Group 04 - RFID-based system for tracking and locating items on the factory floor

Team:	Group 04: Hugo Godinho (Coord.) , Vitor Freitas , Alexandre Alves
Company:	JPM Industry
Supervisors:	Susana Sargento (DETi) Ricardo Pimenta (JPM Industry)

This project aims to implement an innovative solution for tracking and monitoring items on a factory floor using passive RFID technology. In an industrial context where operational efficiency is crucial, the proposed system aims to identify and locate containers of items in real time. This approach aims to optimise production flow, minimise logistical errors and improve traceability in the manufacturing environment. To ensure its effectiveness, the project follows an iterative and practical approach, integrating new technologies and validating its application through tests in real conditions, adapted to the specific needs of the partner company.

• Challenge
• Results
• More information

Challenge

The project faced several challenges, which can be divided into two groups: key challenges related to the system’s objectives and technical challenges during implementation.

Key Challenges

1. Real-Time Tracking: Development of a system capable of continuously identifying and monitoring trolleys, and subsequently the containers they carry, to ensure accurate localisation within the factory environment.
2. Scope Expansion: Ensuring that the initial solution, designed to monitor trolleys, could be seamlessly extended to read and track multiple moving containers.
3. Challenging Industrial Environment: Overcoming difficulties caused by interference in the factory environment, particularly from metallic materials and other conditions that could affect RFID reading accuracy.

Technical Challenges

1. Simultaneous Reading of RFID Tags: Configure the system to read multiple RFID tags simultaneously without error or duplication, even in high traffic scenarios.
2. Component Integration: Ensure stable communication between key components, such as the M6E Nano reader, REDBOARD controller, and RFID antenna, which requires detailed adjustments in both hardware and software tuning.
3. System Calibration: Adjust the positioning and power settings of the RFID antenna, optimizing system performance across different factory zones.
4. Operational Risks: Prevent issues such as RFID reader overheating and reading range limitations by implementing appropriate mitigation strategies, including temperature monitoring and load testing, to avoid failures under real-world conditions.

Results

The project successfully developed a functional and scalable RFID-based system for real-time tracking and monitoring of items on the factory floor. As this is a proof of concept, the simulated behaviour is as follows: When the reader is started, the user interface displays the menu for selecting gates, printing the tag table and the reset option. The tags identify each container. First, the situation in the component warehouse is simulated. When the tag is first detected, it must start with the components and a destination gate is requested. The tag table shows the tag identified, the location, between ‘Componentes’ or ‘Nave’, the current gate, if it is already ‘moving’ in the zones, the destination, the entry time since the gate was activated and the time between readings of the same tag. When you select the letter corresponding to a gate, for simulation purposes it will read the tags that pass through it for five seconds. These tags are assigned to that gate and, if it is the destination, an arrival alert is issued. After this movement, the tags table changes and you can see that the location changes from ‘Componentes’ to ‘Nave’, indicating that the tags are already moving on the factory zones and showing the gate where the tag is currently located. In the event of an anomaly, an alert is issued, indicating the occurrence of the anomaly and its origin. An example of this would be if the tags were moved from Gate C to Gate A. However, according to the factory floor layout, the tags should have passed through Gate B for this to happen. As this did not happen, a deviation was identified and an alert sent.

More information

The project successfully developed a functional and scalable RFID-based system for real-time tracking and monitoring of items on the factory floor. Key achievements include:

1. RFID tag tracking: Real-time identification of tags and association with virtual gates, representing factory zones.
2. Dynamic gates management: Controlled activation of gates for organised tag-zone associations via serial commands.
3. Deviation alerts: Automatic detection of route deviations or arrivals, generating alerts to prevent errors.
4. User interaction: A command menu for activating gates, viewing tag details and resetting the system.
5. Advanced tag logic: Efficient tracking with data structures that store location, movement history and timestamps.
6. Calibration: Optimised antenna settings to overcome industrial challenges such as metallic interference. The system has proven its effectiveness in industrial environments, ensuring accurate real-time monitoring and movement management.

This figure represents the in-factory solution for optimised antenna settings to overcome industrial challenges such as metallic interference.

This block diagram represents a system that processes RF signals, using an antenna and an RFID reader module integrated with a microcontroller and an API communication interface. • The antenna captures the RF signal, which is processed by the M6e Nano Reader. • The Redboard ATMEGA328 acts as the central control and communication unit, transferring data between the RFID reader and the external API. • The system is powered by a 5V source, and all communication is handled serially at a predefined speed of 115200 bps.