Post-Graduate student researches Handheld Devices at Heathrow Express - 14th October 08

Firstco has been hosting a post-graduate research student from Brunel University as part of its ongoing Research & Design work. A project was initiated to use new technology to manage the Private Mobile Radio handsets used by the contractors and staff at Heathrow Express. The work formed the basis of the student’s Masters degree in Wireless Communication Systems and it is hoped will prove valuable to the railway operator.

It was found best to use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for monitoring these handsets. The RFID system consists of a High Frequency (HF) tag, fitted on the handset, and a reader, which should be ideally placed inside a handset storage cabinet. Passive tags are used, which means they are powered up by signals from the reader, and they are also called listeners. Access to the cabinet is controlled by smart cards.

The system operation involves the readers sending whatever tags it reads inside the cabinet over the existing GPRS infrastructure to a database server. From there, the Internet is used to get the data from this database and display it on the user interface.

interface:

• Shows the handsets that are currently in use, the date and time at which they have been checked out, and by whom;
• Shows the handsets that are available at each location;
• Highlights when handsets have been taken out for more than an allowable time period;
• Indicates whether the handsets are each back in the correct location; and
• Displays which handset had been taken out for repairs.

So far, tests carried out shows that the main concept of the system is working, but improvements are required in terms of sensitivity of readers/tags. Moreover, appropriately designed cabinets, with RFID readers fitted internally, magnetic lock and GPRS antenna will further enhance the systems capabilities in the future.