Proceedings of the IEEE

International Conference on Automation and Logistics

Qingdao, China September 2008

Design of Warehouse Information Acquisition System

Based on RFID *
Xiaoli Zhang and Xiaoqin Lian
College of Information Engineering
Beijing Technology and Business University
Beijing, China
zhang_xl_01@yahoo.com.cn,lianxq@263.net

Abstract - This paper introduces the hardware and software effective quality surveillance and track cargoes all the way to
of the warehouse information acquisition system based on RFID minimize the loss. Simultaneously, RFID technology is also
(Radio Frequency Identification), and explains the design scheme an effective way to implement logistic course tracking.
and implementation method of the system. The system achieves
the electronic tags identification, read and write operation
through handheld RFID device which is composed by IP4 II. THE SYSTEM DESIGN SCHEME
handheld reader and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) Intermec
700 mobile computer. The communication between handheld Based on the warehouse acquisition system’s characteristic
RFID device and PC is completed by handheld RFID device and request, a computer warehouse information acquisition
communication base and Microsoft ActiveSync software. By system is constructed with RFID technology. This system is
accessing a SQL Server, functions such as automatic data storing, constitutive of three parts: warehouse goods information and
querying and deleting of goods and warehouse information are data automatic identification system (AIDS); the application
realized. Combining the former technique, the operations such as program interface (API) between automatic identification
warehousing, warehouse delivery, goods moving and system and application software; Warehouse acquisition
inventorying are accomplished. This paper provides an system application software (AS). In other words, the
application example of the integration of RFID technology, automatic identification system completes the system
warehouse information acquisition and warehouse information
information gathering and storing. The warehouse acquisition
management system.
system application software processes the data which is
Index Terms - RFID, PDA, Date acquisition, Data processing,
collected by auto identification system. And the application
Warehouse program interface software provides an effective
communication interface between auto identification system
I. INTRODUCTION and application software. This interface converts data from
auto identification system to which the application software
The radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is a can utilize, and complete the data transmission. Its schematic
kind of non-contact automatic identification technology. Its flow chart is shown in Fig 1.
basic principle is to use the radio-frequency signal, the space
coupling and the transmission characteristic to realize
identification of the static or moving goods. The radio
frequency identification system is composed generally by two
parts, namely tag and microreader. Coupled components
between the tag and the microreader realize the radio-
frequency signal’s coupling (non-contact). Energy
transmission and data exchanging are completed through the
coupling channel according to timing relationship. At present,
the tag technology is the most advanced non-contact induction
one. The tag has characteristics of anti-conflict, seal
arbitrariness, long service life and reuse as in [1], [2] and [3],
because of which the tag warehouse management technology
becomes the new favorite of warehouse management
designing. The tag’s superiority in warehouse management Fig 1 The schematic flow chart of the warehouse information acquisition
system based on RFID
system is as the following: effectively manage cargo packing
and loading, collect information automatically, check product
source, rewrite tag information without unpacking, do

*
This work is supported by Funding Project for Academic Human Resources Development in Institutions of Higher Learning Under the Jurisdiction of
Beijing Municipality #19004811009, Scientific Research Common Program of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education #KM200510011003 and
Scientific Research Program of CPC Beijing Organization Department #20042D0500303 to Xiaoqin Lian.

978-1-4244-2503-7/08/$20.00 © 2008 IEEE

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 III. THE SYSTEM COMPOSITION AND IMPLEMENTATION
In terms of the warehouse information acquisition
system’s constitutive principle, the system design includes the
hardware system and the software system. Hardware system
mainly includes front end handheld RFID system and
communication transmission system which is known as
middle layer. The software system includes the information
management system, which is responsible for the entire
warehouse system management and control. The handheld
RFID system completes the gathered data’s processing and
formats conversion and the special operation. The
Design of warehouse information acquisition system based on RFID
Front end RFID handheld system
PDA Intermec 700 mobile computer
IP4 Handheld Reader
WIN CE operating system and application
software
Communication transmission system
USB, Microsoft ActiveSync
Information management system
The foreground application design using
VC.NET language and API interface
Create database using SQL Server
language
Control the reading process of TXT
documents data
Fig. 2 The system architecture
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communication system completes data transmission from the
handheld RFID system to the background management
system.
The system architecture is shown in Fig.2.
A. The hardware system Fomposition
The hardware system is composed by management system
server (MSS), management system workstation (PC), the
handheld RFID device communication base, the handheld
RFID system which included the electronic tag and the
handheld RFID device (PDA and IP4). Hardware system
architecture schematic drawing is shown in Fig.3.
Functional Description
The Iront end equipment can read the bar code
directly
IP4 handheld reader which is connected to PDA can
read and write tag information
Process the tag and barcode data and transmit to the
information management system
Edit, manage and control of the data which has been
collected by information acquisition system
 Fig.3 Hardware system architecture schematic drawing
While unmanned RFID data capture solutions are designed
A.1Electronic tag
to eliminate human intervention and line of sight restrictions
In this system, we select a passive high frequency non-
in data acquisition applications, there is always a need for
touched tag which can be written once and read multi-times
exception-based scanning. The IP4 and 700 Series in tandem
with a frequency of 915MHz. This tag is Intermec
deliver a truly mobile RFID solution. It allows the user to take
Corporation's 915MHz chip with a corresponding speed of
the technology to the work –whether it’s on the shop floor, the
9600bps and a 1.5m average distance. Besides, it is with anti-
store floor or the receiving dock, whenever it’s more practical
conflict mechanism, data integrity and security and three times
to bring the read/write device to the tagged object rather than
mutual authentications. In the communication process, all of
moving tagged objects passed a fixed reader.
the data is encrypted to prevent the signal interception. Each
The IP4 allows users to take full advantage of the
tag has unique sequence numbers with password protection.
distributed mobile data carrier capability inherent in Gen 2 and
This kind of tag is with the following advantages over the
upcoming ISO 18000-6c tags. With the IP4, data such as
other tags as in [4] and [5].
origin, destination, “use by” date, warranty, service or repair
(1) As a passive tag it can survive longer, which is
history can be easily updated on the tag and therefore always
convenient for the logistics applications.
traveling with the tagged item. The mobility and convenient
(2) There are no expensive batteries in the tag, so it’s
size of the IP4 allows users to update tag data on items during
cheap.
work-in-process tasks without leaving their workstation.
(3) High discrimination. The wave with a 915MHz
Like all Intermec products, the durability and ergonomics
frequency has a good penetrability.
required for rugged mobile computing are designed into every
(4) The reader can be produced with low cost. There are
aspect of the IP4. The snap-on, high-impact plastic and
many 915MHz products, which makes it possible to produce
magnesium trigger handle reader comes packaged with its
the reader batch with excellent components.
own rechargeable battery pack for a full shift’s worth of work.
The information in the electronic tag includes Electron
The IP4 is ready for integration into supply chain
Production Code (EPC), manufacturer, product name,
management for retail operations, industrial manufacturing,
customer name, goods category, goods size and storing place
and logistics applications.
information etc..
The IP4 is available in the RFID UHF frequency band, and
A.2 Handheld RFID device will not interfere with industry standard PAN, LAN or WAN
The handheld RFID device is constituted by two parts: transmissions occurring in the mobile data acquisition
PDA and IP4 which are produced by Intermec Corp. environment.
Intermec’s expertise in real-world RFID implementations,
A.3 PDA handheld device communication base link with
combined with its knowledge about building rugged handheld
computer
devices, is reflected in the IP4 reader, an accessory handle for
Microsoft ActiveSYNC which is Microsoft Pocket PC
attachment to the popular Intermec® 700 Series Color mobile
data synchronization tools can be obtained from the Microsoft
computers.
Web site or CD-ROM attached. After the Microsoft
The IP4 delivers first-of-its-kind capability by combining
ActiveSYNC software installation is completed and PDA 700
the power of a handheld mobile computing device equipped
handheld communication device inserted into the base which
with PAN, LAN and WAN radios as well as a multi-protocol
link computer using USB cable connection, If user does not
RFID radio that can be used worldwide.
need the synchro data, can make choice of "Guest partnership"
Users of the 700 Series Color mobile computers have
otherwise choose "Standard partnership". After the successful
posted productivity gains and enjoyed application flexibility
connection, Microsoft ActiveSync software can transfer the
enabled by the three radios – personal area (PAN) or
data collected by PDA and IP4 to the computer in order to
Bluetooth, local area (LAN) and wide area (WAN) – as well
complete the data exchange between Front end RFID
as the area and linear imagers integrated into the handheld
handheld system and information management system.
device. Combining those capabilities with the IP4 and the
strength of the Microsoft Pocket PC platform gives users a B. The software system Fomposition
high performance mobile RFID solution. The software system includes four parts: PDA interface
With an RFID radio that is software configurable, the IP4 design, IP4 reading/writing function realization, checking the
can function in a multi-protocol environment that includes tag information’s validity and the management software.
current ISO 18000-6b, EPC UHF Generation 2 (Gen 2) and
ISO 18000-6c standards. B.1 PDA interface design

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 The PDA interface initialization is completed through the
mainmenu() function and InitializeComponent() function. The
function InitializeComponent() is used to initiate the main
menu, content of the menu, tag list, static text, button and
button text etc. And it will set the triggering time and tag
length. After the initialization, the operation and data text are
shown on the PDA interface. Calling InitializeComponent()
function in mainmenu() can also set the tag partition and index.
B.2 IP4 Reading/writing function realization
The IP4 has four kinds of reading/writing modes shown in
Fig 4: read the bar code, identify the tag, read and write the tag.
IP4 reader interface functions are shown in TABLE I.
B.2.1 Read the bar code
First clear the bar code list, read the bar code status
variable mp_boolBarCodeStatus. If it equals 0, indicated bar
code reading error. Otherwise IP4 reader does the bar code
scanning. If no error happens, read and record the bar code
information, place it in the bar code list, play the bar code
scanning sound and then return to the status bar. If there is an
error, it will be displayed for bar code scanning error in the bar
code list.
IP4 Application Software
System operation
Identification
Fig 4 IP4 reading/writing function modes
THE FUNCTIONS OF THE INTERFACE FUNCTIONS OF THE IP4 READER
Operation )unctions
Open reader OpenReader(xStrReaderNam As String)
Close reader CloseReader()
Search the tag ID
IdentifyTagID()
number of the area
ReadTagContent(xTagID As String,
Read tag
xGetTagContent As String)
WriteTagContent(xTagID As String,
Write tag
xWrtData As String) XWrtData: prepared to write the data to tag.
B.3 Check tag information’s validity
Function of this part is to prevent the invalid tag
information, guaranteeing tag information to conform to the
standard.
B.2.2 Identify the tag
Clear the tag list, which is the same process with bar code
reading. Judge the tag number within the IP4 antenna scope. If
the number is more than 0, then connect the PDA database, set
reader and writer status, play the sound file twice and then
return to status menu. If no tag is detected, play the error
sound file and return to status menu.
B.2.3 Read the tag
This step mainly gains the tag detailed information, Add
the read information to PDA database. If the reading is
accomplished, play the successful sound file twice. Otherwise,
play the reading failure sound file once.
B.2.4 Write the tag
Firstly, judge if there is any tag to be chosen. If not, play
the error sound file and hint you to choose a tag. If there is a
tag and it’s changeable, write it. If Writing is successful,
display the hint “Successfully written” and play the sound
twice. Otherwise display the hint “Writing failure” and play
the error sound file once.
Tag operation Bar code operation
Read tag Write tag Read bar code
TABLE I
3arameters Returned value
Reader's name True: success; False: failure.
none True: success; False: failure.
When returned value >0, it represents the tag
none
number, or else represents failed.
XTagID: the tag ID number;
0: success; 1: failure.
XGetTagContent: the data of the tag.
XTagID: the tag ID number;
0: success; 1: failure.
IP4 information legalization inspection is done as the
following step: First, check if there is illegal character. That is
to say the character must be 0 to 9, except the character “.”.
This rule is established through check them with the ASCII
code. If ASCII code of a character is outside the range of 0 to
9, this character is invalid. After this, we validate the tag
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address’s value. Every section of the tag address should not
exceed 255. After finishing the confirmation, characters
scanned are converted to integers by the convertToInt32
(strData) function. If the transformation fails, an error hint will
be shown.
B.4 The management software design
The management software on PC is developed with
VC.NET as in [6] and SQL Server 2000.
The management software can accomplish all kinds of
operations to the products of the warehouse as in [7] and [8].
Logically, the management software is made up of two parts:
foreground application and background database system.
The foreground application implements all kinds of
operations to the warehouse: auto warehousing, manual
Warehousing
warehousing, products moving in the warehouse, operator
managing and maintaining, customer managing. Besides all of
these, the operations also contain warehouse adding and
deleting, goods place querying, goods inventorying and report
forms creating.
The background database system stores and manages all
the information about the warehouse. According to the
software requirement analysis, basic information of goods,
warehouse and warehouse operation should be saved in the
database.
Functions which the management software accomplishes
are showed as Fig.5, which does not contain the parts
controlling other devices.
Auto warehousing
Manual warehousing

Auto warehouse delivery

Warehouse delivery
Manual warehouse delivery

Storage report forms

Storage place querying

Report forms of warehouse

Management Report forms model Warehousing report forms

software
Operation report forms
Customer querying
Operator translation report forms

Warehouse adding
Warehouse management
Warehouse deleting
Goods querying

Goods inventorying
Login record management
Operator management
Operator info management

Fig. 5 The management software functions

This system accomplishes the following operations:

IV. CONCLUSION
All the RFID equipments provided by Intermec Corp. such
as IP4 and PDA series handset can collect, read and write the
tag information. IP4 and the PDA are both used and
communicate with each other through infrared interface. The
information collected by IP4 is transferred to PDA. And then
the software, Microsoft ActiveSync, transmits all the
information to PC through USB port. The Microsoft
ActiveSync developed on Windows platform can also be
transplanted to embedded system with Win CE.
This system is designed based on .NET platform. All the
operations can do the bar code scanning, read and write tags,
add, modify and delete records in the database.
warehousing, warehouse delivery, goods moving and
inventorying, etc.
This system provides an application example of the
integration of RFID technology, warehouse information
acquisition and warehouse information management system.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors thank the suggestions of Professor Yuhe
Zhang.
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(RFID) planning and implementation, Beijing electronics industry
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[5] http://www.wisionelectron.com,2007
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