RFID for Museum and Art Gallery Collections - Book Report/Review Example

RFID for Museum and Art Gallery Collections 1. Abstract The purpose of the report is to provide an idea of using mobile technologies to improve the museum’s efficiency through (a) identifying items which are most as well as least popular with the visitors, (b) providing interactive information of the display item, (c) identifying location of display and warehouse items, (d) monitoring number of visitors in each building, and (e) controlling stock. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology uses tags to identify and track any object through radio waves. Therefore, this project will use this technology to achieve all above stated objectives. As per proposed deployment strategy of this project, the application server for the RFID system will be located in the museum server room. This application server will be connected to a DSL modem from where it will be connected to the administrative office for the managers and administrators. Port forwarding will be enabled for the remote server, therefore, global IP would be necessary. The museum will be running on a 10/100 MBPS network. The RFID scanner will scan the object as per instructed by the management and the managers will access the system via terminal services to monitor and cross check the museum performance and issues. The administrative building will also require a system connected to a DSL modem or any other connectivity using global IP address in order to access the museum RFID application server or system. SQL or any other database will be used for storing the record of the museum along with the backups systems or storage devices. 2. A statement of assumptions No particular assumption has been made for this project and the proposed solution for the given scenario is based on the most advanced technology – RFID. 3. Cost-benefit analysis 3.1 Deployment, operation and maintenance costs For this section, the cost-benefit analysis has been carried out between the manual system and the RFID technology. Although, it is quite difficult to accurately calculate the monetary benefits that an RFID system can gain over a barcode or number-only (manual) system, there are undoubted gains in form of staff efficiency and accuracy, and reduction in hidden risks which are associated with large collections. (Smarttrack, 2008) 3.1.1 Deployment cost RFID Software Cost $5000 approx. RFID TAG License Cost (for 2000 tags) $1600 approx. (1 tag = 1600/2000 = $.80) Table 1: Deployment cost (Smarttrack, 2008) 3.1.2 Operational cost Tag Number Estimated Tag Estimated time to attach tag Estimated attachment cost per item Number only (Manual) $0.02 5 minutes $2.12 Barcodes $0.10 1 minute $0.52 RFID $0.50 1 minute $0.92 Table 2: Tag attachment costs (Smarttrack, 2008) Reading Type Estimated reading time per item Reading cost per item Number only (Manual) 5 minutes (Includes time for opening boxes, handling objects, correcting 10% error-rate and manually loading data into CMS ) $2.10 Barcodes 1 minute (Includes time for opening boxes, handling objects, and interacting with barcode reader. Also, assumes location data is automatically loaded to CMS.) $0.42 RFID 0.5 seconds (Includes time required to interact with handheld reader. Also, assumes location data is automatically loaded to the CMS.) $0.0035 Table 3: Reading time cost (Smarttrack, 2008) 3.1.3 Maintenance cost Databases Defragmentation and Indexing Cost RFID Scanner Batteries need to be replaced after 3 hours continuous read (20 hours stand by). Table 4: Maintenance cost 3.2 Benefits of proposed solution (RFID) Gnissios (2005) identified the following benefits of RFID technology: Benefits for museum managers, administrators and staff Live monitoring of the museum items and visibility leading to increase in quality and instant availability of information. Support for efficient organizational change and decision making Availability of labor and staff saving options for inventory tracking, audits, crate tracking, and stick–takes. Reduction in human errors for handling valuable items. Instant data updation. Benefits for visitors Receiving instant emails and information regarding their favorite items – items that they have seen the most. Getting pictures of the items they have viewed. Getting knowledge about the past heritage of the museum objects. 4. Technical requirements 4.1 Technical requirements of the system In the given scenario, since the administrative staff building is quite far from the museum, terminal services will be required to access the system which will be located in the display buildings (Please refer the design map for better understanding). As the managers will only view the demographics, they will need view only access to all the reports and data available. The data presentation will depend on the system. An average Pentium 4 with 2.0 Ghz and 512 Mb of RAM will be fine enough for this purpose. Both managers and administrators will have access to the database through application. Cryptography will be used for tag cloning. For the given scenario, 10/100 MBPS Ethernet network will be suitable for bandwidth requirements. Museum Staff will view the details and cross check for any missing or replaced items by the help of the RFID software connected with the backend database for which an average Pentium 4 computer with a wireless Ethernet connection will be required. 4.2 Possible conflicts Since, both RFID and cell phones uses electromagnetic spectrum for their function, therefore, if somehow the frequencies of the visitor’s cell phone and the RFID matches then both the services will be jammed. 5. Design 5.1 Cellular design map 5.2 5.3 5.4 Figure 1: Cellular design map 5.5 Topological design 5.6 5.7 Figure 2: Cellular design map 6. Devices 6.1 Devices required to construct the network RFID handheld or wall mounted device RFID Tags 24 port switch x 2 (Manageable ) 8 port switch x1 (Un manageble) DSL Router x 2 CAT 5 10/100 Ethernet cable for LAN networking within the museum 6.2 Devices required to connect to the network 6.3 Museum staff will connect their systems via DSL router. They can access the RFID equipped system via terminal services for monitoring and management purposes. Port forwarding option will be enabled on the DSL router, located at the museum building, in order to allow managers and administrators to access this router. 6.4 Capabilities and limitations of user devices RFID Handheld device Ranges up to 40 – 50 meters in open areas Ranges up to 60 – 70 meters in confined space Can detect up to maximum 200 tags per second. User Interaction to Interface (Input) Keyboard Mouse Handheld device trigger User Interaction to Interface (Output) LCD Monitor Buzzer Connectivity Wireless OR USB (PC Sync) Memory 64 MB Flash Memory 64 MB RAM Battery Life for RFID Hand Held Scanner 3 hours continuous read 20 hours stand-by Batteries are replaceable 7. Critical Evaluation 7.1 Conclusions 7.2 As mentioned in the beginning, the requirements for stabilizing museum functions via mobile network are very costly. RFID solution is very simple and cost effective as can be seen clearly in the cost benefit analysis. The microwave connectivity between the administrative building and the museum can be achieved via broadband / DSL connectivity consuming lower cost but delivering same requirements as required in this project. For public places monitoring and security I think RFID technology is best suitable. 7.3 Design process and final design 7.4 Initially cost benefit analysis of RFID technology and manual work made a significant cost saving difference. Since, WiFi connectivity does not have enough range so we used broadband/DSL for connecting an administrative building with the systems located in the museum which is 0.5 KM away. 7.5 If I have to repeat this assignment I will use BTS and RFID combined which will cover the all 5 museum buildings for centralized administration and monitoring. 7.6 7.7 Reflection 7.8 Working on this assignment was quite challenging and it required my lot of efforts and time as I was completely unaware of RFID technology. For almost two weeks, I was overwhelmed by the size and depth of the assignment and lot of my time was consumed just to research and gain the necessary concepts. But now by the end of this report, I am very happy and please to have one more technology added to my knowledge area which is RFID. 7.9 7.10 References 7.11 Gnissios, T. (2005). Benefit of RFID. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from http://www.slais.ubc.ca/COURSES/libr500/04-05-wt2/www/T_Gnissios/benefits.htm 7.12 Smarttrack. (2008). A cost-benefit analysis of RFID for museum and art gallery collections. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from http://www.smarttrackrfid.com/pdfs/cost_benefit_analysis_white_paper.pdf 7.13 Read More