physical object tagging and decoding amnon dekel embedded computing seminar fall 2005 prof. scott...

Physical Object Tagging and Decoding

Amnon DekelEmbedded Computing Seminar

Fall 2005

Prof. Scott Kirkpatrick

Jan 18 2006 Amnon Dekel - Embedded Computing Seminar 2

Outline

• Introduction

• Object Tagging Methods

• Object ID Acquisition in the Field

• Data Entry in the Field

• Some Applications


Introduction

• Tagging– The act of creating a linkage between a

physical object and a symbolic representation of that object

Physical Object Tag Symbolic

representation


Introduction

• Why Tag?– Because the “Brave new world” of

Ubiquitous/Pervasive computing needs a way to identify the world and what is happening in it


Introduction

• Why Tag?– Enable Context discovery– Enable Categorization– Minimize errors– Minimize ambiguity– Enable linkages between objects

• Physical to physical• Physical to symbolic (services)


Introduction

• Why Tag?– Context discovery

• Location (physical and symbolic)• Task (where in the process, service management)• Change (relative to planned)• Behavior Patterns (learn, react)

Object Tagging


Object Tagging

• Two main methods– Passive Tags– Active Tags

Note: I use a slightly different meaning than the existing Active/Passive


Passive Visual Tags


Passive Visual Tags

• Passive Visual Code Tags: Many Types

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.seeingwithsound.com/barcode.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.seeingwithsound.com/ocr.htm&h=480&w=640&sz=13&tbnid=tXsjQaeYYv9QXM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=135&hl=en&ei=1fnLQ6i3F82CQqvJ_LUD&sig2=oWpLE8NWKb7PaTw205_Jig&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbar%2Bcode%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D


Passive Visual Tags

• Passive Tagging: – “Dumb” Tags which do not react to their

surroundings– Stick and Forget– Very Cheap– Need Line of Site– Range

• Normal use: Up to ~1.5 M• Range can grow by enlarging the tag


Passive Visual Tags

• 1 D Bar Codes:– Provide a simple and inexpensive method of encoding

information that is easily read by inexpensive electronic readers.

– Allows data to be collected rapidly and with extreme accuracy.

– Consists of a series of parallel, adjacent bars and spaces. – Predefined bar and space patterns or "symbologies" are

used to encode small strings of character data into a printed symbol.

– Can be thought of as a printed type of the Morse code with narrow bars (and spaces) -> dots, and wide bars -> dashes

http://www.taltech.com/TALtech_web/resources/intro_to_bc/bcbascs.htm




Passive Visual Tags

• 1 D Bar Codes:– The different symbologies have different capabilities for

encoding data. For example the • UPC symbology used to identify retail products always contains

12 numeric digits • The general purpose Code 39 or Code 128 bar code

symbologies can encode variable length alphanumeric data up to about 30 characters in length. These types of bar codes are called "linear symbologies" because they are made up of a series of lines of different widths.

– Most commercially available bar code scanners are able to read all of the different linear bar code symbologies therefore you do not need different readers for different types of bar codes.




Passive Visual Tags

• 1 D Bar Codes:


30 Chars

12 Digits



Passive Visual Tags1 D Bar Code Usage

Code Standard Uses

UPC (Universal Product Code) Retail stores for sales checkout; inventory, etc.

Code 39 Identification, inventory, and tracking shipments

POSTNET Encoding zip codes on U.S. mail

European Article Number (EAN) A superset of the UPC that allows extra digits for country identification

Japanese Article Number (JAN) Similar to the EAN, used in Japan

Bookland Based on ISBN numbers and used on book covers

ISSN bar code Based on ISSN numbers, used on periodicals outside the U.S.

Code 128 Used in preference to Code 39 because it is more compact

Interleaved 2 of 5 Used in the shipping and warehouse industries

Codabar Used by Federal Express, in libraries, and blood banks

MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition)

A special font used for the numbers on the bottom of bank checks

OCR-A The optical character recognition format used on book covers for the human readable version of the ISBN number

OCR-B Used for human readable version of the UPC, EAN, JAN, Bookland, and ISSN bar codes and for optional human-readable digits with Code 39 and Interleaved 2 of 5 symbols

See: http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci213536,00.html

http://searchsmb.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid44_gci213418,00.html

http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci213536,00.html


Passive Visual Tags

• 1D Barcode History:– 1948: Woodland and Silver build prototype system

• Used ink and 500 watt light– 1952: US Patent 2,612,994 – 1966: First commercial product

• The National Association of Food Chains (NAFC) put out a call to equipment manufacturers for systems that would speed the checkout process

– 1967: RCA installs reader in Cincinnati – standards needed– 1970: Logicon: UGPIC standard, Sylvania Railroad Car scanning– 1973: UPC standard– 1974: First UPC scanner (NCR), first checkout: Packet of gum– 1981: LOGMARS (Code 39) for the DoD– 1984: Barcodes are mandated by Wal-Mart (remind you of

something?)

http://www.barcoding.com/Information/barcode_history.shtml


Passive Visual Tags

• 2D Bar Codes: use 2 dimensions to get more storage capacity




Passive Visual Tags

• 2D Bar Codes: use 2 dimensions to get more storage capacity

– New "2-Dimensional" bar code symbologies like PDF417, Aztec Code, Data Matrix and QR Code are also now available that can encode several thousand bytes of data in a single bar code symbol including text or binary data.

– The newer 2D bar code symbologies typically require special bar code readers that are designed specifically for reading them.




Passive Visual Tags

• The 2D “standards”:

– QR Code– Data Matrix


Passive Visual Tags

• QR Code– 1994: Released by Denso wave – The specification is disclosed and the

patent right owned by denso wave isn’t exercised.

– Has been approved by various standards bodies over the years,

• i.e. approved iso standard (ISO/IEC18004) and available for purchase in their store

http://www.engadgeted.net/archives/2005/09/18/matrix-codes-visual-code-recognition-on-cellphones/



Passive Visual Tags

• QR Code– Uses three position detection patterns located

at corners of the symbol– a data area and a quiet zone outside of the

symbol. – The symbol size ranges from 21×21 to

177×177 modules (increases in steps of 4 modules per side)

– it supports four error correction levels using Reed-Solomon code.

– QR codes can store up to 7089 numeric characters, 4296 alphanumeric characters or 2953 bytes


Position detection

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed-Solomon_error_correction



Passive Visual Tags

• QR Code– 40 versions

http://www.denso-wave.com/qrcode/qrgene2-e.html

Version Modules ECC Level Data bits Numeric Alfanumeric Binary Kanji

1 21x21

7% 152 41 25 17 10

* 15% 128 34 20 14 8

25% 104 27 16 11 7

30% 72 17 10 7 4

40 177x177

7% 23,648 7,089 4,296 2,953 1,817

* 15% 18,672 5,596 3,391 2,331 1,435

25% 13,328 3,993 2,420 1,663 1,024

30% 10,208 3,057 1,852 1,273 784

http://www.denso-wave.com/qrcode/qrgene2-e.html


Passive Visual Tags

• Micro QR Code– Micro qr code sacrifices

storage capacity (35 Num, 21 ANum, 15 Binary) for a smaller print footprint.

– It has only one position detection pattern,

– supports fewer levels of error correction

– ranges in symbol size from 11×11 to 17×17 modules.

http://www.denso-wave.com/qrcode/microqr-e.html

http://www.denso-wave.com/qrcode/microqr-e.html


Passive Visual Tags

• Data Matrix Code:– Invented by RVSI Acuity Cimatrix– Has been placed in the public domain– Is an approved iso standard

(ISO/IEC16022) and available for purchase in their store




Passive Visual Tags

• Data Matrix Code:– Uses two solid borders as handles for alignment– Two broken borders on the opposite corner as

syncs for module sampling– Uses a data area and a quiet zone outside of the symbol. – Additional handles and borders are added with growing

matrix dimensions. (size ranges from 10×10 to 144×144) – Supports Reed-Solomon error correction.– Can store up to 3116 numeric chars, 2335 alphanumeric

chars or 1555 bytes.




Passive Visual Tags

• Additional 2D codes

Multi-Colored MatrixInfo Density is not clear, butSupposedly large

Maxi (UPS) Code93 Alphanumeric chars

138 Numeric chars

Aztec3000 chars3750 digits

PDF4172725 chars

Circular bar-codesNo Data Available

More Info: http://www.taltech.com/TALtech_web/resources/intro_to_bc/bcsymbol.htm

http://www.colorzip.co.jp/en/technology.html

http://www.taltech.com/TALtech_web/resources/intro_to_bc/bcsymbol.htm#maxicode

http://www.tkb-4u.com/code/barcode/aztec.php

http://www.taltech.com/TALtech_web/resources/intro_to_bc/bcsymbol.htm#pdf417

http://www.op3.com/en/technology/shotcodes

http://www.taltech.com/TALtech_web/resources/intro_to_bc/bcsymbol.htm


Active Tags


Active Tags

• Active Tagging is the use of objects that can respond to electromagnetic pulses and return data to a query system– RFID

• Passive• Active

• NFC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:EPC-RFID-TAG.jpg


Active Tags

• RFID Radio Frequency IDentification– An RFID tag is a small object that

can be attached to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person.

– RFID tags contain silicon chips and antennas to enable them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver.

– Passive tags require no internal power source, whereas active tags require a power source.

– IMPORTANT:

An EPC RFID tag used for Wal-Mart

Chip Antenna

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rfid

No need for Line of Sight Communication!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transceiver



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:EPC-RFID-TAG.jpg


Active Tags• RFID History

– 1939: Watson-Watt: IFF (identification Friend of Foe) for RADAR– 1948: Stockman, H. Communication by Means of Reflected Power.

Proceedings of the IRE, pp 1196-1204, October 1948.– 1973: first Patents:

• Active tag with rewritable memory • Passive transponder used to unlock a door without a key

– Mid 1980s: First Industrial Systems:• Active System for tracking Dangerous materials • Passive RFID system (125 kHz radio waves) to track cows

– Since:• Move up the spectrum to the unregulated 13.56MHz wavelength and above• Greater range, capacity and data transfer rates (IBM UHF RFID Patents)• Access control, anti-theft, smart cards…• 1999: Auto-ID Center set up at MIT RFID into the supply chain (simple ID

on chip is used to access information online) ->move the data Off the chip (and thus make it cheaper).

– The grail: the 1cent tag

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rfidhttp://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/1338/1/129/



http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/1338/1/129/


Active Tags

• RFID Frequencies

From: FDIS 2004 presentation: Prospects for RFID Technologies

More Info: The RFID Handbook

cars

http://www.fdis.org/04/RFID_future.pdf


Active Tags

From: http://www.rfid-handbook.de/rfid/frequencies.htmlMore Info: The RFID Handbook

• RFID Frequencies


Active Tags

• RFID Frequencies– Each frequency range has its advantages and

disadvantages. • Europe use 868 MHz. for its UHF applications while the US

uses 915 MHz. for its UHF applications. • Japan does not allow the use of the UHF frequency for RFID

applications. • Low Frequency tags (LF) are less costly to manufacturer

than Ultra High Frequency (UHF) tags. • UHF tags offer better read/write range and can transfer data

faster then other tags. • HF tags work best at close range but are more effective at

penetrating non-metal objects especially objects with high water content.

Source: http://www.controlelectric.com/RFID/Types_of_RFID.html


Active Tags

• Interference?– EPC standard UHF tags operate in the 850-950 MHz

frequency band. There is an interference with 802.xx wireless LAN standards.

– Older WAN standards operating in the 915 MHz band can cause interference and may have to be replaced as interference can occur.

– Effective site surveys are required prior to the implementation of RFID equipment to understand the current radio frequency environment of the location you wish to install RFID technology.

http://www2.cio.com/ask%5Cexpert/2004/questions/question1910.html

http://www2.cio.com/ask/expert/2004/questions/question1910.html


Active Tags

• RFID Identification Speed:– ISO 18000-3 Mode 2:

• 200 static Items/sec (theoretic speed)• Magellan has shown a demo of 100 items/sec.

– ISO 18000-3 Mode 5: • 500 static Items/sec (not implemented because of

prohibitive equipment costs)

Also: Magellan: http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/445/1/1/.From: http://www.teco.edu/~krohn/collaborative.pdf


Active Tags

• RFID Reader Costs– Industrial readers cost

in the order of $2,000-6,000, but small scale systems are starting to arrive:

• Home systems: $450 (iAutomate)

• Compact Flash Reader: $150 (Syscan)

• Phidget RFID Reader: $60 (Phidget)

• Press Release: $20 Reader (View)


Active Tags

• NFC: Near Field Communications– A standards-based, short-range wireless connectivity

technology that enables simple and safe two-way interactions among electronic devices, allowing consumers to perform contact-less transactions, access digital content and connect devices with a single touch

See: http://www.semiconductors.philips.com/news/content/file_1053.htmlNear Field Communication Interface and Protocol -2

http://www.semiconductors.philips.com/news/content/file_1053.html

http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-352.htm



Active Tags

• NFC: Near Field Communications– NFC technology evolved from a combination of RFID and

interconnection technologies. – Passive RFID Tags inside Nokia Phones (3300, 3500, 6360)– NFC operates in the 13.56 MHz frequency range, over a

distance of typically a few centimeters. – NFC technology is standardized in ISO 18092, ECMA 340, and

ETSI TS 102 190. – NFC is also compatible to the broadly established contactless

smart card infrastructure based on ISO 14443 A, i.e. Philips MIFARE® technology, as well as Sony’s FeliCa™ card.

– March 2004: Nokia, Philips and Sony establish the Near Field Communication (NFC) Forum

See: http://www.semiconductors.philips.com/news/content/file_1053.htmlNear Field Communication Interface and Protocol -2

http://www.semiconductors.philips.com/news/content/file_1053.html




Active Tags

• NFC: Interference? Standard: ECMA-352:1st Edition / December 2003

– OPERATING FREQUENCY (fc) • 13.56 MHZ +/- 7 kHz.

– 6 External RF field threshold value • NFCIP-2 devices shall detect external RF fields at the OPERATING

FREQUENCY with a value higher than HTHRESHOLD while performing external RF field detection.

• The value of HTHRESHOLD = 0,1875 A/m.

– 7 RF Field detection • In order to not disturb any communication on the OPERATING

FREQUENCY, an NFCIP-2 device shall not switch on its RF field when it detects an external RF field, as specified in Clause 6.

Near Field Communication Interface and Protocol -2



Object ID Acquisition



• Now that the information is in the world, How do we access it?– Passive Tags:

• Single Purpose Scanners

• Multi-Purpose Visual Recognition Systems

click

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mobileguerilla.com/images/nokia-6101-closed.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mobileguerilla.com/index.php%3Fpage%3D5&h=200&w=140&sz=29&tbnid=umP4VsHbOKC4TM:&tbnh=99&tbnw=69&hl=en&ei=mh_NQ9OqJszqwQHZ9MCNAw&sig2=IR8tsgTxElWcZ6L082F8oA&start=29&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcamera%2Bphone%26start%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN




• Now that the information is in the world, How do we access it?– Active Tags:

• RFID Readers

• Near Field Communications (NFC)

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bof.nl/rfid/Dossier%2520RFID%2520Bits%2520of%2520Freedom-5_1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bof.nl/rfid/RFIDpositionpaper.html&h=225&w=225&sz=12&tbnid=zJHRtNCfnfpTQM:&tbnh=102&tbnw=102&hl=en&ei=NyDNQ72wH8G2wgGC7YSZAw&sig2=eb_LBHBAjiaIrZLV1-wiJg&start=7&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drfid%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.epicdata.com/site/opt/images/Data-Capture-Systems&imgrefurl=http://www.epicdata.com/site/opt/rfid-readers.htm&h=300&w=300&sz=40&tbnid=SpXkAzeTseMr5M:&tbnh=111&tbnw=111&hl=en&ei=Y0_NQ46xK7OgQYu08ZwD&sig2=0xR1C_LpW9xOxcvaitTAVw&start=2&prev=/images%3Fq%3DRFID%2Breaders%2B%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN

Data Entry in the Field



• So the world is tagged and we can access those tags and use them in a variety of ways.

• The missing piece for a full cycle is to enable data entry in the field



• Why?– Enable commercial transactions

• Which drives e-commerce in the field

– Enable bi-directional content services



• Transactions:– On board application uses ObjectID to carry

out a transaction (Buy, Rent, etc)• NFC:

– Swipe your phone to the object (decode ObjectID)– Send Transaction data commerce server (with ObjectID)– Commerce Server notifies in store security system

• Visual Tags:– Capture and decode ObjectID– Send Transaction data commerce server (with ObjectID)– Commerce Server notifies in store security system *



Commerce Server

In Store Security

1. Visual ObjectID Decoding

1. NFC ObjectID transfer

2. Transaction3. Notify

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.beatsnblessings.com/images/CD%25203%2520got%2520dat%2520music.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.beatsnblessings.com/audio_video.html&h=1500&w=1500&sz=896&tbnid=i02irB0hndCqEM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=150&hl=en&ei=gvjLQ-abOsLYQfKy-K0D&sig2=kPvUfvEY93iQ4Txft_tO7Q&start=87&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmusic%2Bcd%26start%3D80%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bof.nl/rfid/Dossier%2520RFID%2520Bits%2520of%2520Freedom-5_1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bof.nl/rfid/RFIDpositionpaper.html&h=225&w=225&sz=12&tbnid=zJHRtNCfnfpTQM:&tbnh=102&tbnw=102&hl=en&ei=NyDNQ72wH8G2wgGC7YSZAw&sig2=eb_LBHBAjiaIrZLV1-wiJg&start=7&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drfid%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D



• Bi-Direction Content Services:– On board application uses ObjectID to enable you to

communicate with a content service.• Get product information• Compare products• Collaborative Filtering• Personal Annotation

– Up-channel Technique:• “Keying”: Click on Links or Text entry (Yuck!)• Send ObjectID query• Capture and Upload (Voice, Photo, Video)• Visual Gesture recognition (gesture represent simple

responses- i.e. Yes, No…)

Applications


Applications

• Visual Tags– 1D:

• Item Number• Manufacturer• i.e. ISBN

– 2D:• Web URL• Object Information• Gaming• Rich location

information• Physical Address• Orientation Information• Active Advertising

• Active Tags– Supply Chain Management– Real Time Location

Tracking– Access Control– People Tracking– Baggage tracking– Parcel Tracking– Cloths Labels– Animals– Vehicle ID– Electronic Locks– Patients– Communication ID’s


Applications

• Demo1 : Visual Tags

• Demo2 : NFC


Scenarios of Interest (to me)

• Shopping

• Moving Personal Media

… and how Tagging Technologies can be used to help me Browse and Annotate the world


Shopping


Information Overload!

I can’t remember

what I want!

So many options!

Shopping


• What can I do? I can use:– A piece of paper

– Call my partner

– Remember by heart

– Or…

Shopping


• Have my (Smart) Phone help me• Remind me

• Give me more info on a product

• Tell me what others think of a product

• Suggest things to me (collaborative filtering)

Shopping


Shopping

• Have my (Smart) Phone help me– Give me more info on a product

• Visual decoding or NFC technology directs me to a product information page

– Tell me what others think of a product• Visual decoding or NFC technology directs me

to a product opinion page

– Suggest things to me (collaborative filtering)• Visual decoding or NFC technology directs me to a

product suggestion page (People who bought this also…)

Shopping


Moving Personal Media

• Now that our cell phones are rapidly becoming our cameras and recorders, how can we use Tagging technology to enable them to become more integrated into our media environment?



• What do we want to move?– Our Media

• Photos• Audio (personal recordings, music)• Video

– Our Data– Our Location– Our Point of View



• Moving our media is relatively easy, isn’t it?– Install software on PC– Install cable, or – open wireless port– Start communication session– Move or Synch data– …

• Too many steps, too complicated, too many points of failure and actual failure



• Using Wireless data networking along with object recognition we can make this as easy as point and click:– Point at the object you want to transfer your media to

– Click• Your Camera-Phone decodes the ID of the object• The ID is translated to an address online• Your Camera-Phone transfers the media to the object over the

net• Voila: your media is now shown on the device (TV, Computer,

iPod, etc)



I want to move my photo to my TV



I Zap my TV (with my camera or my NFC app)

Capture and decode ObjectID

XxxxxXxxxxXxxxx



I Zap my TV (with my camera or my NFC app)

Capture and decode ObjectID

122.345.234.345.678.112



I send my photo to my TV

Send Photo to my TV122.345.234.345.678.112



Enjoy!



Yes- I know- the architecture could be designed to be

very differenti.e. direct communication

between the devices, etc…

But the concept remains the same

1.Capture code 2.Decode Address 3.Transfer

Summary


Summary

• Two main forms of Object tagging– Passive Tags (Visual Codes)

• Cheap• Needs line of sight(Most probably a transitional technology except in a few specific

cases)

– Active Tags (Electromagnetic Transfer)• Getting cheaper (2004 ~$0.30 in large volumes)• No need for line of site• Starting to be integrated into consumer devices

(NFC)


Summary

• Object Tagging will have a big effect on our future – (including our privacy, or lack of it)– Many possible applications– Big potential:

• Connecting the physical world with rich information resources of the online world

• Enabling the ease of Ecommerce in the physical world

• Adding the gigantic physical world market to the Online Ecommerce ecosystem


Summary

• Problems that still need to be overcome:– Tag manufacturing costs still too high

• Goal: 1 cent RFID tags in volume (~2007)

– Conflicting and interfering systems– Integration of NFC (or similar) technology in a

ubiquitous fashion– Privacy concerns– Culture


Questions

• Amnon Dekel

amnoid at cs dot huji dot ac dot il

physical object tagging and decoding amnon dekel embedded computing seminar fall 2005 prof. scott...

Documents

tag slide

physical physical

bar code symbologies

dumb tags

scott kirkpatrick slide

existing activepassive

objects physical

different symbologies