A Little RFID Holiday Tale
Santa Claus lives at the Arctic Circle near the town Rovaniemi in Finland. Many people visit him in his “Santa Claus Office” every year, communicate their wishes and their thoughts to him, or just chat. In order for all visitors to receive a souvenir from their meetings, they are photographed and filmed by Santa's helpers, the elves. However, until now it has not always been so easy to choose the correct photos for all customers from the huge amount of material.
But times have changed. Now each visitor receives a “magic ticket” at the point of sale. When this ticket is laid on the counter at the exit area, the photos and the videos of the visitor appear automatically on a monitor. This ticket is part of an RFID application from MICROPLEX Printware AG, based on UHF reader from CAEN RFID, for the optimization of the searching processes for video and graphical material. All visitors of the Santa Claus Office pass several points where the photos and the videos are taken. The task was to develop an application to assign photos and videos to a visitor at the exit within the shortest period of time (without using a visible or disturbing technology). The video and imaging facility that is necessary for this purpose was designed and realized by the imaging specialist Helrot Oy from Helsinki. The videos and photos are stored in a special image and video database on a central video server, which makes it possible to select and display photos and videos very quickly by means of the time information.
To synchronize the visitors, photo material, and video material, RFID tickets were the solution. For the attainment of appropriate reading ranges of up to five meters (distance antenna/visitor) and with a low budget on tickets, only UHF smart-labels came into question.
The application area in the Santa Claus Office offers the conceivably unfavorable conditions for the application of UHF transponders: a human being consists of almost 80% of water, and the clothes — especially in these cold latitudes — are often equipped with zippers made of metal. Nevertheless, it was decided in favor of UHF smart-labels placed in a small bag made of synthetic material hanging round the neck of the visitor. The clothes between the UHF smart-label and the body enable a problem-free reading of the tickets from a distance of several meters.
“In practice, reading rates of 95% to 100% per day are reached and are thus an acceptable, indeed a good output,” says Frank Gaertner, MICROPLEX's RFID Solutions Project Manager. “Responsible for the very good result under the difficult conditions are an optimal adjustment of the antennas that acquire preferably all areas and positions, a precise calibration of the readers, plus an optimal cooperation with the controlling middleware. CAEN RFID readers provide the best combination of radio frequency performances and excellent software, so we achieved an easy integration of these systems in our products and in the MICROPLEX AutoId Middleware framework.”
“Our collaboration with MICROPLEX is well established,” says Giovanni Grieco, Sales & Marketing Director of CAEN RFID. “Santa Claus' installation is just another example on how RFID can be applied to several fields of everyday life, and the key role of a skilled integrator such as MICROPLEX is to identify such fields and propose RFID as an excellent tool to solve problems”.
There are no IT specialists among the elves. As a result, the possibility of a complete remote maintenance of the system by MICROPLEX, including update of the firmware of all connected devices, is important for Santa Claus. By this means, the system is always up to date — without additional work for Santa and his elves.
Santa Claus also profits by a secondary effect: his big golden book is now completed by an LCD monitor. When a visitor enters the room, Santa no longer needs to slog through his book to refer to the misdeeds of the visitor — this information is displayed live on the monitor now. Where that information comes from remains the secret of the bearded man with the red cap.
The time saved by using RFID technology allows the Santa and his elves extra time for preparing the many gifts that are punctually delivered at the 24th of December. By the way: Santa told MICROPLEX how he manages it to be at so many places all over the world simultaneously on just one single day. But MICROPLEX is silent on this — the company had to promise Santa to keep this secret.
Visit Santa Claus' Office
PDC's RFID Wristband System to Be Implemented at First Completely Cashless Waterpark Attraction in 2008
Precision Dynamics Corporation (PDC) is implementing its Smart Band® RFID Wristband System at KeyLime Cove Water Resort, Gurnee, Illinois, in what will be the first completely cashless waterpark in the U.S. Scheduled to be completed in late February 2008, KeyLime Cove Water Resort will feature 414 Hotel Suites, a 64,500 square foot waterpark, and 12,000 square feet of meeting space. PDC announces that its Smart Band® RFID Wristband System will consist of PDC Smart Kiosks® (with a touch-screen monitor that allows parents to deposit money into pre-funded children's accounts by utilizing cash, credit cards, or existing room credit), PDC Smart SuperBand® Wristbands, as well as third party software and hardware at the venue.
“KeyLime Cove Water Resort will be the convenient year-round family getaway destination in Illinois,” says Robin Barber, Vice President of Advanced Marketing & Technology (AMAT) at PDC. “PDC's role includes RFID consulting and RFID project management services to KeyLime Cove Water Resort, making this facility completely cashless. With the Smart Band® RFID system, KeyLime Cove Water Resort patrons will not have to worry about carrying their keys or losing money. Also, there is the added security of families being able to pre-fund and monitor their children's purchases. It's secure, easy to use, and increases park spending. PDC's Smart Band® RFID System provides convenience for both park owners and patrons alike.”
“The implementation of the RFID wristband system will provide our guests with an exceptional level of ease and convenience,” says Rick Warmouth, KeyLime Cove Water Resort Assistant General Manager and Director of Operations. “We are very excited to be able to offer this state-of-the-art technology at America's newest and most exciting indoor water resort.”
PDC, working along with the following third party software and hardware partners, will complete the process of creating KeyLime Cove Water Resort as the first totally cashless waterpark attraction. These RFID applications will provide KeyLime Cove Water Resort and its patrons with automated cashless point-of-sale (POS), keyless entry to hotel rooms and lockers, cashless vending, digital photography, and cashless spending in the arcade using RFID enabled token machines.
Salto Systems has been chosen to secure keyless guest room access. PDC's Smart Band® RFID wristband is read by the KeyLime Cove Water Resort guest room lock and authorizes guests in their rooms. Guests no longer have to worry about losing the keycards while they enjoy the rides.
MICROS Systems, Inc. has been selected to deploy the flexible and scalable MICROS 9700 Hospitality Management System to support the resort's point-of-sale requirements. In addition, several tools from the fully integrated OPERA Enterprise Suite will be installed, including its property management system, sales and catering, and web booking applications.
cStar Technologies Inc. will provide KeyLime Cove Water Resort with RFID readers for wireless vending. cStar's application eDispense™ HT, the engine behind cStar's Vending Genie™ Hospitality, can also deliver the same cashless payment method for all other self service areas such as arcades, business centers, photo booths, and laundry facilities.
NAMCO CYBERTAINMENT Inc. is responsible for the installation, service, and management of the amusement games in the arcade and other areas. It will also be assisting with the prize selection, ordering, stocking, and maintenance of the redemption center.
Jackson Digital Imaging Corporation will use its Automated Photo Identification (RFID technology) at the resort. Each guest will receive a Smart Band® RFID wristband prior to entering the wet water rides. Wristbands are scanned by an RFID reader to link the guest with their photograph, which is later captured during the ride via a triggering mechanism. Guests can then view their photographs on monitors at the ride exit. Throughout their stay, visitors can conveniently view ride photos by scanning their wristbands at photo centers located across the park.
Smarte Carte, Inc. will use its electronic locker concession that utilizes Smart Band® RFID wristband technology to let waterpark and hotel guests open their lockers with a wave of their wrist. The Smarte Locke® keyless locker system has revolutionized the way park patrons interact with their stored personal items by combining the RFID access and multiple-entry features to provide convenient and secure access to their personal items, which encourages secondary park spending.
Ideal Software Systems Inc. will be providing the RFID readers for the token machines and the software to post token purchases to folio (room account and pre funded accounts.)
For more information on PDC's RFID Wristband Solutions, visit www.pdcorp.com. Visit Key Lime Cover at www.keylimecove.com.
