MSc DISSERTATION

IMPLEMENTATION OF RFID IN EMERGENCY TRANSPORT

VEHICLES FOR INSTANT DATA TRANSFER TO A &E COMMAND

CENTRES  

By

MOHAMMED MUSHAHID

Submitted to the Faculty of the

University of Reading

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for

The Degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE

In CYBERNETICS

September, 2008

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank my Supervisor Prof.Kevin Warwick for the constant

support, guidance and encouragement throughout my program. I express my

sincere gratitude to Dr.Victor Becerra, the Chair of Cybernetics, for his kind

cooperation and guidance that helped me in completing my project. I wish to

express my sincere and deepest thanks to Mr.Steve Gould, who has helped

me whenever I had any doubts in my project. I extend my thanks to the staff

and faculty of the Department of Cybernetics for their help and support.

I wish to thank Romana Azam who has been with me at all times and

constantly given me encouragement and support in tough times.

I also wish to sincerely thank my parents without whom I would have not

been writing this, who have helped me every single moment throughout the

program.

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ABSTRACT

This project is aimed to implement Radio Frequency Identification

technology in healthcare industry. The time factor is of high importance in

cases of emergency. In emergency rescue operations via road, air or water,

the Ambulances, rescue helicopters and boats are the main modes of

transporting the injured to the A & E centres. The Radio Frequency system

accomplishes the task of reading the patients ID and sending it to the A & E

command centre. We have used the persons ID to be read and sent to the

command centres and then we are retrieving the patient’s data from the

global database.

The Module RWD Quad Tag is the Radio frequency IC which is a read and

write module, where data can be written into and read from the transponder.

This module reads the persons ID stored in the memory of the transponder

using 125 KHz magnetic field generated by the antenna attached to the

reader module. The ID is then sent to the A & E command centre where the

injured person’s information is retrieved from the database and kept ready

when the emergency transport vehicle arrives at the centre.

The serial communication is done using the Max 232 IC, which is the serial

RS 232 communication chip and it displays the ID on the computer hyper

terminal screen.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................5

1.1. Literature Review...................................................................................................6

1.2. Criterion..................................................................................................................8

2. RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION: EXPLAINED.....................................9

2.1. Building blocks of RFID.........................................................................................9

3. RADIO FREQUENCY: CLASSIFICATION...........................................................11

3.1. Frequency Ranges.................................................................................................12

3.2. Inductive Coupling...............................................................................................13

3.3 Modulation techniques..........................................................................................14

4. PROJECT HARDWARE DESCRIPTION...............................................................16

4.1. RWD Quad tag module............................................................................................16

4.1.1. MicroRWD block diagram and description................................................17

4.2. Transponder..........................................................................................................20

4.3. Antenna Specification (125 kHz).........................................................................23

4.3.1. Tuning the antenna........................................................................................24

4.4. RS 232C: Serial communication..........................................................................25

5. PROJECT APPLICATION........................................................................................27

6. CONCLUSION............................................................................................................32

Bibliography.....................................................................................................................33

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1. INTRODUCTION

Radio Frequency Identification technology clearly gives the layman an idea

of what the technology is about, as the name suggests it has something to do

with the frequency ,Identification and waves. 1This technology has been with

us from a long time, since 1940’s. The early Radio frequency technology

was used for military purposes. The aircrafts were identified as friendly or

enemy aircrafts, and this was identified by radar and the aircraft broadcasted

its unique identity using radio signal. 2Radio Frequency technique was

invented by Leon Theremin in 1946 and for the Soviet Union as an

espionage tool. This was a vague form of radio frequency technology. The

first originator of modern RFID was Mario Cardullo from the United States

in 1973. It included the passive radio transponder with memory. Cardullo’s

patent (Patent No: 3713148) covers the use of RF, sound and light as the

medium of transmission.

The technology has moved from just being used for military purposes to

being used commercially. Now a day we see RFID being used everywhere,

from super markets to hospitals. The applications of this technology are

numerous in almost all the sectors. The few major areas where it is being

used are Logistics, Healthcare industry, Commercial, Industrial and Retail.

My project is mainly focussing on one major sector which is the healthcare

industry. How this technology can be helpful and can save peoples lives can

be witnessed in many hospitals and centres. The media have reported many

cases of inaccuracy and sheer negligence by the hospitals caused by human

errors. These included false patient identification and performing surgery on

wrong patients, wrong blood being used in transfusions and administering of

1 RFID: The promise of a Strategic Technology by Steven Shepard2 Wikipedia: Radio-Frequency identification

5

wrong medicines. All these can be reduced, if not completely stopped, by

using the radio frequency technology for identification and verification

procedures.

My project involves the implementation of RFID module in Emergency

transport vehicles like ambulances, rescue helicopters, rescue ships and

boats. If we think about one of the main things to be considered in cases of

emergencies and accidents, it is the time. Time is of prime essence when

ever any rescue operation is carried out. Few seconds delay might mean a

matter of life and death. So, I have developed this model of the RFID

module which is a simple cost effective model and is very efficient. It

basically involves the use of the reader, transponder and the antennae. The

reader is a device which basically is the functioning unit, and provides the

power to the transponder in this application.

1.1. Literature Review3A similar project has been done by some engineers in Japan where they

have done the project “Triage with RFID Tags” and this project has been

mainly targeted for larger scale of disasters and accidents, when the injured

toll reaches a larger number. The concept is different as the tags have to be

written at the site of the accident. And then this information is sent to the

hospitals. The procedure is followed in steps, when at the site of the accident

or disaster, the mass of injured people are immediately identified into four

bands of deceased, Immediate, minor and delayed. This is the first triage.

3 Sozo Inoue and Akihiko Sonoda; Graduate School of Information Science and Electrical Engineering,Kyushu University, JapanKen’ichiro OKA;Security Department,Fukuoka Fire Prevention BureauShin’ichiro Fujisaki;RFID Project Department, Telecom & Information Division,Marubeni Corporation,and Marubeni Information Systems Co., Ltd

6

Then they are taken to the first aid area which is the second triage and here

the information of the people is collected as much as possible. Then the

injured people are decided upon which hospital to be taken and the

information is written into the tags. In the ambulances also the information

is being collected and written onto the tags.

There are A & E personnel at the hospital awaiting the injured people

carrying transport vehicle and they take the data from the readers memory

and the emergency transport vehicle repeats the procedure after going back

to the site.

Image courtesy of Google images

4Another implementation of the RFID technology in a similar triage system

is tested by the Seattle Fire department .This system uses wireless method

for mass casualty incidents and states that the triage time takes less than 10

seconds. The use of manual writing of data and recording people’s

information using writing boards took 30 seconds per patient and the triage

system was slowed down. This new RFID technology was much faster and

saved time which is very crucial in these situations.

4 http://epsfiles.intermec.com/eps_files/eps_cs/SeattleFireDept_cs_web.pdf

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1.2. Criterion

There are some major criterions which I have considered and are as follows:

1. Every individual will have an ID card very much like NI cards and

credit cards, which will hold the individuals health information and

vital details.

2. There will be a global database which will store all the people’s vital

medical information and can be accessed by the Healthcare command

centres.

3. The emergency transport vehicle from any hospital or Emergency

centre can take the patient on board and transfer the patients ID to the

command centre and the centre can access the patient’s information.

4. The codes for each memory page which is used for user data storage

are to be followed by the emergency rescue personnel.

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2. RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION: EXPLAINED

Many of us have heard about RFID and have seen it but a few of us know

about the technology itself. It is a very exciting and simple data logging

technology. The concept of RFID is similar to other technologies which

automatically identify and record the data. 5The most common AIDC

(automatic identification and data capture) technology we have all come

across is the bar code technology. We have seen the cashiers scan the items

at supermarkets and the bar code is read using the light .This is reliable and

less expensive than the non automated techniques. But the RFID technology

has its own advantages over bar code technology. RFID uses radio

frequency for information exchange unlike light for AIDC technologies. The

issue of line of sight does not affect RFID, as the radio waves can penetrate

many objects. Speed is enhanced when using RFID for reading data.

Antennae can be designed for reading over greater distances.

2.1. Building blocks of RFID

The main components which constitute the RFID system are the Reader, Tag

and antenna. The design of reader basically is done according to the

application being used. 6It comprises of the receiver and transmitter module,

a control unit and the interface for serial communication (RS 232, RS 485).

The transponder is the tag which has memory, microcontroller and control

unit along with the antenna circuit. The antenna frequencies of both the

reader and the transponder should be same when used in an application. The

antenna can be designed based on the distance and the recommended

standards. The reader also called the interrogator can be a Read device or

5 NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology; U.S Department of Commerce6 RFID HANDBOOK; Klaus Finkenzeller

9

can perform both Read/Write operations. The transponder holds the

information to be read.

Fig: Typical Reader and Transponder unit

The figure above describes the communication taking place between the

Reader and the Transponder. The Reader field powers up the transponder

which is passive. The transfer of energy is called Inductive coupling.

CONTROL UNIT RF MODULE

ANTENNA CIRCUIT CONTROL MEM UNIT ORY UNITAN

T

10

3. RADIO FREQUENCY: CLASSIFICATION7Radio frequency is the frequency within the range of 3Hz-300 GHz. Radio

Frequency usually refers to the oscillations in the electrical circuits or

electromagnetic radiation. The table below shows the different frequency

categories and the wavelengths associated. The Applications are also

highlighted. The Red marked frequency category is the frequency category

which I have used in my project. I have used the Low frequency range of

125 KHz.

Table 1: Frequency classification

Name  Symbol   Frequency   Wavelength   Applications  

Extremely low frequency

ELF 3 to 30 Hz 10,000 km to 100,000 km

directly audible when converted to sound, communication with submarines

Super low frequency

SLF 30 to 300 Hz 1,000 km to 10,000 km

directly audible when converted to sound, AC power grids (50 hertz and 60 hertz)

Ultra low frequency

ULF 300 to 3000 Hz

100 km to 1,000 km

directly audible when converted to sound, communication with mines

Very low frequency

VLF 3 to 30 kHz 10 km to 100 km

directly audible when converted to sound

Low frequency

LF 30 to 300 kHz

1 km to 10 kminternational broadcasting, navigational beacons, lowFER

Medium frequency

MF 300 to 3000 kHz

10 m to 1 kmnavigational beacons, AM broadcasting, maritime and aviation communication

High frequency

HF 3 to 30 MHz 10 m to 100 m shortwave, citizens' band radio

7 Radio Frequency: Wikipedia

11

Very high frequency

VHF 30 to 300 MHz

1 m to 10 mFM broadcasting, broadcast television, aviation, GPR

Ultra high frequency

UHF 300 to 3000 MHz

10 cm to 100 cm

broadcast television, mobile telephones, wireless networking, remote keyless entry for automobiles, microwave ovens, GPR

Super high frequency

SHF 3 to 30 GHz 1 cm to 10 cmWireless networking, satellite links, microwave links, Satellite television, door openers.

Extremely high frequency

EHF 30 to 300 GHz

1 mm to 10 mmmicrowave data links, radio astronomy, remote sensing, advanced weapons systems, advanced security scanning

3.1. Frequency Ranges8The RFID systems generate and radiate electromagnetic waves and care

must be taken that they do not cause interference or disturbance to other

radio services. The table below shows the frequency ranges and the data

transfer technique specification for different ranges. For my application, the

frequency range used is <135 KHz and it falls under the low frequency

category.

Frequency Range Frequency and power

technique

Transmission power

< 135 KHz Low frequency,

Inductive coupling

72 dBµA/m max

3.155- 27.283 MHz Medium frequency,

Inductive coupling

42 dBµA/m

8 http://rfid-handbook.com

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433 -928 MHz Ultra High frequency,

backscatter coupling

10-100 mW

2.4-5.8 GHz SHF,

backscatter coupling

500 mW Europe

3.2. Inductive Coupling

For this range, usually the power transfer is done using the Antenna of the

reader which activates the passive transponder by means of mutual

inductance between the two circuits. This transfer of energy through mutual

inductance is called inductive coupling.9Inductive coupling is a technique used to supply power to the transponders

which are passive. They use the power from the radiated field of the reader.

The reader’s antenna must provide the necessary electromagnetic field

which must be strong enough to activate the transponder circuit. The

electromagnetic field between the reader and the transponder antennae may

be considered as a magnetic alternating field, since the distance between

the reader and the transponder is far lower than the wavelength of the

frequency used i.e. for 125Khz: 2400m. When the magnetic field from the

reader antenna enters the transponder antenna coil, a voltage is generated in

the transponder antenna’s coil by 10inductance. This generated voltage has to

be rectified to provide a DC source required to power all the functions on the

chip and if necessary clamped to avoid dangerous and high voltage .The

9 RFID HANDBOOK: Klaus Finkenzeller10 Electric current flowing through a circuit gives rice to magnetic field which produces magnetic flux. The ratio of magnetic flux to the current is called inductance.

13

antenna at the reader is connected to the capacitor in parallel, the capacitance

value is selected such that it works with the inductance of the coil to form a

parallel resonant circuit with a resonant frequency that corresponds with the

transmission frequency of the reader. At the transponder also, the capacitor

at the transponder also forms a resonant circuit with its antenna and is tuned

to the transmission frequency of the reader. The two coils can be

interpreted as transformer coupling with the reader coil being the primary

and the transponder coil being the secondary.

3.3 Modulation techniques

Modulation is the process in which the message signal is transmitted to the

destination using a carrier wave. The characteristics of the carrier can be

varied according to its amplitude, phase and frequency. The carrier wave is

the high frequency sinusoidal waveform. In simple terms, the message is

modulated with the carrier wave and sent through the transmitting antenna

and it is received at the destination and demodulated, where the message

signal is separated from the carrier wave. Now, the main aim of modulation

is the transfer of data or bit stream over a channel. We use analog

modulation to transfer analog sinusoidal signal like audio or TV signal

through an analog band pass channel. In my project since we have to transfer

data bits, we are using digital modulation schemes. The different digital

modulation schemes are: 11ASK, FSK and PSK. In digital modulation, the

analog signal is modulated by the digital bit stream.

This is a brief explanation of the techniques which are used for data transfer

in the project. In ASK, the amplitude of the analog carrier signal varies with

the digital signal which are the bit stream (modulating signal), the level of

11 ASK: Amplitude shift keying; FSK: Frequency Shift Keying; PSK; Phase Shift Keying

14

amplitude is used for representing binary 1 or binary 0. If the bit is high then

data transmitted is 1 and if it is low then it is 0. This can be called as an

ON/OFF switch. The modulated signal will have logic 0 when the carrier is

off and logic1 when the carrier is on.

In FSK, the frequency of the carrier wave is used for data transmission. The

frequency can be high for transmitting 1 and low when transmitting 0.

IN PSK, the change in phase of the carrier wave could be used to transmit

data.

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4. PROJECT HARDWARE DESCRIPTION

The main components and modules used in the project are:

a. MicroRWD 125 KHz Quad Tag module

b. Hitag 2 Transponder

c. Antenna 125 KHz

d. MAX 232 CPE

e. Power supply

f. Connectors ( Serial communication )

g. Cables(Serial communication)

4.1. RWD Quad tag module12The MicroRWD chip module is a complete RF transponder /contactless

smart card read and write system on a single chip and is very cost efficient.

MicroRWD RFID reader device is a fully integrated 125 kHz read/write

solution for Philips Semiconductors Hitag, EM Martin and Microchip RF

passive transponders. It is completely housed in a 24-pin DIP package and

only requires a 700 micro Henry antenna coil to be connected and the power

supply of 5v DC to function properly. The MicroRWD device has a built in

TTL level RS232 serial interface for host communication and a number of

input and output pins for reading switch inputs, driving indicator LED’s and

other output devices such as relays etc. The MicroRWD has two modes of

operation: The Standalone mode and the remote mode are as described

below. The module in the standalone mode has some built in serial numbers

which identify the transponder when it is brought near the field and shows

12 ib technology datasheets http://www.ibtechnology.co.uk

16

green light. This gives the module the ability to act as a mini access control

system without the need of any other external circuitry.

Fig: Standalone mode

Standalone mode with Internal

EEPROM holding authorised

Tag codes.

In the Remote mode the module is connected to the PC or a host system

using the 9600-baud serial interface RS 232. The data is read and displayed

on the hyper terminal screen on the PC.

Fig: Remote mode

HOST SYSTEM

4.1.1. MicroRWD block diagram and description

The MicroRWD is essentially a proximity system and a Read/Write range of

up to 20 cm can be achieved with the same level of reliable communication

and EMC resilience. The unique AST (Adaptive Sampling Technique)

feature allows the RWD to continually adjust and retune the sampling to

17

ANTENNA

MICRORWDCHIP

ANTENNA

MICRORWDCHIP

RS 232 Serial Comms

allow for inductive changes in the RF field, an essential feature for real-

world reliability and robust operation. The communication protocol with the

tags can achieve 4k bits/second of data transfer and the total time to read a

32 bit page takes less than 50ms.13The MicroRWD module is made up of an RF ASIC (Application specific

integrated circuits) IC (modulator /demodulator), a microcontroller IC and a

number of resistive and capacitive passive elements, all of which are

powered from an external 5-volt DC supply. A single 4 MHz crystal

provides the oscillator-clocking signal for both ICs. The RF ASIC internally

divides this to produce the 125 kHz carrier frequency, which under control

of the microcontroller is turned ON and OFF according to polling duty

cycle. (Default setting- 100 ms OFF/10ms ON with no tag in field and

100ms OFF/50ms ON reading a tag in field). Because the RF field is

normally turned off and is effectively only on for short periods of

transponder communication, the average power consumption of the

MicroRWD is very low compared to other modules.

The 125 kHz carrier frequency drives a pair of FET transistors, which are

connected, to an antenna coil of 700 µH inductance (7-10 cm diameter

wound coil) with a 2 nF capacitor in series. Under optimum conditions this

forms a resonant circuit at the 125 kHz fundamental frequency and 100v

peak-to-peak and 200ma peak currents are created in the coil. This radiated

carrier field has sufficient strength to power passive transponders in close

proximity (10-15cm range)

13 www.ibtechnology.co.uk: Data sheets

18

Fig: Block Diagram of Reader module

5v DC

Supply

Four output TTL level RS232 LED

Signals interface output signals

19

700 µ HANTENNA

Microcontroller IC

4 MHz Crystal

ANTENNADRIVERS

SYNCHRONDEMODUL

ATOR

PhaseMeasurement

MODULATOR

Band passFilter

Amplifier andDigitiser

CONTROLUNIT

OSCILLATOR

ControlRegister

Serial Interface

4.2. Transponder

The transponder is also called the tag and mainly comprises of the memory

unit, control unit and the antenna circuit. The memory unit stores the data

and this data is to be sent to the reader using the antenna. So the data is

modulated and sent to the coil which transmits the data and the reader

detects the incoming data and demodulates it. This is the basic and simple

operation principle. Now for my project I have used the Hitag2 transponders

(Hitag 2 is a trademark of Philips Semiconductors) which are basically the

transponders in which the information is protected against interrogation and

copying using the password exchange system. The transponder derives its

power from and communicates using the Reader antenna 125 kHz RF

field .They can use various communication schemes as I have described

earlier. Also the tags have different memory options as it depends on the

application. Some of the transponders also use encryption and password

authentication techniques to provide communication and data security.

4.2.1. Transponder circuit: Block diagram

The figure below shows the general layout of the transponder circuit.

Fig: Transponder circuit: general

20

Modulation Encoding

C Rectification

Power control

ControlLogic

EEPROM

ANTENNA

The tags used in the earlier times were READ ONLY and the ID was fixed

by the manufacturer. Then came the tags which could be used many times,

in the sense EEPROM was being used. This 14EEPROM lets us write into the

tag many number of times.

The transponder circuit above is just a basic idea of the main components

and processes involved. The antenna is connected to the capacitor C in a

parallel arrangement which forms the 15parallel resonant circuit. 16LC circuit is also called the resonant circuit or tuned circuit consisting of

an Inductor (L) and the capacitor(C). When they are connected together, an

electrical current can alternate between them at the circuits’ resonant

frequency which is 125 kHz.

Why are LC circuits used?

LC circuits are used for either generating signals at a particular frequency, or

picking a signal at a particular frequency from a complex signal. Thus we

know now why the parallel resonant circuit arrangement is done in RFID.

This arrangement generates the necessary power required to power up the

internal circuit. This project uses Hitag 2 transponders which have 256 bits

(32 bytes) of read/write EEPROM memory arranged as 8 partitioned 32 bit

pages. An area of 128 bits (16 bytes) is open for general user data. The Hitag

2 transponders are configurable for different modes of operation and the

MicroRWD H2 version supports the high security PASSWORD mode only.

This feature uses two password codes stored both in the H2 transponder and

the RWD that are mutually exchanged when a tag is brought into the RF

14 EEPROM: Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory: Uses UV light to burn into the memory.15 Resonant circuit is also called LC circuit.16 LC circuit : Wikipedia

21

field; the tag is only unlocked for read/write operations if these codes

exactly agree. The diagram below explains the memory classification in the

transponder EEPROM.

Fig: Memory classification of Hitag 2 transponder.

16 bytes =4 pages

Of 32 bits each.

(USER DATA)

22

SERIAL PASS WORD

RWD PASSWORD

RESERVED

CONFIG, TAG PASSWORD

AGE/GENDER/NAT/BLOOD GROUP

PERSON ID

EMERGENCY CONTACT

NUMBER

4.3. Antenna Specification (125 kHz)

The antenna for this project is made of 67 turns of copper wire for the

antenna size of 7 cm internal diameter as shown in figure below.

Fig: Antenna

The copper wire is enamelled so it has to be de enamelled at the ends before

connecting it to the circuit. This antenna gives a maximum range of 10-15

cm with the Hitag 2 transponders.

The antenna used in this project is a simple coil of 700 micro Henry

inductance. The antenna is connected to a 22 ohm resistor in order to

provide the necessary optimum signal-to-noise ratio and Q value. The

antenna when activated produces the magnetic field and the communication

takes place via the magnetic flux linkage. The more flux which interacts

with the transponder antenna, the better the performance it gives. The

antenna coil is round and circular as it gives a uniform distribution of flux.

The problems faced with the tuning of the antenna have been taken care of

by using capacitors of 47 Pico farads at pins 9 and 12 of the RWD module.

23

4.3.1. Tuning the antenna

Tuning the antenna is done after it is connected to the module Micro RWD

and the power is applied. An oscilloscope is connected between the pin AN2

which is pin 12 of the Micro RWD module and the Ground pin. Without the

transponder in the field, we will get a pulsed 125 kHz sine wave. The

antenna resistor of 22 ohm which is connected to pin 9 of the RWD module

limits the peak to peak voltage to the range of 110-120 v. The waveform

below shows the tuned antenna with minimal interference and noise.

Fig: Waveform with minimal noise in antenna (sine wave)

24

4.4. RS 232C: Serial communication

17RS- 232 stands for Recommended Standard number 232. Most of the

computers use the sub version of the RS232 version which is the male 9 pin

connector. The full RS 232 is a 25 pin “D” connector of which 22 are used.

The figure below shows the 9 pin D connector and its pins:

Fig: RS232 connector

Pin1: Data Carrier Detect

Pin2: Receive Data from DCE

Pin3: Transmit Data to a DCE

Pin 4: DTR (Data Terminal Ready)

Pin 5: Signal Ground Common reference point

Pin 6: Data Set Ready (DSR)

Pin 7: Request to Send (RTS)17 http://www.taltech.com/TALtech_web/resources/intro-sc.html

25

1 6

2 7 3 84 95

Pin 8: Clear to Send (CTS)

Pin 9: Ring Indicator (RI); Incoming signal from the modem

For this project I have shorted pins 1, 4 and 6. Pin 2 is transmission pin and

Pin 3 is receiving pin. Pin 5 is ground and Pin 8 is clear to send signal which

is high.

The MicroRWD Quad Tag module when connected to the PC using the RS

232, its software is obtained from the company developed files. The RWD

Quad tag supports 4 types of transponders which are: Hitag 1/s, Hitag2,

H400x/4102 mode and MCRF 200/123 mode. The transponders used in this

project are Hitag 2 mode transponders. When these transponders are

brought near the antenna field, the Green LED glows indicating the tag

being accepted and identified. This signal is transmitted to the PC when the

READ TAG button is pressed on the software screen. The Read Tag

activates the reading of the card. 18The automatic identification of the tag is

not possible in the RWD QT module as it is supporting 4 different

transponder types and this application could make it complicated. However,

the MicroRWD MF (Mifare) LP (Low Power) module can be used in the

auto identification mode. I have used the TI (Texas Instruments) module for

the data transmission using the putty serial communication display screen on

the PC as the module MicroRWD QT does not support the auto

identification of the transponder.

5. PROJECT APPLICATION

18 Information from ib technology technical department: Mr. Ian Evans: 08707775964

26

The project details mentioned till now have covered the basics of RFID

including hardware and design aspects. The project has its application in the

area of data identification and transmission to the destination. This project is

focussed towards identifying the individual’s ID and sending this ID to the

hospital. As mentioned in my 19criterion list, everyone will carry their Health

ID cards with them which will have the individual’s number. This Number

can be looked on the Global database of people and their health information

and conditions can be processed for the doctor’s use. Only the Doctors and

surgeons can access these details in emergency cases only.

The process of card reading and writing into the transponder (ID card) is a

simple procedure. The cards used in this project are Hitag 2 transponders as

described earlier. These cards have four pages of memory space for user

data, each page having 4 bytes.

The display of Hitag 2 software on the PC screen will show the data

contained in the last four pages as described below:

Page 04 :

Page 04 is the first page of the memory reserved for user data. This page will

contain the basic information in each of its byte. The first byte will contain

the information about the age of the individual. The second byte will

indicate the gender. The third byte will be the nationality and the last byte

will indicate the Blood group of the individual.

Let us consider for example any individual, for instance my ID card is read,

it will display my information in page 04 as:

19 1.2 .Criterion

27

Page 04: 24 01 91 A1: USER DATA

Where:

24: Indicates the age

01: Indicates the gender which is 01 –for male and 02 – for female and 03 –

for other 2091: Indicates the nationality which is based according to the table of

nations.

A1: Indicates the blood group which is A1 for A + and A0 for A-

Similarly for other blood groups, the notations used are:-

B1 for B+

B0 for B –

A2 for AB +

A3 for AB –

01 for 0 +

02 for 0 –

This data can be useful for the personnel in the emergency transport vehicles

who are carrying out the emergency rescue operation at the site.

Page 05:

Page 05 is the second data page reserved for the user to program. This

memory page of 4 bytes is used for storing the individual health ID of

people. This ID has to be sent to the A & E command centre for recognition

and identification of the person being brought in the emergency transport

vehicle. This ID will be looked up in the global database and the person’s

health conditions and other vital information can be accessed and reviewed

by the doctors and health personnel.

The page 05 will be seen on the screen as:

20 Country codes according to the International phone codes. Ex: UK- 0044, INDIA-0091 etc

28

This ID is sent to the A & E command centre which receives it and retrieves

the person’s information from the global database.

For example:

This above detailed information will be in the global database which will be

accessible to the health personnel in cases of emergency situations. All the

major pieces of information are immediately known to the doctors attending

the injured people.

Page 06 and 07: (8 bytes)

29

Page 05: 00 00 01 07: USER DATA

ID 00 00 01 07

Name: Mushahid Mohammed

Address: 78 A Christchurch Road, Reading, UK, RG2 7AZ

D.O.B: 12-03-1984

Emergency contact no: 00447877665433

Medical Condition: Healthy

Allergies: Penicillin

Minor Surgeries: Nil

Major Surgeries: Nil

Diabetes: NO

Asthama: NO

Other conditions:

Under any current medication: NO

Last medical checkup: 18 April 2007

The page 06 and 07 will together make use of the 8 bytes which will be 16

bits to hold the persons kith and kin contact number.

It will show the screen as:

Now, let us consider that If became injured in an accident and I am carrying

the ID card with me. The card will read my details as soon as I m taken into

the emergency transport vehicle and display it onto the screen as shown

below:

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Page 06: 00 44 78 77: USER DATA

Page 07: 55 27 18 00: USER DATA

Page 0:

Page 1:

Page 2:

Page 3:

Page 4: 24 01 91 A1: USER DATA

Page 5: 00 00 01 07: USER DATA

Page 6: 00 44 78 77: USER DATA

Page 7: 55 27 18 00: USER DATA

The advantage of this would be that the emergency personnel will

immediately know my details and can start emergency procedure on me and

can inform my closest relatives about me. It will be helpful to the

emergency personnel as well as the hospital which receives my ID and gets

the details from the data base.

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6. CONCLUSION

This project is a basic project which reads the data when it is prompted by

the user. The MIFARE model of QT model has the auto read option which

reads the data from the transponder as soon as it is brought under the

magnetic field influence. Further improvements and developments could

mean designing transponders which can hold the entire patients history

rather than storing just the ID. This would mean that the hassle of

maintaining the database and retrieving procedures could be eliminated. The

memory used in this project is only 256 bytes; this could be increased in

future to hold more information.

The major difficulties faced in developing this project were synchronising

the transponder to the Reader, and Transmitting data through HyperTerminal

or putty terminal.

The main advantages of this project can be realised to their full scale if this

is implemented and piloted. The project can help save peoples lives and can

be a major future medical breakthrough. This project can be a global success

iff all the countries participate and every individual globally cooperates. One

simple implementation area for this project could be tourism, as it can be

very useful for tourists who visit different places and if they come across any

situation involving accident or such cases, then their medical information

can be gathered immediately without any hassle and their families can be

informed and updated. As technology keeps on developing at a rapid rate, it

will be no wonder to see this global database thing to be a reality and we can

consider the whole world as a single community.

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Bibliography

1. Finkenzeller, Klaus ,RFID Handbook, John Wiley and Sons,2003

2. Ahson, S.A., Ilyas.M. (RFID Handbook: Applications, Technology,

Security, and Privacy; CRC Press,2008.

3. RFID systems, Texas Instruments.

4. J. D. Kraus, Antennas, 2nd Ed., McGraw Hill, 1988

5. R. E. Collin, Antennas and radiowave propagation, McGraw Hill,

1985.

6. Banks, Hanny, Pachano and Thompson, RFID APPLIED-Everything

you need to know to implement and fully leverage RFID technology,

Wiley.

7. Manish.B.,Shahram.M , RFID Field Guide: Deploying Radio

Frequency Identification Systems, Prentice Hall

Websites

1. www.A1-RFID.com

2. www.rfidjournal.com

3. www.zebra.com

4. www.technovelgy.com

5. www.industrial-embedded.com

6. www.nhs.com

7. www.automation.siemens.com/rfid/en/competence-in-rfid.html

8. www.wipro.com/retail/coe/rfid.htm

9. www.infosys.com/RFID

10.http://hardware.silicon.com/storage

11. http://www.dits-uk.com/news.htm

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