Irish castle uses NFC technology to track garden trees
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Blarney Castle Gardens in Ireland collects historical information on the installation of NFC tags on its more than 2,000 trees, as well as updating records of services provided. Managers can obtain relevant data through an NFC-enabled Android phone, such as the type of tree, which pruning has been done, etc., and can also input detailed information on pruning or inspection through the system.
However, the ZipNFC solution has other advantages, not only providing managers with access to relevant information, any equipmentNFCVisitors with feature phones can view tree-related information (tree species, pictures, origin, and original growth, etc.). In September 2014, Blarney Castle Garden began to install labels on the trees in the garden, and plans to complete the labeling of all trees in March and April this year, when the castle will open some data to visitors. During this period, garden managers are using the technology to track maintenance work they do.
To mark larger trees, the 30mm supplied by ZipNFCRFIDThe label is placed behind the information board and screwed into the tree.
Blarney Castle Gardens in Ireland is famous for the Blarney Stone, which is said to have the ability to speak words after kissing it. Most of the tourists come here, and after visiting the Stone of Whispering, they will pass through the castle and visit the 60 acres of gardens containing a large number of tree species and shrubs. There is a 1,000-year-old yew tree in the lakeside forest outside the garden, as well as many rare tree species from Asia, Europe and North America.
Castle managers introduced RFID technology solutions to hope that tourists can spend more time enjoying the beauty of the garden, and at the same time hope to better manage trees. Like most gardens, garden workers regularly manage trees, including pruning, inspection, watering, etc. In order to record the work done, workers need to manually record and then enter it into a data management system.
To better manage the collected data, ZipNFC was chosen as the provider to implement the NFC solution. ZipNFC provides NFC tags, system software and Android mobile APP. In the future, if Apple is equipped with NFC technology, the corresponding APP will also be launched.
The label applied in the solution adopts NXP’s NTAG 203 or 213 chip. The label size includes two sizes of 28mm and 30mm. The former is hung on the tree, and the latter is screwed into the trunk.
In September, workers began hanging tags from trees or screwing them into trees. Each tag is embedded with a unique identification code, the ID code of the tag is read by the mobile phone with the ZipNFC garden management application installed, and the GPS function records the location information of the tree. Staff write information about the type of tree, origin, etc. of interest to tourists into the tag, which can be seen by any tourist with an NFC-enabled phone.
However, some information requires authorization to see, such as tree planting, pruning time, any damage or disease description. They can also write new data to the system, such as the results of inspections, etc.
ZipNFC’s 28mm hanging tag is shown in the picture
Although only 300 trees are currently installed with electronic tags, the implementation of the system has proven to greatly improve the efficiency of employees and improve the accuracy of information records. Garden staff can view relevant information at any time, such as what maintenance the tree has undergone, which tree it is, and which day it is. The software can also be used to manage the following information, such as the growth of trees, which diseases have been found, etc.
Although NFC data is not yet available to the public, garden managers plan to advertise the NFC system to tourists through brochures, where information about trees can be obtained through NFC mobile phones. Tourists put their mobile phones close to the tree tags and can read information such as photos of the trees, origin and suitable growing environment. At the same time, tourists can see the geographic information of the location, based on the GPS data of the mobile phone. In the future, the app will be able to locate the tree you are looking for and display the guidance route.
After the trees are tagged, electronic tags will be installed on rhododendrons and other shrubs, a total of more than 2,000 plants. In addition, the castle utilizes electronic tags to provide visitors with information on methods of growing special shrubs.
The tags are also used to track the seeds of the plants, and the ID numbers of the tags are associated with the growers to ensure that the seeds are planted on time and with good quality.
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