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Kuala Lumpur, 6 October 2006 - Multimedia Display Technologies Sdn Bhd is proud to announce that the Automatic Vehicle Detection System (Project-S) was awarded the MERIT Award under Best of Communication Applications during the MSC-Asia Pacific ICT Award (APICTA) Gala 2006. The gala ceremony was graced by the Prime Minister on 6 October 2006. This Award is presented to the most innovative nomination for developing outstanding communications technologies or for developing ICT solutions that make creative use of communications technologies.
Any application of software and/or hardware that is related to the transmission of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, voice, video, data, or intelligence of any nature by digital or analog, electromagnetic or electronic signals through existing and emerging media (e.g., radio, telephone, television, facsimile, SMS, MMS, GPRS, Internet, WiFi, WiMax). 
This project uses MDT’s latest generation RFID technology, utilising radio frequency at 2.45GHz to detect RFID tagged vehicles. Automatic Vehicle Detection System eliminates the need of having manned checkpoints, which allows instant identification of travelling vehicles and authentication of its RFID stickers. Vehicles are detected when RFID tag as small as 9mm by 46mm and with 0.65mm thickness attached to vehicles are detected at speed up to 35km/h. Detection rate is 100% at the respectable distance of 3 meter. The highlight is that this system uses passive RFID tags instead of active tags or battery powered tags, thus promising unlimited tag life span, smaller tag size, at far lower cost. The low cost and more effective solution is preferred to reduce burden of system stakeholders as well as end users in maintaining active RFID solution. 
Passive RFID tag technology is normally not used to identify objects that require long distance. Among the typical applications of passive RFID tags are in retailing, inventory control, factory automation in conveyer and other close proximity applications such as door access and etc. However, due to the low cost of passive RFID tag comparing to active ones, initiative of using the available unlicensed 2.45GHz microwave band to detect and identify moving vehicle is being implemented. Even at 2.45GHz, the detection of tags at 3 meter range is not easily achievable. Antenna design synergies need to be achieved between tag’s antenna and scanner’s antenna. Positioning and angle management of coverage area as well as cable material and antenna portal needs to be carefully built. Nevertheless, the hindrance was overcome using J-Series’ best performance tag design using 1024bits storage allows long detection range using J-Series’ 8-element linear polarisation antenna with 2.45GHz at 500mW output RFID scanner. The research towards this implementation was to identify the implementation environment before using combination of antennae setup to identify the antennae broadcast mapping. The height and angle coverage was also being researched with the aim of covering all vehicle types with minimum antennae area and lastly the software application that controls the equipment is being developed to leverage the hardware efficiently to achieve greater performance. Furthermore the ability of the Automatic Vehicle Detection System to control the antennae’s gain and variable broadcasting sequential timing, allows accurate reading even when vehicles are moving at high speed and most important of all, ability to read RFID tags at a respectable distance of 3 meter. Hence, this implementation is probably the first of its kind and a proof of concept has been installed at SIRIM’s main gate for tracking and identifying employees’ vehicles. |
