Wright State University uses RFID and ultrasound for 3D real-time localization
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A team of researchers at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, used a combination of RFID and ultrasonic technology to develop a system that not only locates the tag carrier’s location, but also determines what state he or she is in, such as standing. standing, sitting or lying on the floor. Once the system is fully developed, program manager Kuldip Rattan, a professor of computer science and engineering, said it could help caregivers track the activity and health of customers, patients and family members, and send alerts if a user falls.
The project is part of Wright State University’s “Living Lab,” which officially opened last November in the Bethany Village seniors community. There, a two-story building is being used as an experimental site for new health-care technologies, including humanoid robots that mimic family members in need of nursing assistance. Robots are used to help nursing students learn nursing skills.
The RFID portion of the research project originated at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where Rattan worked on indoor vehicle tracking (where GPS was not available). Next, Rattan and his students worked with the Wright State Nursing Association and Bethany Village to track individuals such as the movement, behavior, and health status of nursing home members.
Nursing and assisted living facilities have adopted a variety of tracking solutions that combine RFID or infrared technology to locate the room an individual is in, as well as a button-like transponder that can be pressed to send a signal for help in an emergency, such as a fall. Rattan’s goal, however, is to develop a system that not only locates the room an individual is in, but also knows their current height, whether they are standing, sitting or lying down. This function can be achieved by ultrasonic technology. The tag prototype developed by Rattan and his students uses an ultrasonic receiver and an active EPC Gen 2 RFID transponder to send its unique ID code to nine sensor nodes – which Rattan installs on a ceiling that resembles a living room.
Each sensor node contains an ultrasonic transmitter and RFID reader. The tag (developed by the teachers and students over the past year) receives a UHF EPC Gen 2 RFID transmit signal from the sensor node, and then waits to receive a 20 kHz – 40 kHz ultrasonic signal – sent by up to 4 nearby sensor nodes. The trilateration of the sensor node, and the time at which the tag receives the ultrasonic signal from the sensor node, can then be applied by the system software to locate the tag position within a few centimeters in three dimensions. The tag uses the EPC Gen 2 RFID air interface protocol to send its unique ID code and return to the sensor node based on the ultrasonic position. A website receives data from sensor nodes over a ZigBee 2.4 GHz link.
A logo is displayed on the software representing the tag carrying person at that location. The software can also determine the height of the tag to determine whether the person is standing, sitting or lying down.
The Rattan team also installed a camera in the room, testing the camera’s integration into the system in its lab. Rattan is now seeking funding to cover other hardware costs and further research and development, with the goal of fully rolling out the system at Bethany Village, he said. If the system is in place, when the person carrying the tag falls or is unable to get up, the system will capture the event and send an alert instructing the camera to turn to the person to take a picture. Photos and alert messages are then sent to the caregiver’s computer, mobile device or iPhone.
“That way, paramedics can look at pictures, receive alerts, and see if someone is in trouble,” he said.
Data stored in the software can also help caregivers understand the day-to-day life of the people they monitor, such as system tracking that tracks how many times they go to the fridge and how they eat. In addition, Rattan said, the system can also track when users use the furnace, and temperature sensors installed at sensor nodes near the furnace will even send an alert, if the temperature exceeds a certain value, which means the user forgot to turn off the furnace.
The technology provides greater independence for the elderly or disabled, Rattan said. In addition, the team plans to develop a smaller tag that can be worn on the wrist, he said. The current tags are mounted on the helmet and are oversized.
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