Random photo time: a garden near where I live a few years ago...
"Just a few fairy lights this year"
A Learning Journal for Open University module T175 "Networked Living", by phat.andz
"Just a few fairy lights this year"
An RFID News Article of Interest
My chosen article of interest concerns an ‘RFID-enabled’ climate lab exhibition at the Chabot Space & Science Centre, California. Its twelve child-orientated exhibits involve moveable parts, polls, and quizzes. Visitors wear an ID card with an embedded RFID chip. The exhibits all have an embedded reader, which collects the RFID chip IDs and sends them to the system software when the wearer earns ‘points’ by completing a solution.
The goal of exhibit visitors is to fill their RFID card with ‘solution’ points, which the system software adds up. Visitors can create a personal avatar, which appears on a video screen with their results. Visitors can also login to the exhibit website using some of the digits of their unique RFID card number, which is printed on the card as well as stored in the chip.
RFID was selected for this project because it is easier to use (i.e., just needs to be worn) than bar codes or swipe cards. Initial health concerns about ambient RF were removed when it was measured to be well below recommended exposure levels.
I found this article more interesting than others, because of the creative use of RFID tags: to encourage and enable children to complete educational activities and earn themselves ‘points’, rather then the more usual commercial asset or product tracking.
[217 words]
Reference:
O’Connor, M.C. (2010) ‘Chabot space & science center uses RFID to teach environmental science’ RFID Journal, [Online]. Available from: http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/8045/1 (Accessed December 2010)
Differences between Active and Passive RFID tags.
Active RFID tags are powered by batteries, which affords them a long range, of 100 feet or more, but results in them being relatively big and heavy. Passive tags rely upon power generated by a readers RF field, giving them a shorter 1-10 feet range, but leaving them smaller and lighter. Active tags tend to contain read/write random access memory of between 32,000 bytes and 1 MB, whereas passive tags are often limited to read-only memory of up to 128 bits. The cost of active tags is higher than passive tags, and they have a lifetime limited to about 10 years; passive tags are cheaper (although they require more powerful readers) and have a virtually unlimited lifespan.
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Bill Shankly statue, Anfield, Liverpool. |
If the communication is in real time it is called synchronous. In synchronous online communication, all participants must be connected to the network simultaneously for as long as they are communicating (e.g., a chat room) communication.
In asynchronous communication the message is sent at one point in time and the recipient can pick it up later, when they choose to.
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Chipmunk at Marwell Zoo, Twyford, UK (2008) |
You can use the online journal provided, or you may wish to create your own elsewhere to suit your learning style. It would be a good idea to complete a journal entry after each part of every block...So, it seems that it's OK to keep it here, hooray!
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