Tonge Karen, a researcher at the early start Institute of the Wollongong University, is using an RFID-based solution to track students and educators’ movement and distance in the venue of kindergarten, so as to provide information on how many teachers are involved in will affect the children’s activity levels of insight. The study is committed to providing information that teachers can affect children’s level of active in the early childhood education to educators and others. Provided is, the more children’s physical activity, the more and better will be personal health.
In order to track the location and movement of students and teachers, Tonge uses battery-powered RFID tags and fixed reader. Students and teachers wear autographed battery-powered device, which contains the accelerometer measuring the number and intensity of human movement. And then manually compared the collect motion data and location based on RFID data to determine where a person, with whom. However, Tonge said, she and other researchers are developing an integrated autographed accelerometer data and RFID real-time location system (RTLS) data of a software program to create automatic association between the location and intensity.
In order to obtain a doctoral degree in education, Tonge is working together with early start institutes. After discusses her research project with director of ESRI Research Tony Okley who is familiar with CSL RFID Technical, Tonge began a three-year study in early 2014. Simply observe the child’s activities do not provide details of the activity data required for research, she explained, so she started the project using RFID wristbands and readers.
At the end of the project, which will involve 600 preschool children (ages 2-5 years) in 15 kindergartens in New South Wales, there are as many as 100 educators working with children. So far, Tonge has installed technology equipment at six kindergartens in the Wollongong area, for about a week at each site.
Tonge only chose outdoors play time, that is expected of the kids’ most active time for the study.
Each participant, whether adult or child, is worn strapped to his or her waist’s autograph wGT3X-BT equipment, to keep track of exercise intensity, and worn CS3151BBCD RFID tag wristband on the hand. Tonge installs insert power CSL RTLS RFID fixed reader. Another reader will read and write the data to the CSL RTLS RFID gateway, the gateway reader connected to CSL software running (everyone’s position is calculated) laptop.
In this way, Tonge arranges the reading and writing device: when the label passes through the playground, the software uses the data of the reader to do triangulation. This means that she must be creative when installing these devices. “They can in a shopping bag,” Tonge said, “In a tree hanging,” for example, or installed on the fence, a wall or shelf. She installed at least four readers, but sometimes as many as 8, which depending on the size and shape of the playground. “Some (playground) is a lovely rectangle, but the other is a L or more awkward shape, in this case, I use as much as 8 readers.
Once Tonge installed the reader, she registered each device’s GPS coordinates to CSL software, to display a map of the playground. Reader create a wireless network which transfer data to the gateway reader. CSL software running on a laptop using triangulation to track the movements of each label. Tonge then input data can be overwritten on the map, such as the location of bunkers, picnic tables and playground equipment. “I want to be able to see the different characteristics in each environment,” she explains, in order to determine how these characteristics can affect activity.
Air interface protocol for each RFID tag uses a proprietary coding 2.4GHz signal transmission using a unique ID number. ID number associated with the student or teacher wear labels, although individual identity not be followed. When adults or children wearing the label at the deploy reader’s playground, CSL in real time to identify each strap location and in the people who wear the label displays an icon as it moves around the playground.
When teachers and students through the playground, CSL software can not only capture real-time data, but also store information used to analyze. Tonge said she could see the details: such as educators and children close contact’s frequency, children’s active in front of the teacher, specific student(based on the anonymous ID number) when will get time with education in the process of play.
“When they actually occur, I can observe movements” Tonge added that recall the day garbage truck to see the scope of the kindergarten playground. When the truck arrived, she said, when the vehicle passed, “I can see all the little ones went to the fence, then walk along the fence”.
This study will end in 2017, has generated a considerable amount of data, Tonge said, though she did not analyze the many results. “The information we learned from service organizations (kindergartens) is so different,” she said. For example, some school children have more number of educators, a number of different routines and procedures, as well as some children and educators have a higher level of activity.
For students, to wear RFID wristbands sell easily, Tonge said. “The kids love them. One woman told me, “she added, the kids are eager to put the device on his wrist. Labels must be durable, she said, because they were sent to a kid. For example, they were buried in the sand, and is covered with paint and clay, but according to Tonge knows, they still work very well in this case.
For schools, technology has a lot of potential, Tonge said, because it can be rigorous tracking of students and teachers, and the manual is impossible.
Tonge described the goal of her research project: “I hope that, through the educators involved in children’s roles and the resulting activity level information and statistics, to contribute to my field, and to influence policy and practice at the same time. ”
Tonge added that, “by 2017, I will have a very clear level of education affects children’s activity description. ” She plans to make her work available to researchers, teachers and other Education Department, for preschool programs, preschool activities, environment, training of teachers and ” student-to-teacher ” structure.
From:http://www.rfidworld.com.cn/
