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At a Kuwaiti Children's Store, Parents Drop and Shop
The system also includes Ubisense digital cameras. When the software calculates the specific sector of the playground in which the child is playing, it instructs the appropriate camera view to be linked with that data.
As parents shop, they can stop at one of the store's information kiosks and input the ticket's ID number. A screen displays a map of the playground with a small dot indicating their child's exact playground location. The parents can then press another prompt to display digital images of the child at play.
Sturman says the use of ultra-wideband RFID is essential to pinpointing a child's location within a few centimeters. "Ultra wideband is used for sending a pulse with a very short signal," he says. "With that short pulse, you can measure how long it took to receive that signal," and determine the location with great accuracy.
Previously, TagStone piloted a UWB system at an exhibit hall, locating employees as they moved around a large room. However, Meyer notes, this is the first use of a UWB RFID people-tracking system with cameras. Similar systems have been deployed for logistics tracking (see RFID Helps Cordes & Simon Document Shipments).
According to Sturman, Baroue's child-tracking system has not had any glitches since operation began. "The only problem has been availability," he says. The playground's capacity is limited because the store has a total of only 200 RFID wristbands (at a cost of about $80 apiece), which means that no more than 200 kids can use the playground at any given time. As a result, children and parents queue up for the playground in very large numbers, sometimes causing a delay.
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| Charles Sturman |
Sturman says the use of ultra-wideband RFID is essential to pinpointing a child's location within a few centimeters. "Ultra wideband is used for sending a pulse with a very short signal," he says. "With that short pulse, you can measure how long it took to receive that signal," and determine the location with great accuracy.
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| At kiosks scattered around the store, parents view digital images of their children at play. |
According to Sturman, Baroue's child-tracking system has not had any glitches since operation began. "The only problem has been availability," he says. The playground's capacity is limited because the store has a total of only 200 RFID wristbands (at a cost of about $80 apiece), which means that no more than 200 kids can use the playground at any given time. As a result, children and parents queue up for the playground in very large numbers, sometimes causing a delay.
