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Showing posts with label RFID. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RFID. Show all posts

Tuesday, 26 January 2016

18:43

CES 2016: NFC-Enabled Wearables, IoT Home Systems, and Sunburn Sensors

CES 2016: NFC-Enabled Wearables, IoT Home Systems, and Sunburn Sensors

Wearables you actually wear

NFC was all over CES, and as expected, wearables were a major attraction for the second straight year. But now they’re going beyond the basic fitness wristband. Among the notable launches were:

Samsung’s Smart Suit, a men’s business suit currently on sale in South Korea, embedded with NFC tags. The tags enable wearers to control their smart phones, exchange contact data, and do more with a tap. Next up from Samsung: Body Compass 2.0, workout clothing that contains six different kinds of sensors to track fitness through heart rate, respiration, and body fat levels.

My UVPatch, from personal care giant L’Oreal, “the first-ever stretchable skin sensor designed to monitor UV exposure and help consumers educate themselves about sun protection.” The disposable patch contains a UV sensor and an NFC tag. L’Oreal plans to include the patches in packages of its La Roche-Posay skincare products.
Real IoT solutions that rely on NFC
The Internet of Things – in particular, the Smart Home – is becoming a more practical reality. Here are some of the solutions unveiled at CES 2016:

Oomi is a complete home automation system that can monitor your home, control TVs, switch on lights and electronics while providing a central hub for third-party devices. Oomi received an Innovation Award in the Smart Home category at CES for its design and engineering. We’re guessing one reason it won is because it connects devices to the system with a simple tap – thanks to NFC.
Wulian went big in the Smart Home category with its Smart Door Lock. The Smart Door Lock includes a built-in infrared intrusion detector and takes a picture if someone approaches your door. While it keeps intruders at bay, it allows you to enter with a touch of your NFC-enabled device.
With the growth of IoT has come increased concerns about security; what’s to prevent someone from hacking into your Smart Home? NFC may provide the answer. It’s at the heart of Yubico’s Yubikey NEO, the first device certified for the open-authentication industry consortium FIDO Alliance’s U2F mobile authentication open standard.
NFC in Automotive
The Automotive market continues to embrace NFC. Among the CES 2016 highlights were:

A curved AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) passenger display for cars from automotive supplier Magneti Marelli. It offers wireless charging, gesture control, and uses NFC to customize the user interface.
The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class infotainment system. In addition to touch control and voice control, it allows devices to connect to the multimedia system via NFC and act as digital keys for the car, operating features such as locking, unlocking and starting the engine.
With so many diverse solutions on display, what is the ultimate takeaway from CES 2016? Perhaps that NFC is reaching further than ever, providing the innovative spark and unparalleled ease of use that makes new electronics grab headlines.



How It Works

NFC is a short-range high frequency wireless communication technology that enables the exchange of data between devices over about a 10 cm distance.

NFC is an upgrade of the existing proximity card standard (RFID) that combines the interface of a smartcard and a reader into a single device. It allows users to seamlessly share content between digital devices, pay bills wirelessly or even use their cellphone as an electronic traveling ticket on existing contactless infrastructure already in use for public transportation.

The significant advantage of NFC over Bluetooth is the shorter set-up time. Instead of performing manual configurations to identify Bluetooth devices, the connection between two NFC devices is established at once (under a 1/10 second).

Due to its shorter range, NFC provides a higher degree of security than Bluetooth and makes NFC suitable for crowded areas where correlating a signal with its transmitting physical device (and by extension, its user) might otherwise prove impossible.

NFC can also work when one of the devices is not powered by a battery (e.g. on a phone that may be turned off, a contactless smart credit card, etc.).
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Monday, 5 October 2015

14:40

Maharajas Express flagged off for new Tourist Season; check irctc.co.in

Maharajas Express flagged off for new Tourist Season; check irctc.co.in

Indian Railways’ Maharajas’ Express, the world’s leading luxury train, chugged out of a Delhi station on Sunday on a royal odyssey to take its patrons across the famed Golden Triangle’ – check www.irctc.co.in for details

New Delhi: Indian Railways’ Maharajas’ Express, the world’s leading luxury train, chugged out of a Delhi station on Sunday on a royal odyssey to take its patrons across the famed ‘Golden Triangle’, signaling the beginning of its first journey of the new tourist season.

A signature enterprise of Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the magnificent train, known for unmatched hospitality and off-train excursion, runs on five circuits across north-west and central India, covering around a dozen destinations, mainly in Rajasthan, between the tourist months of October and March.
Maharaja Express interiors
IRCTC Chairman and Managing Director Dr. AK Manocha, who was present at Safdarjung station from where the train steamed out, said plans are afoot to run Maharajas’ Express during the off-season too (April-September) with some concession.

“During the lean season, we may offer one free ticket for every single booking. Thus, a couple can board the train by buying one only one ticket,” he informed.

The Safdarjung station wore a festive look on the occasion; Uttaranchal Pipe Band played music, shehnai and tabla players showed their expertise and immaculately-dressed staff stood in tows as the exuberant guests boarded the 23-coach, half-a-mile-long train that looked resplendent in maroon exterior with a golden hue.

The three-night/four-day trip, known as ‘Treasures of India’ will offer the guests an opportunity to explore and experience the rich cultural heritage of Incredible India, including the Taj Mahal, mighty fortresses and exquisite palaces (in Jaipur) and the Ranthambore National Park.

The train, which began its inaugural run in March 2010, has won a hat-trick of the coveted World Travel Award-from 2012 to 2014. Last month, it bagged the prestigious ‘Seven Star Luxury Hospitality and Lifestyle Awards’ for the category “Seven Star Experience” at a function in Bali, Indonesia. The luxury train also won the CNBC Travel Award for the second time in June this year.

During 2014-15, 1,144 passengers boarded the train in 33 trips with a total income of Rs 47.89 crore as against 865 passengers in 28 trips and an income of Rs 36.27 crore in 2013-14.

With exquisite interiors, state of the art amenities and impeccable hospitality, Maharajas’ Express has four cabin configurations-Deluxe, Junior Suite, Suite and President Suite.

Each guest cabin comes equipped with RFID door locks, individual temperature control, fire alarm, attached washrooms with showers, electronic safe, live television, DVD player, WiFi Internet and a water filtration plant. Besides round the clock valet service, a paramedic is available throughout the journey of the train, which is equipped with CCTV cameras. There is a souvenir shop also.

There are two tastefully done dining cars as well, offering a range of delicacies. The seating capacity of the dining cars is 84 to ensure that all guests eat together. A bar car, named Safari, and the lounge, known as the Rajah Club, have well stocked bar. In the dining car, guests enjoy meals in gold-crested plates and spoons that have been imported from Paris.

The tariff, ranging between 3850 US dollars and 23,700 dollars depending on the train’s five circuits, includes meals, house wines and spirits, sightseeing and services of experienced guides. All the living cabins have been named after precious gems, such as Firoza, Moti, Manik, Panna and Hakik, in an effort to recreate the mystique of royal grandeur of a bygone era.

“There are many distinct features that set Maharajas’ Express leagues apart of its contemporaries. It commands huge brand equity in the world,” said Dr. Manocha.

Besides ‘Treasures of India’, the four other circuits of the train are: the 8-days/7-nights The Heritage of India (Mumbai, Ajanta, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaipur, Ranthambore, Agra, Delhi); the 8-days/7-nights The Indian Splendour (Delhi-Agra-Ranthambore-Jaipur-Bikaner-Jodhpur-Udaipur-Balasinor-Mumbai); the 8-days/7- nights The Indian Panorama (Delhi-Jaipur-Ranthambore-Fathepur Sikri-Agra-Gwalior-Khajuraho-Varanasi-Lucknow-Delhi); and the 3-nights/4-days Gems of India (Delhi-Agra-Ranthambore-Jaipur-Delhi)
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Thursday, 9 July 2015

21:23

Railways’ IT Advisory Council to outline use of IT for Railways to improve Efficiency

Railways’ IT Advisory Council to outline use of IT for Railways to improve Efficiency

New Delhi: A panel set up by the Ministry of Railways is working on creating an IT Vision for the Indian Railways and identifying areas to leverage newer technologies such as Cloud, Analytics, Predictive Analysis and Geographic Information Systems and better Systems Integration to improve the efficiency of its vast and complex Railway network across the country.

Although Indian Railways has been effectively using information technology in areas such as passenger reservation and freight operations, the scope for further transformation is very large, said Som Mittal, former president of IT industry lobby NASSCOM, who is heading the 11-member information technology advisory council which was set up in May.

“The focus is to bring in more efficiency, build in more safety and integrate various operations of railways through technology,” he said. As part of its mandate, the council will “integrate and cover passenger services, freight services, asset management and train operations, safety and security as well as operations/enterprise management of the railways”, and give recommendations for strategy for implementation, capacity building and change management.

The final report of the council, likely to be submitted in the next five to six weeks after widespread consultations with industry and government bodies, will look at how existing and new technology platforms and applications can perform better by talking to each other.

“The council is looking at integrating existing applications, which were initially built for a specific need. Integrating applications will help make realtime information available. There is also a need to look at some apps where technologies are getting obsolete and may need to be rebuilt,” said Mittal.

A nearly 65,000 route km, the network generated revenue of nearly Rs 14 lakh million in 2013-14, of which about 26% came from passenger traffic and 67% from freight.

The focus, Mittal said, is on enabling a transition from management information systems to effective decision support systems, in addition to optimised use of assets and resources efficiency, moving from discrete at-a-time information to real-time information and a more integrated environment.

This real-time data could be obtained, for example, with GPS or GIS tech and using proximity sensors or RFID sensors to track locomotives and wagons. “Indian Railways uses information technology in various aspects of its working, including passenger services, freight services, asset management and back-office applications,” said Mohammad Jamshed, Additional Member (Computerisation and Information Systems), who is also part of the council. “A number of IT applications and systems are in progress and being planned,” he said.

Other members of the council include academics, IT experts, officials from the Ministry and the Centre for Railway Information Systems, which develops and manages IT applications of the railways, RailTel Corporation of India Ltd (a Telecom PSU arm of Indian Railways) and the Department of Electronics and IT.
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Thursday, 4 June 2015

07:52

CR installs RFID tags to ensure regular cleaning on trains

CR installs RFID tags to ensure regular cleaning on trains

Mumbai: The chances of your trains being cleaner than what it is at present has just got brighter. Making use of technology to ensure the people deployed to clean your train have done the needful, the Mumbai division of Central Railway has become the first railway zone in the country to employ Radio Frequency Identification  (RFID) tags for the purpose to ensure that housekeeping staff of running trains visits and cleans each compartment regularly, Central Railway has introduced radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

RFID tags, installed in each compartment, record time of visits by the cleaning staff. The technology has been introduced on three trains as of now. “After carrying out every scheduled morning/evening cleaning, the housekeeper will have to sense-read the fixed RFID tag of the compartment using a handheld device which will record the sensing time of tag,” said a CR release.

“On completion of trip of train, the data…Will confirm if each compartment was attended twice a day.” The tags are fixed near mirrors on the compartment wall.

While the old system was a manual one where the housekeeper- in-charge of cleaning the train- would sign a register to emphasis that the scheduled evening and morning routine had been completed, the new RFID system calls for the housekeeper to ‘sense-‘read’  the RFID tag with the help of a portable electronic hand-held device which will record the sensing time of tag.

“It virtually empowers the travellers to demand the housekeeper on running train any time. Soon this facility will be adopted by other units of Railways,” the spokesperson added.

The RFID based mechanism to ensure scheduled cleaning has already been started on train no. 12133/12134 Mumbai-Mangalore Express, 12137/12138 Mumbai-Ferozpur Punjab Mail, 12163/12164 Dadar-Chennai Egmore Express and 11019/11020 Mumbai-Bhubaneshwar Konark Express.

“Now, the beginning of RFID based monitoring mechanism will mark paradigm shift in the way the cleanliness of running trains were being managed so far. Such systems are classic examples of exploiting the potential of IT tools and will be milestones in honouring the government’s commitment of Swachh Bharat,” said the spokesperson.

The RFID move comes right after the Mumbai Division of CR has already started an SMS facility (on 58888) and a website www.cleanmycoach.com to take care of unscheduled demand of cleaning by passengers in running trains, which have proved very useful to ensure cleanliness, said a CR Spokesperson.
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Monday, 18 May 2015

18:06

Role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in future Railway operations – How Technology plays a central role in Railways

Role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in future Railway operations – How Technology plays a central role in Railways

Operation of railway services has progressed a lot since the advent of the first locomotive. Railways is the most preferred mode of transport for more than 70% of the population. With changing times, railway operations and services have developed with better orientation towards customers. Management of railways, ticketing systems and availability of services are now developed to be stronger catering to the need of larger customers.

The need of railways has become impervious with growing population and especially in a country such as India, expansion as well as improvement of railways is a necessity. In Indian context, the existent railway infrastructure seems to be lackadaisical with number of inadequacies in service and satisfaction. Even though technological advancements are integrated in the system, ICT (Information and Communications Technology) is to be utilized more pervasively.

Information and communication technology has had a central role in railways right from its inception. Since the beginning, telephone and communication lines were carried along railway routes, as communication was crucial in railway operations. Even in modern times, improvement of railway services and operations is difficult without integration of strong IT systems. Railway systems have improved in various fronts with extensive usage of ICT. Some of the most important advancements are in fields of Security, Operations, Customer Services and access to railway services.

Security is paramount in railway operations; on it depends the lives of millions of commuters. There are examples of many tragic accidents of trains where thousands lost their lives, some of which happened because of communication lapse and technical glitches in the system. A secure network, aided by excellent communication systems, is indispensable to guarantee security in railway transportation. Utilization of high capacity digital technology with comprehensive set of functionalities has now become the heart of modern rail operations. New technologies such as high bandwidth systems and IP based networks are being developed for strengthening safety and security features in railways. Voice data and train control messages are critical for strong security. IP and Ethernet technologies are bringing in new aspects of secured railway networks.

These systems are the backbone of alarm systems, Video surveillance, and remote access monitoring and equipment telemetry. Advancement of ICT has developed the overall operations within railway management. Railway systems based on IP and MPLS Networks enables delivery of diverse modes of communication and traffic. Such system facilitates developed mode of operations within the system for better performance of railway traffic. The system can be integrated to improve various aspects such as site access control, Video surveillance, remote access monitoring and equipment telemetry and so on. Corporate LAN networks integrated with public address systems can be created using advanced ICT. RFID based freight consignment tracking can be implemented improving railway freight services.

One of the most important contributions of ICT in railways is in the domain of customer service and access to information. Railway systems are integrated with efficient and real-time frontend IT platforms for improvised customer services. Modern railway systems have to deal with massive commuters and an increasing transportation of goods. Moreover, the need of better services has increased with the requirement of more pervasive railway services. Real time information system is a crucial aspect of customer service. Passenger inquiry about availability of trains, arrival and departure schedules at stations and status of booked tickets are some of the aspects that serves as parameters of customer satisfaction of railway services. In fact, they are the most important facets for access to railway service. For a huge and complicated railway network system such as India, efficient use of ICT can certainly make a difference. Passenger ticketing and inquiry systems are being developed to be highly service oriented to provide an “ease of access” to customers. In present times, railway information systems are being integrated to mobile services. Adding to this, many web applications are being developed through which railway services can be accessed via mobile devices.

However, much is still desired and left to be done when it comes to information dissemination. Railways sit on huge reams of information that is either unorganized or not looked into at all. Much of the information is generated and consumed at local or station level and is still prone to manual errors as often seen in the ETA predictions. There is no single source of information and consumers often have to hunt for the information they are looking for.

The use of ICT is imperative in railways. Digital technology can make railway services more secure and safe. Customer oriented features providing a range of services can be developed to make access of railways simplified and comfortable. (Courtesy: M. Aparajita)
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Monday, 16 February 2015

20:47

RFID tags for Wagons, Coaches and Locomotives - Indian Railway

RFID tags for Wagons, Coaches and Locomotives - Indian Railway



New Delhi: Indian Railways is likely to propose the use of radio-frequency identification tags in its upcoming budget for tracking and tracing of wagons, coaches and locomotives even as the public transporter looks to leverage information technology in a big way to improve services.

Rail Budget 2015-16 is expected to propose extensive use of IT systems in everything from the management of rolling stock to the development of Apps for passengers and provision for Wi-Fi on rail premises.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has given directions for leveraging the use of IT in railway functioning and the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices in wagons, coaches and locomotives is a step in that direction, said a senior Railway Ministry official.

Prabhu will propose that RFID devices be used for freight maintenance management, locomotive management, coach maintenance management and fuel management systems so as to ensure more effective and transparent functioning.

Using RFID devices, it will be easier for Railways to know the exact position of wagons, locomotives and coaches and also the fuel position. Currently, such data is maintained manually, which leaves room for inaccuracy.

There will be a progressive shift from periodic maintenance to predictive maintenance of rolling stock by leveraging IT, the official added.

With the introduction of RFID, the issue of shortage of wagons, locomotives and coaches is expected to be addressed in a more transparent and expeditious manner, the official said.

IT will also be used for enhancing the security of railway passengers, particularly women. Provision of CCTV cameras in ladies’ coaches and development of an app for improving the security of women passengers are also likely to be announced.

Digitised land mapping is also expected to be part of the Budget proposal. Creation of a land bank and commercial utilisation of vacant land is the motive behind going for digitised land mapping, the official said.

While New Delhi station has already become Wi-Fi-equipped, Prabhu is keen to extend the facility at other major stations.

The twin proposals for e-procurement and e-payment are also to be made specifically to promote e-governance in railways, he said.
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