Final Report

Vehicle Monitoring System

(Integrated RFID and GPS Tracking System)

ECE4007 Senior Design Project

Section L02, RFID Vehicle Tracking Team

Jason Alcock, Team Leader gtg006r

Harold Allen gte777u

Farzaneh Shahheidari gth237a

Emmanuel Deheer gtg307h

Pat Woowong gtg372q

Submission Date: Friday, December 14th, 2007

Georgia Institute of Technology

School of Electrical and Computer Engineering

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary ……………………………………………………………………………ii

1. Introduction ………………………………….………………………………………….1

1.1 Objective …………………………………………………………………………….1

1.2 Motivation …………………………………………………………………………...2

1.3 Background ………………………………………………………………………….2

2. Project Description and Goals ………………………………………………………...4

3. Technical Specifications ……………………………………………………………….6

4. Design Approach and Details

Design Approach …………………………………………………………….…………...8

Codes and Standards ……………………………………………………….…………….11

Constraints, Alternatives, and Tradeoffs …………………………………….………….12

5. Schedule, Tasks, and Milestones ………………………………………………….….13

6. Project Demonstration …………………………………………………………….....14

7. Marketing and Cost Analysis …………………………………………………….…..15

Marketing Analysis ………………………………………...…………………….………..15

Cost Analysis ………………………………………...……………………………….…...16

8. Summary and Conclusions ………………………………………………….……….19

9. References ……………………………………………………………………….….…20

Appendix A …………………………………………………………………………….……...21

Appendix B …………………………………………………………………………….……...22

Appendix C ………………………………………………………………………….…...……23

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) i

Executive Summary

The tracking and monitoring of multiple vehicles on a large scale is a problem that

plagues many different industries, ranging from car dealerships to large universities and

companies that struggle to house an entire fleet of cars. Current tracking processes that are in

use, such as barcode scanning software, do not provide the long-term, money saving solution that

RFID tracking would provide. In situations where hundreds of cars are present, the act of

scanning each individual car to check for proper placement can become a tedious and inefficient

use of company time and money.

With the design and implementation of an RFID vehicle monitoring system, we are able

to drastically reduce the effort needed to monitor and track a large number of target vehicles.

This prototype, when implemented, will allow for a more efficient vehicle tracking system that

saves time and, in the end, saves money while providing a simpler tracking device. Using active

RFID hardware and a medium strength RFID receiver, we designed a prototype tracking unit to

be used to solve the issues surrounding large scale vehicle monitoring. The prototype combines

the capabilities of the RFID receiver with a GPS tracking unit and an onboard embedded device

to provide a complete base unit capable of tracking, monitoring, and saving vehicle information

within one device.

A successful and complete prototype was designed and implemented over the course of

this project. The prototype properly tracks any number of target vehicles through RFID tag

scanning and GPS location checking, while also cataloging parking violations based on

previously entered vehicle information. Individual car details can be accessed by the user

through various menus that are provided during the running of the program. A user is also able to

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) ii

define and save parking lots through use of the GPS device. This will allow the prototype to be

adapted to many different areas of use, instead of a predetermined work environment.

As the project is taken to the next steps, additional work lies in the refining of the GPS

capabilities of the project, as well as a more in-depth monitoring system. The project could be

extended to include the ability to print and/or distribute parking tickets based on the monitoring

data recovered, as well as the ability to link multiple units together with a centralized server that

would streamline the storage of vehicle data across many fronts.

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) iii

1. INTRODUCTION

Prototype Vehicle Monitoring System:

With Onboard Processor and Integrated RFID and GPS Tracking Capabilities

Current vehicle tracking methods in parking lots are time-consuming, inaccurate, and

cumbersome. When considering a large car dealership or university, there may be hundreds or

thousands of target vehicles that a company many have a desire to monitor and track. The ability

to accurately and efficiently track each vehicle is very important to the success of these

companies and institutions.

Engineers designed an RFID-GPS vehicle tracking system that provides an efficient,

affordable, and user-friendly alternative to accurately track vehicles in a parking lot. The system

is mobile, and easily portable, and offers various transmission ranges long enough (twenty-feet)

to track targeted vehicles and short enough to exclude non-targeted vehicles for tracking

purposes. The successfully built prototype is a low-power consuming, wireless system that is

able to track vehicles within a twenty-foot radius by location, vehicle access point entry, or both.

1.1 Objective

The principal goal of the project was for engineers to build an RFID-GPS vehicle

tracking device to provide a more user-friendly, affordable, and an efficient means to track

vehicles accurately in a parking lot. When functioning correctly, the device uses an RFID-GPS

subsystem within its base unit to track vehicles within a maximum range of 20-ft radius. Target

customers for the prototype include vehicle retail dealerships, auction companies, government

agencies, and educational institutions that require the tracking and monitoring of vehicles for

security and other purposes.

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 1

1.2 Motivation

Engineers embarked on the project because it promised a better vehicle tracking

alternative to existing tracking systems that do not employ a combined RFID-GPS subunit in the

tracking device’s hardware architecture. Parking and garage workers for retail dealerships,

auction companies, government agencies, and educational institutions are the primary end-users

of the product. The vehicle tracking system with an RFID-GPS subunit improves upon its

existing counterparts in the market because it accurately tracks multiple vehicles all at once by

location. Thus, it eliminates the need for target vehicles to pass through a particular access point

before they can be tracked.

Also, unlike some of the barcode tracking technologies (like the one used by Georgia

Tech Parking) that rely heavily on manpower and therefore, are susceptible to human errors, the

RFID-GPS tracker employs minimal manpower usage which increases its level of accuracy and

cuts labor costs for customers.

1.3 Background

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology has seen great advances in recent

years. Due to its versatility and low cost of use in system implementations, the effect of RFID

technology society is evident. RFID transmitters are attachable to vehicles, animals, people,

shipments, merchandise in stores, among other things, fostering greater efficiency in the tracking

and inventory control of products in a wide range of fields.

The military applications of both passive and active RFID have been investigated and

implemented in recent years both domestic and abroad. In October of 2005, NATO’s Operation

Urgent Quest implemented an RFID tagging system to combat the threat of friendly fire [1].

Using a form of active RFID transmission, military personnel are able to determine friend or foe

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 2

by locking on to a possible RFID signal that holds tag information describing the vehicle or

soldier using such a technology. The simplicity and inexpensive nature of the transmitter/receiver

setup make RFID technology appealing to large scale operations across several platforms. RFID

technology allows for a more efficient tracking ability since RFID receivers can be integrated

with processors to allow for tag cataloging which provides an avenue to store tag information in

a database. RFID tags can be affixed to any number of tracking targets and, with minimal effort,

those targets can be monitored for an extended period of time.

In researching the current applications of various RFID technologies, a wide range of

tracking projects were discovered. The American military has already instituted a system for

RFID shipment tracking [2]. In a 2005 interview, Alan Estevez, the assistant deputy

undersecretary of defense for supply chain integration at the Pentagon, described the need for

RFID technology and the future applications of such technology in the military. The need for

passive control over the tracking and inventory control of shipments to soldiers in the field is an

important role that RFID tracking will fill. Estevez reiterated the importance of logistics control

through the use of RFID tracking, “your ability to operate and your ability to move about the

battlefield are constrained by your ability to support the logistics, and RFID is a tool that will

enable us to better support that force in a dynamic environment.” [3]

There have also been advances in the specific area that this project deals. Gulf States

Toyota has deployed the industry-first, active RFID powered WhereNet® vehicle tracking and

management system (VTMS) to locate new Toyotas at its 84-acre processing center in Houston.

Staff had to “walk the lot” to identify cars for particular dealers in the past, this advanced system

uses WhereNet’s real-time locating system (RTLS) technology in tandem with IBM’s business

process and integration services to further automate business processes and expedite delivery of

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 3

vehicles to dealerships across a five-state region — reducing processing and labor costs, while

achieving better quality and customer service [4].

Through researching each of these applications, a consistent path of efficient and

practical projects can be implemented within the realm of RFID technology.

2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND GOALS

Through the completion of this project, a prototype vehicle monitoring system has been

designed. The prototype uses an eBox embedded processor as the centralized computing device.

A Wavetrend RFID receiver and Garmin GPS receiver make up the prototype peripherals that are

used in the tracking of target vehicles. The prototype was designed to be a mobile tracking

system that combines each of these devices into a simple base unit that can be marketed as a

consumer tracking unit for car dealerships or large universities.

The primary goal of the RFID parking system is to remove the necessity of parking

attendants having to inspect each car for a parking tag. Automating the car checking process will

ultimately reduce labor costs and increase the productivity of each employee inspecting cars. To

accomplish these goals, the project engineers will interface an RFID reader and GPS unit to a

small computer system. Software written for the computer will then compare incoming RFID

data to a database and report specific car details, as well as any available parking violations.

The final prototype will have the following desired product features:

• Range of RFID reception will be such that car will not require individual inspection.

• GPS resolution will allow discovery of correct car and/or lot location.

• System interface will be simple and require little training for operation.

• Size and weight of system will allow mounting on small electric vehicle.

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 4

 • Cost of system will be less than salaries for prospective additional employees needed for

alternative implementations.

The software will perform these functions:

• Incoming RFID data will be compared to existing database.

• Database will respond in a reasonable time.

• All incoming data will be logged.

• GPS data will be translated into longitude and latitude.

• The user interface will display vehicle information clearly.

The final prototype was a success based on the desired goals set out for the project at the

beginning of the semester. The prototype properly receives and analyzes RFID and GPS

information, as well as properly checking such information against a vehicle information

database, to allow for efficient vehicle tracking.

The mobile system allows a user to walk around with the device and scan for multiple

cars in a fraction of the time needed to check a number of target vehicles individually. The base

unit also provides several easy to use menus that allow a user to perform various tasks the

prototype is capable of completing.

The project program that was designed allows for the storage of vehicle information and

any incoming RFID tag information retrieved during vehicle scans. This data is available to the

user in a clear and concise LCD display.

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 5

3. Technical Specifications

The intended design specifications outline a mobile, battery-powered unit capable of

working a full 8-hour workday. The unit utilizes an active RFID reader to detect RFID tags

attached to vehicles in a parking lot. The range of the reader must be enough to reliably read a

tag while passing the parked vehicle. The unit also detects the current GPS location using a GPS

receiver. By comparing the current location with a database of mapped parking lots, the current

parking lot is determined. The accuracy of the GPS must enable it to determine which parking

lot the unit is in. The full desired specifications and the specifications of the completed prototype are
below.

Technical Specifications
Features
Design Goals
∙ Vehicle mounted battery
powered mobile device
∙ Detects multiple stationary
vehicle mounted RFID
tags while in motion
∙ Provides current location via
GPS receiver
∙ Logs correlated RFID and GPS
location information
∙ Compares associated RFID and
GPS location data with
onboard database
Prototype Specifications
∙ Self-contained, battery
powered unit
∙ Detects multiple RFID tags
without collision
∙ Constantly maintains current
GPS location
∙ GPS data and RFID
associated car
information is retained
in memory
∙ Associates RFID tags with
information in car
database

Performance Specifications Goal Actual

Range RFID reader minimum range 10 meters 10 meters
GPS location maximum variance 3 meters 3 meters
Power Consumption Minimum operating time per charge 8 hours 20 minutes

Software Specifications

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 6

 Interface ∙ Provide vehicle information on ∙ Provides vehicle information
local display from from database when
database in real-time selected
∙ Allow user interaction and ∙ Basic menu system
effective menu system implemented
∙ Real-time indication of ∙ Indicates parking violations
individual vehicle and detected cars in
parking lot restrictions real-time
Database Onboard database contains: Onboard car database contains:
∙ Vehicle information associated ∙ Owner name
with issued RFID tag ∙ Make
∙ Parking lot restrictions ∙ Model
associated with each ∙ Color
vehicle ∙ Plate number
∙ GPS defined parking lot areas ∙ Assigned parking lot
∙ Assigned RFID tag number

Onboard GPS database

contains coordinates for all
mapped parking lots

Operating System Runs Windows Embedded CE Runs Windows CE .NET 4.2

6.0
Table 1: Technical Specifications

Except for battery runtime, the prototype meets all desired functionality and specification

goals. The poor battery time is due to the higher than predicted eBox power requirements and

the poor state of the battery used. A new battery or a direct connection to the vehicle’s 12V

power supply would greatly extend the resultant battery life. The choice in operating system was

due to the LCD. At the time of development, LCD drivers for Windows Embedded CE 6.0 were

not available; however, drivers for Windows CE .NET 4.2 were available and the project was

easily migrated to the earlier version.

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 7

4. DESIGN APPROACH AND DETAILS

4.1 Design Details

As stated earlier the unit consists of four main parts an RFID reader, GPS unit, LCD

display and eBox base unit. The prototype of the parking system was constructed in three phases.

First was the hardware phase where each piece of hardware was attached and assembled ensuring

that each work properly with the eBox base unit. This included the RFID receiver GPS unit and

LCD. During this phase it was found that the GPS unit was unable to communicate over the USB

port with the eBox. A USB to serial connector, shown in Appendix A, was constructed to allow

communication between the eBox. The standard layout and flow of information for the prototype

is shown below in Figure 1:

Figure 1: Flow of Information

During the second phase input and output functions were written in C++ to allow basic

communication over the respective ports of each device. These functions included but are not

limited to: writing text and graphics to the LCD display, reading GPS data over the serial port,
RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 8
reading RFID tag information from the serial port, reading key presses from the display,

switching of the LEDs on the LCD, etc. Finally in the third phase the front-end of the program

was written to allow each piece of the system to communicate with each other. This included the

user interface, being able to map out parking lot locations, loading and saving parking lot data to

a text file, creating data structures for incoming RFID and GPS data, and data structures for cars

with their respective information.

The software was written to allow for constant poling of GPS and RFID data using

threads for each process. These processes run simultaneously to the main program and allow

RFID and GPS data to be constantly updated without user intervention. As an RFID tag enters

the program its basic flow through the program can be viewed as follows:

Figure 2: Data Reception

The UI which the user will use to interact with the system follows this structure:

Figure 3: Menu Diagram

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 9

 Also within the program, extensive use of Standard Template Library’s containers is used

in order to keep track of data. These containers include the vector and deque (double ended

queue) classes. These data containers allow information to be quickly stored and retrieved when

necessary.

The first choice on the main menu allows the user to enter a mode which lists all the tags

that have been paired with cars in the database. The user then has the option to view further

details of the chosen car on the list if he desires. The second option enters the GPS settings mode

of the system. In this mode the user has the options to view current lots and their GPS

coordinates, map an additional parking lot, or save the current parking lots. Mapping a GPS

coordinate requires that the first LED on the left panel be green in order to proceed. The user is

then asked to input two data points so that the parking lot can be mapped out. These two points

should be chosen such that they lie on the perimeter of a circle outlining the parking lot. The

conventions used to map the lot can be seen in the following diagram:

Figure 4: GPS Parking Lot Creation

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 10

4.2 Codes and Standards

NMEA 0183 –

National Marine Electronics Association: Standard for Interfacing Marine Electronic Devices

provides serial protocol standards for communicating with a compliant GPS receiver over a

serial connection. Modern GPS receivers implement additional features to overcome issues with

the NMEA standard. The NMEA standard does not define protocol for issuing commands to the

receiver relying on the vendor to develop supported commands. Also, the NMEA standard

specifies transmission speed at only 4800bps. Manufactures have supported faster, non-standard,

speeds either through standard ANSI character streams compliant with the NMEA standard or

through vendor specific binary protocols. Luckily, most GPS receivers support the complete

NMEA standard and provide information on vendor specific commands [5].

ANSI X 3.4 1977 ANSI Code for Information Interchange

The ANSI standard provides for standard communication of encoded text over serial

connections. The ANSI standard is used by the NMEA 0183 interface standard for serial

communication. The RFID reader model RX201 may or may not use the ANSI standard for

serial communication. This will be addressed and is necessary for communication with the RFID

reader [5].

DC Voltage

The Wavetrend RX201 RFID reader and Garmin 18 GPS receiver use +12Volt Direct Current

power sources provided by a battery powered regulated power supply. The ICOP eBox 2300

uses +5VDC provided by a voltage converter powered by the +12VDC regulated power supply.

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 11

Universal Serial Bus

The display unit utilizes a USB connection. However, the USB device provides an emulated

serial COM port through standard USB to serial drivers. This provides transparent serial

interface with the display unit without the need for custom USB drivers.

4.3 Constraints, Alternatives, and Tradeoffs

One major constraint that was met was the range at which RFID tag would be picked up

by the receiver. This was roughly 20 feet. In order to be able to reliably track stationary cars in a

lot it was required that the 20 foot range be met in order to reliably detect cars without having to

walk around the cars and search for signals. We required a 15 ft resolution on the GPS data in

order to assure that we could detect our current location and determine whether or not we were in

or out of a certain pre-defined area.

Using a long range passive RFID reader was considered, but we chose to use a standard

RFID reader with active tags due to cost constraints. In order to power all the individual piece of

our project we considered building regulating circuits for all the devices; however, we found a

pre-build regulator chip which would convert 12-30V DC to 5V DC. This saved us considerable

time and money as well since we did not have to design our own circuit or implement and

untested design.

We chose to use a simple dot matrix LCD display instead of a small computer monitor.

This was because the LCD would use less power and provide for a simpler user interface rather

than requiring us to write an entire GUI in the limited amount of time we had. C++ was chosen

as the programming language since many of the members of our project were familiar with the

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 12

coding style and syntax. This allowed us to focus more on implementation rather than having to

learn a new language.

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 13

 5. SCHEDULE, TASKS, AND MILESTONES

The division of labor among engineers was at a minimum. Throughout the duration of the

project, each specific task was worked on by several group members to minimize errors and

increase overall group productivity. Organizationally, as team leader, Jason Alcock kept the team

focused and assigned specific tasks between group members so that the project tasks were

completed at a realistic pace. Depending on marketing or management versus technical aspects,

each group member will be expected to step forward and take a leadership role to fulfill the

completion of individual tasks.

In Appendix B and C, two Gantt charts have been provided that outline the projected

project schedule complete with major design goals and milestones, as well as the actual project

schedule that shows the true course of events along the duration of the project. The main

difference between the two Gantt chart was caused by the ordering of the new power supply to

solve our power issues with the eBox.

Given the range of technical areas present in this project, several tasks proved critical to

the successful completion of the design project. Database design and the construction of the

actual base unit, while simple, were integral to the completion of the project. At the same time,

building an interface for the eBox, GPS unit, and RFID reader provided challenging hurdles in

the construction of the project prototype that required extensive design sessions to solve in order

to provide a working prototype for a consumer.

To achieve the above mentioned goal, the test engineers had several design sessions that

involved the preparation of a desired format for program execution. There was also discussion

concerning the desired schedule of use that a user would go through during the execution of

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 14

vehicle tracking. In this way, a general idea of how the prototype will be used was formed and all

design decisions were then formed around the desire to build a simple and usable prototype.

6. PROJECT DEMONSTRATION

After completing the construction of the project prototype, the working project was

demonstrated by engineers in the presence of company management at a Georgia Tech Parking

lot. RFID tags containing information of four test vehicles were placed in an open area to

represent a parking lot. The GPS parking lot identification was then demonstrated to the

company management. A test parking lot was set up to show the prototype’s ability to adapt to

any environment. Test engineers then demonstrated the ability of the prototype to identify the

proper parking lot, as well as provide accurate test results for each vehicle which were displayed

on the LCD panel of the base unit. From the results displayed on the LCD panel, engineers were

able to determine which of the test vehicles were authorized to park in the lot, and which were

not. Figure 6 is a depiction of the project demonstration.

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 15

Figure 6: Project demonstration.
Results from Project Demonstration

Engineers made the following observations from the prototype demonstration in the parking

lot to confirm project design goals that were met by the design team:

 The base unit of the tracking system conveniently fit in a 12 by 12 box, weighed about 11

pounds, and therefore, would be easily mounted on a golf cart.

 All test RFID tags transmitted their respective vehicle’s data within the expected signal

transmission range of 20-ft radius.

 Accuracy of results for the comparison of target vehicles data to existing information in

the e-Box database displayed on the LCD panel was 100%.

 Power consumption for the prototype was low. The base unit ran on a 5-V power supply

for several hours

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 16

From the foregoing results, engineers concluded that a successful, well-functioning project

prototype had been achieved which also satisfied primary design goals.

7. MARKETING AND COST ANALYSIS

7.1 Marketing Analysis

RFID-GPS system helps organizations, hospitals, and universities to gain valuable data in

highly efficient ways, which increases business intelligence and competitive advantage. This

kind of information tracking uses active RFID tags which are battery powered, allowing for

independent monitoring and a longer communication such as 20ft. RFID technology can provide

targeted customers with faster and more accurate data to help increase the efficiency of their

vehicle tracking system. A combination of both GPS and RFID increases the profit even more.

There will be productivity improvements and labor cost savings by reducing search and pick

time from hours to seconds.

This successful design and implementation of RFID-GPS vehicle tracking system make

the system functional as possible due to process automation which reduces the possibility for

human error. The manual punch-in barcode scanners heavily rely on human labor; therefore,

customers can save so much time and spend less on labor by using the RFID-GPS system. Also,

there will be less operational and maintenance cost. This system is light weighted and can be

mounted on any gulf card or any other transportation mean used for tracking vehicles.

7.2 Cost Analysis

The project work was divided among the engineers working on the project. Because of a

more expensive power supply but a lot easier to implement, the amount of hours worked on the

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 17

project was decreased to 420 from 460 hours that was estimated before. The hours worked on the

project is illustrated in Table 2.

Table 2. Engineer Hours

Table 3 illustrates parts pricing for individual hardware components.

Table 3. Hardware Costs

The decrease in hours worked on the project caused the labor cost to go down to $11,000

from its original price that was estimated to be $12,086. The previously calculated profit was

calculated to be 22%. Upon completion of the design, still with same selling price of $7000 the

profit is calculated to be 23%.

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 18

 Development cost and selling price calculations are shown in the table below.

Table 4. Development Costs and Selling Price Calculation

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 19

8. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Currently, the final prototype has been demonstrated and all work on the project has been

finished. The demonstration was completed successfully on December 11th, 2007 with all

construction of the prototype being completed the week previous.

Considering the final design of the prototype, a stronger RFID receiver and a more

reliable GPS unit should be considered. The limited capabilities of both of these devices hindered

the overall success of the prototype. However, with the construction and effort put in to the

implementation of our initial design, the results of prototype testing can be classified as nothing

but successful. The prototype successfully passed all initial goals set forth by this project and

provided a good example of what a future project in this field should be able to do.

In the future, a better understanding of the peripheral devices used in the construction of

the prototype would be a must. Given a limited set of data sheets and manuals, there was

extensive effort put in to the basic understanding of how data was transferred and what each

device would be able to contribute to the final prototype. Future groups should be able to build a

more advanced prototype similar to this project given the required information that the test

engineers of this group had to decipher on their own.

While it is a working prototype of our design, it is limited to laboratory use and would

not be a viable product to send to market as it is today. The test engineers of this group suggest

another period of design to coincide with the construction of a more advanced prototype. The

completion of this project was able to produce a first prototype that does fulfill all desired goals.

However, the design is still very rough and any marketable product would need to endure more

extensive testing and possibly a better analysis of peripheral capabilities.

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 20

References

[1] Ranger, Steve. “NATO tests RFID to prevent friendly fire,” [ONLINE DOCUMENT],
October 2005. Available FTP:
http://news.com.com/NATO+tests+RFID+to+prevent+friendly+fire/2100-
11395_3-5904392.html?tag=ne.gall.related. [Sept 2007].

[2] United States Department of Defense, “Suppliers’ Passive RFID Information Guide, Version
9.0”. [ONLINE DOCUMENT]. Updated February 2007 Available FTP:
http://www.productivitybyRFID.com/dod.asp [Sept 2007].

[3] Gilbert, Alorie. “US Military invests in Active RFID”. [ONLINE DOCUMENT]. Interview
with Alan Estevez. March 2004. Available FTP:
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,39149819-1,00.htm [Sept 2007].

[4] RFID Dominant Semiconductors “RFID Applications,” [cited 2007 September 3], Available
HTTP: http://www.dominantsemi.com/RFID/index.php?p=RFIDapplications

[5] National Marine Electronics Association, NMEA 0183--Standard for interfacing marine
electronic devices / National Marine Electronics Association, Version 2.1 ed., Mobile,
Alabama: NMEA, 1995.

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 21

Appendix
All additional information can be found through provided Project Documentation on the group
website.
Appendix A
Schematic showing USB to serial harness for GPS unit

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 22

Appendix B
Projected Gantt Chart

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 23

Appendix C
Actual Gantt Chart

RFID Tracking (ECE4007L02) 24