Retail solutions, RFID Solutions, People Counting Solution, EAS Solutions, Mobile DVR Solution, ESL Solutions for Retail, Security & Loss Prevention Solution – www.tractility.com The traditional method of receiving campus express delivery is to scan barcodes, and the courier station management personnel can only complete the delivery of a single item by scanning one barcode. Hence, the efficiency of this pickup method is relatively low. The application of RFID can achieve the automation of express delivery warehousing and pick-up, thereby helping to achieve efficient operation of campus express management.
1. Overview of RFID Technology
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RFID technology, in simple terms, is radio frequency identification. In application, the system mainly identifies items by scanning electronic tags. The electronic tags can be exchanged through radio waves and readers, and the readers can quickly input and process information without contact with the corresponding items. So, applying this technology to campus express delivery management can improve management efficiency and quality. Through research on RFID technology, it can be found that the main workflow of RFID system operation is as follows: firstly, the reader/writer in the system emits an antenna, which can send out a certain frequency of RF signals. The reader/writer has a corresponding antenna working area. Secondly, when the electronic tag enters the working area of the reader/writer, it can generate enough induced current, which can effectively activate the energy obtained by the electronic tag and then send its information through the built-in antenna. Thirdly, after the information on the electronic tag is sent, the reader antenna can obtain the corresponding carrier signal. When the reader receives the carrier signal, it will adjust and decode it, and once completed, it can be sent to a higher level of the system for processing. Fourthly, the high-level system program will determine whether the electronic label is legitimate based on the corresponding logical operations. After the judgment and processing are completed, it will send instruction signals to control the execution mechanism to perform relevant actions.
2. Express delivery management system
The main management functions of the express delivery system are inbound delivery, inventory management, and outbound delivery. When RFID technology is applied, corresponding fixed readers are installed on the storage shelves of the campus express station. Later, when goods from other locations are delivered to the campus express station, their RFID electronic tags have already entered the reader antenna work area. In this case, the reader will automatically scan the information of the goods; after scanning, the relevant product information obtained can also be promptly transmitted to the campus express delivery system. After receiving it, the system can automatically record the goods into storage. After the goods are stored, the fixed readers installed on the shelves can complete the inventory of the goods. The corresponding database can also record and process the location information of different goods based on the received information. After processing, specific information, such as the number of shelves and layers of the shelves, can be automatically sent to the recipient’s mobile device. After receiving the information sent by the campus post station, the recipient can search for the goods based on the location information on the information. After finding the goods, the information posted on the goods is placed within the range of a fixed reader, and the system can automatically complete the management of goods receipt and delivery. This method has high accuracy and speed so that it can achieve a dual improvement in the efficiency and quality of campus express delivery operations.
Through research on the RFID express delivery management system, it has been found that the use of RFID technology can automate the scanning, searching, statistics, and verification of express goods. Therefore, the labor cost of campus express delivery points can be reduced through workflow simplification.
(1) Warehousing management
Firstly, when using RFID technology, fixed RFID readers and writers are installed at the entrances and exits of campus shelves. The main purpose of these readers and writers is to monitor the incoming and outgoing goods in order to prevent the loss of goods. Secondly, physical shopping for middle school students on campus has significant limitations, so most of their daily necessities, learning supplies, and snacks are purchased online. Therefore, in the case of a large amount of goods collected at campus stations, in order to improve work efficiency, handheld RFID readers can also be used. Compared to fixed RFID readers on shelves, handheld RFID readers have the advantage of being able to move freely. The management personnel of the express delivery station can complete the warehousing and monitoring of goods through handheld RFID readers in the warehouse channel. The RFID tags posted on all express delivery goods contain basic information such as the recipient’s recipient name and phone number. When the tag is placed on an RFID reader, the reader can automatically read the recipient’s ID on the tag under the control of a computer, and the information of the item can be associated with the RFID tag.
(2) Outbound management
During the peak pick-up period at campus express delivery stations, goods may need to be recovered. To avoid such situations, RFID technology can be used to install detectors at the exit of the station. Suppose the recipient needs to complete the pickup and outbound process on the RFID reader after receiving the goods. In that case, the detector will automatically sound an alarm when passing through the detector, which can greatly avoid the occurrence of goods loss issues. When RFID technology is applied to campus express delivery sites, students can also retrieve the delivery by swiping their campus card. This is because when the goods are shipped out, the corresponding label ID can be found through the tracking number recorded during storage. When the product label ID is found, the fixed RFID reader can be controlled to locate the package quickly. If you need to search for RFID tags in the area, you can issue corresponding instructions through the computer client. After receiving the instructions, the RFID reader and writer can respond, and after responding, they can find the required tags and implement positioning.
3. System hardware design
The hardware of the RFID-based express delivery station work system mainly includes three parts: a control module, a wireless communication module, and an RF module. The hardware workflow of the system is that the RF module reads the information on the goods. After reading, the wireless communication module can quickly transmit the information, while the control module can organize and input the received information.
The core chip of the control module system mainly uses the STM32W108 chip, which can fully achieve human-machine interaction integration. This type of chip has the following advantages compared to other chips. Firstly, the core module chip has fast operating efficiency and low energy consumption, so it has the advantage of cost-saving. Secondly, compared to ordinary chips, this type of chip has extremely powerful communication data processing and operational control capabilities. The control module plays a role in transmitting, processing, and organizing information in the express delivery management system. When the communication data processing and operational control capabilities of the control module chip are improved, the efficiency and quality of the control module system can be efficiently improved. Thirdly, the transmission power accuracy of this type of chip is extremely high, so even without increasing the RF signal power, it will still have strong communication network performance in applications. In the application of this chip, it can directly communicate with multiple internal network protocol stacks and RF modules, thereby improving the speed and accuracy of information transmission.
The wireless communication module mainly utilizes a protocol stack that is internally solidified and certified within the chip. Firstly, this protocol stack will mask certain registers during runtime and use the provided API to achieve network development. In this case, wireless communication with the upper computer can be achieved after network development. Secondly, this protocol stack can be activated within 5ms and has extremely low latency when activated. Even in a sleep state, it can quickly transition to an active state upon receiving instructions.
Electronic tags, RF systems, and readers are important components of RFID systems. Electronic tags are composed of coupling components and chips, which have two major functions: wireless transmission and storage. Any electronic label will have a separate electronic code, which can be pasted on the goods to achieve effective recognition of the target object. Radio frequency system is an effective form of transmitting information through wireless transmission, which has the advantages of safety and efficiency.
4. System software design
The software design in the RFID-based campus express delivery management system includes the main program, read and write program design, and display circuit program design. These three parts play different roles, among which the main program’s role is to achieve effective control of the entire system and effective identification of RF cards. It is precisely because the main program has the control function that it can determine the working sequence of the system hardware, thereby ensuring the orderly completion of the entire system’s work. Due to the complexity of the entire execution process of the express delivery management system and the need to execute multiple instructions, the main program needs to call multiple functions. The reading and writing recognition program in system software design mainly uses C language to control the card reader and recognize electronic labels.
5. Conclusion
Compared to the barcode scanning technology of traditional express delivery management systems, the use of RFID technology in campus express station operations has obvious advantages. The latter can achieve high-frequency operations of goods entering and leaving the warehouse more efficiently and accurately while significantly reducing manual workload. In addition, RFID technology can also effectively solve the problems caused by changes in the location of goods through real-time inventory of location information and other methods. This is due to the application of highly reliable read and write chips in RFID technology, which can reduce inventory operations, simplify workflow, and improve work quality.
Author: Li Zongwei
