Technology In Modern Life

Chapter 1 THE PROBLEM This chapter consists of the background of the study, objectives of the study, theoretical and conceptual framework, scope and limitations of the study, significance of the study and definition of terms. Background of the Study As men live in this fourth wave world known as the Ubiquitous age, many impossible things made possible through Information Technology. They were thankful to the millennium of scientific discoveries and innovations, people’s lives have transformed.
It is due to advanced technology why man’s conventional way of living becomes modern. The modern technology that enables men to lessen the burden of work, relieve suffering and increase satisfaction. Most of the greatest inventions have focused exclusively on technological achievements. In broader sense, human have invented great many other things over the past 1000 years. Humankind’s creative output ps a huge range of fields in addition to science and engineering – each with their own great developments and innovations during the last millennium.
Technology is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, modifications, arrangements and procedures. Technologies significantly affect human as well as other animal species’ ability to control and adapt to their natural environments. Technology can be viewed as an activity that forms or changes culture.

Additionally, technology is the application of Mathematics, Science, and the arts for the benefit of life as it is known. A modern example is the rise of communication technology, which has lessened barriers to human interaction and, as a result, has helped spawn new subcultures: The rise of cyberculture. As a cultural activity, technology predates both science and engineering, each of which formalizes some aspects of technological endeavor. Engineering is the goal-oriented process of designing and making tools and systems to exploit natural phenomena for practical human means, often (but not always) using results and techniques from science.
The development of technology may draw upon many fields of knowledge, including scientific, engineering, mathematical, linguistic, and historical knowledge, to achieve some practical result. 1 The research study is conducted in response to the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, Article 14, Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture and Sports, Section 10 and to unit: “Science and technology are essential for national development and progress. The State shall give priority to research and development, invention, innovation, and their utilization; and to science and technology education, training, and services.
It shall support indigenous, appropriate, and self-reliant scientific and technological capabilities, and their application to the country’s productive systems and national life. ” 1 This article discusses the importance of every development or discoveries. Thus, as a University, it should support all the research that will be conducted by the students to motivate them to come up with a technology that will promote the development of the country as a whole. Vehicle loading is one of the most important consideration factors of the design, maintenance, and long-term use of expressway.
Nowadays, it becomes more common that the road surface is greatly damaged by the overloading vehicles. As a result, the overloading enforcement would be the effective measure for preventing the expressway from being damaged by overloading vehicles. 2 Economic growth demands an adequate transport infrastructure. Highway networks ensure healthy development of freight transport market. However, in this highly competitive and cost-conscious market, more and more owners or operators tend to overload their trucks to minimize transportation costs, posing a serious risk to the safety of drivers, passengers and other road sers. Overloading is also a big headache for traffic police. Traffic police can only spot-check vehicles on the road based on their own experience, which is surely not adequate in averting overloading. As computer technology grows, a more effective and intelligent overload detection system has come into use. 3 Based on the requirement of the Road Traffic Act 1988 of the United States of America, vehicle users ensure that the vehicles which they drive vehicles are not overloaded. In the event that a vehicle is found to be overloaded then both the driver and operator could be prosecuted or cautioned.
It is worth bearing in mind that one will be in breach of the law if the load which a driver carries is heavier than the vehicle is designed to hold, or the load is uneven causing one or more of the axles to have to bear too much weight and that the penalties which can be imposed are far from trivial. The law imposes fines for each offense – and that can be in respect of each overloaded axle plus the total overloading as well. What is more, if the vehicle is dangerously overloaded then, the driver could still face a charge of Dangerous Driving which could result in prison sentence for up to two years.
It is not just the employer and/or the owner of the vehicle who may be liable. There is every possibility that if an overload is detected the driver will be prosecuted and may end up with 3 penalty points on his or her driver’s license. The offenses under the Road Traffic Act 1988 provide that anyone driving a vehicle which is overloaded commits an absolute offence. This means that an offense is committed even if the driver or owner was not aware of the overloading. 4
RFID is based on a chain of scientific discoveries from some of the most important intellectual pioneers like: Michael Faraday in 1846 identified that both light and radio waves are part of electromagnetic energy. James Maxwell in 1864 propounded his theory that electric and magnetic energy travels in transverse waves at the speed of light. Heinrich Hertz in 1887 proved Maxwell’s theory and showed that radio waves may be reflected, refracted, and polarized like light. Guglielmo Marconi demonstrated long distance transmission of radio waves.
Currently, vehicles on the highway can only be identified by automatically reading their license plates, which sometimes does not work perfectly due to environmental conditions like rain or fog or dirt on the license plate. Additionally, it is well known that transports of abnormal loads and dangerous goods are not always executed on the permitted roads. This problem cannot be efficiently controlled by police officers. Authorities can develop a system embedded in the road or on roadside for identification of vehicles on the highway, avoiding the problems of the license plate cameras.
Integration to an electronic permission system, which can check the permission of each abnormal transport and their current route. 5 Identification is a powerful capability, useful in classifying, counting, and organizing objects. These operations are essential to many aspects of modern life, including manufacturing, the logistics of distribution, and the various stages of supply chains, and they operate on scales ranging from the level of the individual consumer to that of global trade. In the past, identification was done visually—by observing characteristics of objects.
When copies of manufactured objects that are essentially identical have to be identified, distinguishing markings have been added. Efficient and accurate means are needed to recognize the markings and thus determine the identity of the marked objects. Therefore, an identification system consists of identifying markings and readers of those markings. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a means of identifying objects by interrogating a unique characteristic of the object (such as a unique identifying number stored on a silicon chip attached to the object) using radio waves.
This technology promises orders-of-magnitude greater efficiency and accuracy than were possible previous technologies. Although RFID is not a recent development, advances in semiconductor technology have now made this method practical and much more cost-effective. RFID has many advantages over visual markings—primary among them the ability to identify objects without the requirement of line of sight. This means that objects can be identified even when they are tightly packed together or their surface markings are removed, marred, or obscured. 6 Radio Frequency Identification describes a system of identification.
RFID is based on storing and remotely retrieving information or data as it consists of RFID tag, RFID reader and back-end Database. RFID tags store unique identification information of objects and communicate the tags so as to allow remote retrieval of their ID. RFID technology depends on the communication between the RFID tags and RFID readers. The range of the reader is dependent upon its operational frequency. Usually the readers have their own software running on their ROM and also, communicate with other software to manipulate these unique identified tags.
Basically, the application which manipulates tag deduction information for the end user, communicates with the RFID reader to get the tag information through antennas. Many researchers have addressed issues that are related to RFID reliability and capability. RFID is continuing to become popular because it increases efficiency and provides better service to stakeholders. RFID technology has been realized as a performance differentiator for a variety of commercial applications, but its capability is yet to be fully utilized. RFID technology has passed through many phases over the last few decades.
The technology has been used in tracking delivery of goods, in courier services and in baggage handling. Other applications includes automatic toll payments, departmental access control in large buildings, personal and vehicle control in a particular area, security of items which shouldn’t leave the area, equipment tracking in engineering firms, hospital filing systems, etc. Usage of high-speed RFID tag-readers directly mounted in the pavement of the highway and an identification and controlling software which, for example, can check if the permitted route of an abnormal load transport is really used.
Wen (2010) presents an intelligent traffic management expert system with RFID technology. The system provides both practically important traffic data collection and control information and can trace criminal or illegal vehicles such as stolen cars or vehicles that evade tickets, tolls or vehicle taxes. The system architecture consists of an RFID reader, a passive tag, a personal computer, a pair of infrared sensors, and a high-speed server with a database system.
Based on RFID technology, the system collects and calculates average speed and average flow information on each road of a district area in a city. It then transmits the messages from all the congested roads in a district area to the server in the district center via a communication program. Through a flooding algorithm, each server in a district center exchanges and updates information with all neighbor servers in other district centers so all that the servers in various district centers can get all the latest congestion messages in a city.
Therefore, a dynamic navigation system can find the shortest path that avoids congested roads. 7 At the very simplest level, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies allow the transmission of a unique serial number wirelessly, using radio waves. The two key parts of the system that are needed to do this are the RFID ‘tag’ and the ‘reader’; attaching an RFID tag to a physical object allows the object to be ‘seen’ and monitored by existing computer networks and back-office administration systems.
So far, the key driver for the development of RFID systems has been the desire to improve efficiency in globalised supply chains but implementation of the technology has been problematic. This is partly due to the manufacturing costs of tags, which are currently too high to justify widespread deployment across supply chains in the way that was originally imagined, and partly due to concerns over the potential for infringing the privacy of consumers who purchase RFID-tagged products.
There are various ways in which RFID may impact on the core business of Further and Higher Education (F&HE) but in the short term, one of the critical factors will be how concerns about the potential for privacy infringement are reduced. Although these concerns have not had as high a profile in the UK as they have elsewhere, pressure from the EU will require UK F&HE to start addressing these issues, and it will ultimately be more cost effective and time efficient if this is done in a pro-active rather than a re-active way.
The influence of the library sector, in its dual role as a public sector body acting in the ‘public good’ and working as a test-bed for the technology, has the potential to be important in setting the pace for establishing good practice in this area while the technology is still relatively new and there is still the opportunity to have an impact. 8 According to Freeman (2009), RFID is not a new technology and has passed through many decades of use in military, airline, library, security, healthcare, sports, animal farms and other areas.
Industries use RFID for various applications such as personal/vehicle access control, departmental store security, equipment tracking, baggage, fast food establishments, logistics, etc. The enhancement in RFID technology has brought advantages that are related to resource optimization, increased efficiency within business processes, and enhanced customer care, overall improvements in business operations and healthcare. As discussed by Grunt (2009) most RFID systems consist of tags that are attached to the objects to be identified. Each tag has its own “read-only” or “rewrite” internal memory depending on the type and application.
Typical configuration of this memory is to store product information, such as an object’s unique ID manufactured date, etc. The RFID reader generates magnetic fields that enable the RFID system to locate objects (via the tags) that are within its range the high-frequency electromagnetic energy and query signal generated by the reader triggers the tags to reply to the query; the query frequency could be up to 50 times per second. As a result communication between the main components of the system i. e. tags and reader is established. As a result large quantities of data are generated.
Supply chain industries control this problem by using filters that are routed to the backend information systems. In other words, in order to control this problem, software such as Savant is used. This software acts as a buffer between the Information Technology and RFID reader. Several protocols manage the communication process between the reader and tag. These protocols (ISO 15693 and ISO 18000-3 for HF or the ISO 18000-6, and EPC for UHF) begin the identification process when the reader is switched on. These protocol works on selected frequency bands (e. g. 60 – 915 MHz for UHF or 13. 56 MHz for HF). If the reader is on and the tag arrives in the reader fields, then it automatically wakes-up and decodes the signal and replies to the reader by modulating the reader’s field. All the tags in the reader range may reply at the same time, in this case the reader must detect signal collision (indication of multiple tags). Signal collision is resolved by applying anti-collision algorithm which enables the reader to sort tags and select/handle each tag based on the frequency range (between 50 tags to 200 tags) and the protocol used.
In this connection the reader can perform certain operations on the tags such as reading the tag’s identifier number and writing data into a tag. 9 Moreover, as stated by Harper (2010),RFID (radio frequency identification) is a technology that incorporates the use of electromagnetic or electrostatic coupling in the radio frequency (RF) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to uniquely identify an object, animal, or person. RFID is coming into increasing use in industry as an alternative to the bar code. The advantage of RFID is that it does not require direct contact or line-of-sight scanning.
An RFID system consists of three components: an antenna and transceiver (often combined into one reader) and a transponder (the tag). The antenna uses radio frequency waves to transmit a signal that activates the transponder. When activated, the tag transmits data back to the antenna. The data is used to notify a programmable logic controller that an action should occur. The action could be as simple as raising an access gate or as complicated as interfacing with a database to carry out a monetary transaction.
Low- frequency RFID systems (30 KHz to 500 KHz) have short transmission ranges (generally less than six feet). High-frequency RFID systems (850 MHz to 950 MHz and 2. 4 GHz to 2. 5 GHz) offer longer transmission ranges (more than 90 feet). In general, the higher the frequency, the more expensive the system . RFID is sometimes called dedicated short range communication (DSRC). 10 With the aforementioned facts and ideas about RFID, the researchers conceived the study on developing a device called radio frequency identification based public utility vehicles overloading detection and reporting system.
They believe that the system could help in solving problems on overloading. Objectives of the Study The study is focused on the development of radio frequency identification (RFID)-based PUV’s overloading detection and reporting system. Specifically, it aims to: 1. Design and develop radio frequency identification (RFID)-based PUV’s overloading detection and reporting system. 2. Test the performance of the customized overload detection and reporting system in terms of RFID usage and response time for every test in terms of: 2. 1 efficiency; 2. 2 accuracy; and 2. detection range Theoretical Framework The study is based on the principles of Control systems. Applications on the principle of Control Systems started as early as B. C. 200 when Ctesibius from Greece started to device the use of a float regulator mechanism on a water clock. Now, modern interpretation of control system application refers to the integration of elements whose function is to maintain a process variable at a desired value or within a desired range of values. Instrumentation provides the various indications used to operate a certain system facility.
In some cases, operators record these indications for use in day-to-day operation of the facility. The information recorded helps the operator evaluate the current condition of the system and take actions if the conditions are not as expected. Requiring the operator to take all of the required corrective actions is impractical, or sometimes impossible, especially if a large number of indications must be monitored. For this reason, most systems are controlled automatically once they are operating under normal conditions.
Automatic controls greatly reduce the burden on the operator and make his or her job manageable. Some systems do not require all of their process variables to be controlled. This principle applies on the design of the project, wherein the RFID module operates to manage and identify the overload detection while the RFID device detector performs the checking of the detected data entry then automatically received by the prior agency using the RFID device detector. The operation of the control system is periodically checked to verify proper operation.
If a control system fails, the operator must be able to take over and control the process manually. In most cases, understanding how the control system works aids the operator in determining if the system is operating properly and which actions are required to maintain the system in safe and fully working condition. Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework of the proposed system is shown in Figure 1; the figure is based on Coombs Theory, which consists of the input, process, and output.
It shows the flow of the study and how the researchers come up with the chosen study. The input consists of all the resources needed in making the system. The information resources pertain to the ideas, information, and knowledge from the books, related literatures, and from the internet. Material resources are the evaluation instruments, supplies and materials, and equipment to be used. The financial resource refers to the funds to be used by the researchers.
Human resources are all the people involved in the accomplishment and development of this study which includes the PUV’s driver, passengers, and consultant who will aid on contributing ideas related to the study matter. The process of this study deals with planning, designing, and development of the device. It also includes conducting of experiments, revising, and testing to evaluate how and how well the system operates. The output box consists of the completed and well-developed system of the combined reporting and identification from the RFID module and the data verifying process by the Radio Frequency Identification device detector.
The feedback arrow represents the continuous evaluation of the results on the output. The arrow points back to the input and process in order to check, and recheck the errors that might be encountered during the development of the system and integration of the devices. Significance of the Study This project mainly focuses on the development of a radio frequency identification based PUV’s overloading and detection system. First, it aims for achieving an accurate and proper loading of passengers.
For the country, this system can benefit the authorities because the system records and detects the overloaded PUV’s and automatically report to the nearest police station or prior agencies, so there is a properly organized and accurate PUV’s driver for any session in this country and a developed organization in terms of transportation that could motivate the renders to introduce the innovations of public transportation to avoid overloading in public utility vehicles. This will be of great help in terms of country’s transportation, security and developing organization
With this device, using the system can even greatly assess the approximate location of the overloaded PUV’s in the way that the police and the prior agencies will not need to check by hang in the highways and looking for the overloaded PUV’s, anymore. The same way, on the alternate method, the police and prior agency will not need to hang on the highways and look for some insulting drivers that are meant to get some passengers even they are consuming and overweight which will affect the engine start to irritate, thus it consume a lot of fuel and time.
So, automating the process really can save time and effort for the benefits of the community. For the universities, this system will help the students to have a proper way of riding a vehicle and lending in a good manner of transporting, and this will materialize as model that will be of great honor for the school and will serve as inspiration to upcoming students. This project is based on new wave technology that could enhance to better understanding of every student. For the college of engineering, the researchers believe that the study will help the college a lot especially those who take ECE.
It can also provide additional idea and information about electronics that can be a guide for the students of the college. For the future researchers, this project will help to enhance the ideas of students in constructing innovative products and device. It serves as guide to the next generation of researchers who will do relevant research and to have more complex study and improve the device. For the government, the project will greatly help them to discipline the drivers in loading their vehicles properly.
Lastly, the developed device is guaranteed to provide security and accuracy in terms of creation and management of overloaded PUV’s. Using the RFID to report the detected overloaded PUV’s, will create a reporting system that is accurately identified and as well timed. There is seemingly no way for the PUV’s driver to get some passengers and cheat the overloading detection and reporting system, as per the RFID device detector that is required to verify their overloaded PUV’s and strongly requires the drivers to strictly stop chasing passengers with this case. Developed Radio Frequency Identification Based PUV’s Overloading Detection and Reporting System. * Planning * Designing * Development of the device * Testing * Revising * Evaluation * Information resources * Material resources * Financial resources * Human resources Input Process Output FEEDBACK Figure 1 Figure 1 Conceptual Model for the Development of Radio Frequency Identification Based PUV’s Overloading and Detection System Scope and Limitation of the Study
This study is confined to develop a system of device that is able to detect from the RFID input, reporting through RFID device detector, and passing all information into programed control system so the detection of the overload PUV’s will automatically transfer and report the data to the near police station and prior agencies and can be readily chase using the RFID device detector. This study focused on the designing, developing, and operating of the RFID-based PUV’s overloading detection and reporting system that will be conducted by the two (2) 4th year Electronics Engineering (4-ECE) students who are the proponents of this study.
It will be conducted in University of Rizal System-Morong Campus during the school year 2012-2013 2nd semester and 2013-2014 1st semester. The device is intended to be interconnected on a computer, from which it should process all the collected data, organize it into a database, and as well makes it possible for easy to know the overloaded PUV’s. The device can be however implemented to be used on a bigger organization, with connection to the prior agency, on this research; it will only be implemented on few tags and small number of public utility vehicles (PUV’s).
PUV’s will be automated by the drivers; specifically the passengers will be the proponent of the case. This research will use limited numbers of tags for testing purposes only that will contain information of sample PUV’s for the purpose of the study and will be used as a medium of overloading detection system in the highway. Furthermore, this research will not test the performance of the device in terms of storage capacity and security as these variables are already of their standards with respect to the device modules used in the project. This device is intended to provide a cheat-proof method of making the reporting system for any purpose.
Definition of Terms For a clearly understanding of the study, the following terms are defined operationally and conceptually. Accuracy. This refers to the condition or quality of being true, correct, or exact; freedom from error or defect; precision or exactness; correctness. Efficiency. This refers to how the device performs its expected task with a minimum expenditure of time and effort. Overloading. This refers on how the passengers and the driver perform with respect to the weigh and number of passenger inside the public utility vehicles. PUV’s. This refers to a vehicle, generally motorized, that is designed for a specific transportation.
Radio Frequency. This pertains to the rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals. Reporting. This refers to the process of converting data into usable, and actionable data. RFID. This refers to a tracking system that uses intelligent of embedded microchips with the use of radio frequency. RFID Tag. This pertains to a microchip attached to an antenna and uses a write and read technology. Security. This refers to the level of being secure in which a system cannot be cheated or exploited in any ways or methods possible.
Server. This refers to a network server of a computer system, which is used as the central repository of data and various programs that are shared in a network. Speed. This refers to how fast a device is able to react on certain input commands and provide its necessary output. Storage Capacity. This refers to the amount of data that a certain system is able to contain. NOTES 1http://www. gov. ph/the-philippine-constitutions/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines-article-xiv/ 2http://www. wanji. net. n/en/d/b/20101217/429. html 3http://www. evoc. com/solutions/MEC-5004-Application-in-Highway-Overload-Detection-System/detail. aspx 4http://www. keepmedriving. com/category/commercial/overloading/? forgottenpasswd 5http://www. project-asset. com/data/asset_highlight_ROC_v09. pdf 6http://www. nap. edu/openbook. php? record_id=11189&page=3 7http://dl. acm. org/citation. cfm? id=1668223 8http://www. rfidaa. org/upload/documents/PDF/RFID%20explained. pdf 9http://arxiv. org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1002/1002. 1179. pdf 10http://searchmanufacturingerp. techtarget. com/definition/RFID