September 2014 - Page 2 of 2

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Edsys

Radio Frequency Identification or RFID as it is called, works by allowing data to be transferred from an RFID tag to a reader. RFID, with its ability to locate anything, has been used in a vast number of fields that you may have never even thought of. Here’s a list of RFID applications:

1. Set your style Have you ever heard of a smart fitting room? If your answer is no, it’s time you know more about it. When you are buying a dress, most of your time is wasted in finding out if you’ll look good in it. Smart fitting rooms can help you solve the problem. The RFID powered kiosks in the room will identify the dress and give you the product data as well as suggestions. You can also go through the alternatives. Apart from that, they also give suggestions on the accessories that go with the dress, be it handbags or ties. These smart fitting rooms would help you to define your style as well as save your time.

2. Find golf balls Every golf player deals with the chaos of finding their golf balls, once hitting it. Well, no more headaches!! RFID golf balls can help you there. RFID golf balls contain tiny RFID chips inserted in them, making it easy for players to locate the ball, using a handheld RFID scanner. With the help of the scanner, it is possible to find lost balls from a distance of 30 to 100 feet from where they were hit. This can surely help you in saving your time and money.

3. Improve your Supply Chain Being an owner of a store or a shopping market is not at all easy, especially, when it comes to dealing with manufacturing, shipping and distribution. Sometimes a delay can happen or a product can lose quality. This would in turn affect the reputation of your store. RFID can help you here. With the help of RFID, you can get data real time on the status of individual commodities being imported and take instant actions in case of errors. This can help you to increase efficiency with less errors and improved quality.

4. Track vehicles RFID joins hands with GPS here to track vehicles. This application would come in handy especially in the case of school buses. The RFID school bus tracker by Edsys is one example. Parents and teachers can ensure safety of students using RFID tags. These tags can be attached to the students’ ID cards and students can swipe those tags once they enter the bus. Parents/school authorities in turn get notified via their phones about the whereabouts of students and the vehicle, thus putting an end to safety concerns.

5. No more cheating There are lots of gamblers, who even after being honest in their game, had lost tragically. Cheating is a common activity in casinos and sometimes, it’s difficult to find out. Well, it is easier now with RFID-enabled betting chips. With the help of RFID betting chips, it is easy to monitor each individual, in terms of betting patterns and other improper gaming methods.

6. No more shopping chaos Finding items you need is a huge task when it comes to shopping malls. You have to take the effort to search each and every department or may be ask the staff there, every time you need something. “Smart shopping carts” are on their way to help you out. These carts download your shopping list digitally and RFID guides you to the locations where the items are. This can also help you to easily check out, not having to stay in the long queue, missing almost half the things you really need. With these smart shopping carts, you can save your time, energy and money.

7. Healthcare made efficient News of patients being wrongly operated or equipment being left inside the patients are very common these days. Doctors are in a rush with increase in number of patients and sometimes do not even know any details of a patient once in the operation theatre. An RFID chip on the patient’s hospital bracelet can help in such situations. Also embedding RFID chips in hospital equipments can prevent cases of accidentally leaving equipments inside operated patients. Including RFID in the health department can also help in an efficient healthcare management system, managing traffic in hospitals and monitoring equipment.

8. Interactive marketing RFID in marketing is not very much familiar to people. But it has its own benefits in many ways. RFID in marketing can add to a certain level of interaction with consumers. Than the usual way of giving a message to the consumers, RFID in marketing encourage customers to engage in the brand. This helps customers to know the products better and even give feedback.

9. Track IT assets IT assets like server blades, laptops and tablets are very important for a company. They may even contain the confidential data of a company. To prevent them from going to wrong hands, IT asset tags can be used, which work using RFID. This also helps the IT team of a company in efficient record keeping and to ensure that nothing is misplaced.

10. No more swiping Tired of waiting in the queue to swipe your ticket passes in an amusement park or a stadium? RFID-enabled tickets prove be a solution. These tickets help in keeping track of the movements of each individual. The RFID-enabled tickets tend to be advantageous in parks in terms of putting an end to swiping for each ride, saving wait times and reducing employee costs. There have been several incidents of bomb explosions in stadiums. The RFID-enabled tickets can be useful there as well as it helps to keep track of people.

11. Track your pets We come across at least one column of missing pets in newspapers everyday. RFID is an effective solution to find lost pets. An embedded RFID chip or a collar with an RFID tag can help you to easily track your pets.

12. RFID and sports In marathons and other races which involve a large group of athletes, there are often chances to have disputes regarding race timings. Real Time tracking devices such as RFID shoe tags are attached to the athletes, thus helping the authorities to record the timings of each athlete as they pass the antennas. This has been proven to be an efficient technology in accurate recording of race timings thus helping athletes to analyse their performance.

Well, the list does not end here. With the invention of new RFID applications, it is a fact that the RFID technology is here to stay.

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Edsys

Here are some interesting gps facts – DID YOU KNOW?

1. There are a total of 31 satellites, including 2 reserve satellites, out of which at least 24 GPS satellites orbiting the earth. This means that each GPS satellite orbits the earth in every 12 hours.

2. The basic idea of Geo Positioning System or GPS was based on LORAN and Decca Navigation System, which were used during World War II to help in the navigation of ships and planes at a long range.

3. When Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, two American physicists started monitoring the satellite’s transmissions. They soon realised that they could identify the satellite in its orbit using Doppler Effect . This would later become the key principle used in GPS system. The change in frequency of signals from the GPS satellites helps in identifying locations.

4. GPS was first used by US for military purposes. Their need of a global navigation system during the cold war triggered the introduction of GPS.

5. Before GPS came into existence, navigation system of Navy was being used. Their need of a faster navigation system for high speed air force operations forced them to think whether navigation using satellites is possible.

6. In the beginning, GPS was called Navstar. The first Navstar satellite was launched in 1978. Out of the ten satellites launched, only nine made it to the orbit. The first fully developed GPS satellite was launched in 1989.

7. GPS was open to the public following a disaster. In 1983, Korean Airlines Flight 007 was shot down by Soviet Union killing 269 passengers on board as the flight entered the prohibited Soviet airspace. This incident prompted President Ronald Reagan to provide public access to the United States military satellite navigation system DNSS, which is known as GPS at present.

8. Though availability of GPS was made public, high quality GPS signals were confined to military use until recently. However, on May 1, 2000, this practice was taken off. At present, the GPS for civilian purposes is more accurate.

9. GPS was first introduced in automobiles in 1996.

10. With 31 active satellites in the orbit, GPS has become a part of every gadget we use, ranging from mobiles phones to cars.

11. If you thought GPS was all about navigation, you were wrong. It can also be used to determine the accurate time. Each GPS satellites consist of atomic clocks and time signals that the GPS receiving device can use to obtain the correct time. These signals are used to set the time in our mobile phones.

12. GPS has become very popular that GPS shoes are available in the market now, mainly aimed at locating people with Alzheimer’s disease, in case they get lost.

13. Do you know who invented the GPS navigation system? Bradford Parkinson of the Applied Physics Laboratory, Ivan A. Getting of The Aerospace Corporation, and Roger L. Easton of the Naval Research Laboratory

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Edsys

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is a framework aimed at the welfare and development of children from birth to the age of five years. Teachers of daycare centers or nurseries, the children are admitted to, will maintain a profile for each child, recording their activities until they are five years old. This will help in assessing the development of the child, his/her positives and weak points and prepare them to enter school.

The best way for a child to start learning is not through books, but through activities they involve in. These activities help children to develop skills, think and to make decisions.

Here are few EYFS activities for children, which can contribute to their development:

1. Painting

Kids love colours. Therefore, painting is one of the best activities suitable for them. Painting gives children ideas about colour and shapes. Also, painting enhances creativity in a child. By painting, children learn to think with an open mind. It also helps them to decide on what works and what does not. Also, the appreciation children get for the work they do, boosts their self-confidence. This is one activity that really helps in the development of kids.

2. Maths Activities

Since mathematics is one of the main subjects in school, this activity would help children have a strong base with numbers. With maths activities, children get introduced to numbers. They’ll have a basic understanding of numbers, what they are and how they are used. Through these activities,teachers can help children learn to count, identify patterns and compare objects. This activity can also increase the confidence of children as they prepare to start school.

3. Letters and sounds

Introduce children into the world of alphabets with these activities. Children, in their early years, tend to be faster learners than adults. They have the ability to mimic pronunciations without any difficulty. You can use letter blocks or alphabet charts to help the children understand and recognize the alphabets better. Recognition of alphabets by a child can be advantageous once he/she starts school.

4. Language development activities

Speech and language abilities of children help them to communicate their needs, build relationships and to express their feelings. The early years tend to be the best time for a child to start learning a language. Language development activities can also include learning words, building sentences etc.

5. Story telling activity

Which child does not like stories? They love listening to stories, which we narrate to them. It is a fact that kids are more imaginative than adults. So, they will definitely love this activity. Unlike the usual routine of adults narrating stories to children, encourage the kids to develop their own stories through these activities. This would help in developing language and creative skills of children.They would also learn to frame sentences.

6. Drama/role play activities

You can use some famous stories or the stories children themselves narrate for drama/role play activities. Assign children to play characters of the story (you can even help them to dress up according to the characters) and help them with the dialogue delivery. Apart from having fun, these activities help children to improve their communicative skills and interaction with other children.

7. Music and dance activities

It is a known fact that children, even before they learn to speak, react to music. Almost all children start moving as they hear music. Therefore, children would surely enjoy this activity. It would also help in improving their skills in terms of extra curricular activities. Children can also get exposed to different types of music through these activities.

8. Outdoor activities

Let the children get out of their nurseries or day care centres and mingle with nature. Nature offers far more things to learn than books or indoors do. Outdoor activities influence a child’s physical, social and emotional development. Outdoor activities give space and freedom to children. They will be able to explore and experiment without limitations. Also, physical activities of children increase once they are outdoors. They would run, play, shout, which help in their physical development.

9. Science activities

Children are always curious about things, especially those in their early years, who question about each and everything they see. Therefore, they will surely find science activities interesting. You can help the child collect things that interest them and sort them or later discuss about it, thus improving their ability to think and their communication skills.

10. Physical activities

A child’s physical development is as important as his/ her mental and emotional development. Physical activities help a child boost his/her concentration, motivation and well-being. This can be done through warm up exercises, games or through action songs.

11. Craft activities

Children love being creative. Therefore, craft activities would be perfect for them. With these activities, children get a basic idea of shapes, size and measurement, thus improving their maths skills as well. Also, they’ll learn to analyse things and make decisions. These activities can also add to the social and emotional development of children as they learn to socialise and share things.

12. Gardening activities

Children love being outdoors and getting dirty. Therefore, they’ll surely enjoy this activity. Gardening instills a sense of responsibility and love towards nature in children. They’ll learn to tender and grow their own plants. Gardening involves teamwork. Therefore, children learn to socialize and have fun.

EYFS activities help children grow and develop themselves, physically, emotionally and socially. Each and everything they encounter in the process would influence their behavior and personality at later stages of life. Also, these activities enable them to recognize and use their skills to the fullest, making them confident and good human beings.