred to a device which sends and receive signals from a tag.
Sensor In this study sensor is referred to a device that gather analog data and transmit it to the microcontroller. Microcontroller In this study, microcontroller is referred to a device which analyzed signals from the sensor, give measurements of water level and transfer data to the RFID chip. Data Collecting PC In this study Data collecting PC is referred to a device which stores data and information send by the RFID reader. Mobile Phone In this study mobile phone is referred to a device used to inform local population regarding the water level and the possibility of having a flood in the area. Flood
In this study flood is referred to as the condition where the system will help to prevent by measuring the water level in riverbanks in a wireless manner using RFID. Delimitation of the Study The study focuses on the monitoring of water level in a wireless manner using Radio Frequency Technology. During the progress of the study we will not be using actual RFID tags and readers because of its high cost instead the use of simulation will be presented for the actual scenario. The simulation includes a water detecting device, RFID system which includes RFID tags, readers and antenna, data collecting computer and a mobile phone.
Also included is a middleware that will bridge generated tags to the database with the help of the Emulator. The emulator will help in connecting devices to handle the monitoring of water levels. After data was collected it will be analyze to detect if there are possibilities of flood occurrence. Then data will be sent to mobile user near the flood-prone areas when the level becomes higher in order for people to prepare for the future evacuation. Chapter II Review of Related Literature Development of a “SMART” Wireless Soil Monitoring Sensor Prototype using RFID Technology
T. K. Hamrita and his partner E. C. Hoffacker developed a lab prototype system for wireless measurement of soil temperature using a commercially available 13. 56-MHz RFID passive tag. Temperature is sensed by a thermometer Integrated Circuit (IC) that produces a Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) Signal. On the other hand, an embedded Motorola 68HC11 microcontroller monitors this signal, produces averaged measurements, and sends them to the RFID “tag” or transponder unit, hence the “smart” feature of the sensor.
At the same time, a receiving unit called “interrogator” emits an electromagnetic field, which when detected by the passive RFID tag causes it to transmit temperature data stored in its memory to the interrogator. The latter detects these measurements and sends them to a data collection PC. The architecture of the developed system prototype allows for additional soil transducers to be integrated into it without changes to the sensor design. Potential applications for this sensor could be in the area of precision farming where soil properties such as temperature might be monitored in a wireless manner.
Monitoring System for Farming Operations with Wearable Devices Utilized Sensor The proposed farm operation monitoring system using “Field Servers” and wearable device equipped with an RFID reader and motion sensors was to automatically monitor farmer’s activities. The proposed system was used in recognizing farming operations by analyzing the data from the sensors and detected RFID tags that are attached to various objects such as farming materials, facilities, and machinery. Moreover, this system provides useful information in real-time and controls specific machines in a coordinated manner on the basis of recognized operation.
Functionally Layered Video Coding for Water Level Monitoring The study proposes a new type of layered video coding especially for the use of monitoring water level of a river. A sensor node of the system decomposes an input video signal into some kinds of component signals and produces a bit stream functionally separated into three layers. The first layer contains the minimum components effective for detecting the water level. It is transmitted at very low bit rate for regular monitoring. The second layer contains signals for thumb-nail video browsing.
The third layer contains additional data for decoding the original video signal. These are transmitted in case of necessity. A video signal is decomposed into several bands with the three dimensional Haar transform. Optimum bands to be contained into the 1st layer are experimentally investigated considering both of water level detection and data size to be transmitted. As a result, bit rate for transmitting the first layer is reduced by 32. 5% at the cost of negligible 3. 7% decrease of recognition performance for one of video examples.
Better Farming through RFID Tagging The system enables farmers to maintain a more meaningful account of individual animals by analyzing movement and eating patterns in real time. This data can be used to determine health, allowing farmers to treat or remove sick cows before they affect the wellness of the entire herd, as well as plan milking and fertilization schedules that can help maximize productivity. The system will utilize an active, ultra-wide band RFID tags and readers. These tags emit a series of short signals at frequencies between 6 and 8 GHz.
The extremely short nature of these pulses makes them less vulnerable to RF interference from objects and other RF noise, relative to conventional RFID real-time location systems. Once a reader receives a tag’s signal by means of a phased array antenna, it calculates the tag’s location by employing two complementary techniques: time difference of arrival (TDOA) and angle of arrival (AOA). This technology has implications for agricultural operations of any scale. It can provide smaller farms with an effective, low-cost way to modernize in order to compete in a marketplace that is increasingly industrial.
Intelligent Sensors Gear Up For Real-time Flood Monitoring This system makes use of grid computing that could reduce the cost of flood damage by providing warnings of local flooding in time for people to take pre-emptive action. Most current systems issue general warnings over large areas because they rely on sparsely-distributed sensors which send information to a central point for analysis. This new system, which is based on a network of intelligent sensors that can be placed in flood-prone sites, promises rapid, low-cost warnings specific to these sites.
The system now undergoing trial in Yorkshire consists of 13 depth sensors fixed in locations across a flood plain and a digital camera which rather like a traffic speed camera, monitors flow rate from the speed of flotsam between two points. Each sensor incorporates a powerful computer, no bigger than a packet of gum, which communicates wirelessly with other sensors in the network to form a computing grid. When flood waters are rising, the sensors can change how they operate together so that the network can continue to monitor the situation even if some sensors are submerged or swept away.
The sensors are also able to adjust their power consumption so batteries are conserved during dry times and power is available for increased activity during flood. As soon as the sensors detect water coming down the valley, the network gears up. In order to provide flood warnings, the system makes use of flood forecasting models which were developed at Lancaster by Professor Peter Young and colleagues. The models can be run on the sensor computing grid and adjusted so that their predictions stay in line with what the sensors are recording. RFID for Animals, Food and Farming
The report concerns about RFID in the food supply chain, from arable farming and livestock to presentation in the retail store. It also covers some benefits if the RFID tag stays on the food to the private home. Also included in the report, are tagging of pets and use of RFID on. It also analyses the use of RFID and allied technologies, with a profusion of case studies from across the world. There are many reasons for the growth of both of these markets, because RFID is increasingly used to track, monitor condition, prevent errors and theft, and even locate from a distance.
This increases sales, improves customer satisfaction and reduces costs. As if this were not enough, there is increasing legislation driving the use of RFID for safety, notably with livestock and pets, for rapid and optimal response to disease outbreaks, proof of vaccination, registration and so on. RFID and Sensor-Based Services With Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), companies can more accurately track assets and monitor key indicators, gain greater visibility into their operations, and make decisions based on real-time information.
Increasingly, RFID tags are being combined with many types of sensors and tracking technologies like GPS to give companies greater visibility into their supply chains for reduced risk and optimized business processes. Oracle RFID and Sensor-Based Services provide companies looking to adopt RFID technology with a comprehensive set of capabilities to capture, manage, analyze, access, and responds to data from sensors such as RFID, location, and temperature.
Based on Oracle’s mature, proven technology—including Oracle Database, Oracle Fusion Middleware, and Oracle Enterprise Manager—Oracle RFID and Sensor-Based Services enable companies to quickly and easily integrate sensor-based information into their enterprise systems. Oracle’s solution includes a Supplier Compliance Workspace, Sensor Edge Server, Sensor Edge Mobile, and integrated support in the Oracle Database, Oracle Fusion Middleware, and Oracle E-Business Suite. Architectural Design Fig. 1. A block diagram showing the architectural design of the Wireless Monitoring of Water Level using RFID Technology
