A new system based on Web services and RFID for tracking people in a pervasive mining environment

Daniel Iturralde1, Ismael Soto1, Diego Fuentealba2, Jorge Bravo2

Department of Electrical Engineering 2 Department of Industrial Engineering University of Santiago of Chile Santiago of Chile, Chile {daniel.iturralde, ismael.soto, diego.fuentealbac, jorge.bravo}@usach.cl
1

Nestor Becerra
Department of Electrical Engineering University of Chile Santiago of Chile, Chile nbecerra@ing.uchile.cl

Abstract This work present a solution for locating people inside of mines with a system designed with the service oriented architecture and RFID technology to help the security of workers. We propose a pervasive computing system designed with a UML process extension, to discover the rights web services to transmit and process data collected from RFID sensors. The data captured from nodes allow calculating the location of workers and machines by reference tags in conjunction with techniques of trilateration. The results were successful, since it achieves a design of pervasive system with web services and a database model to be used by localization algorithm that shown an improvement in its accuracy with an increasing the number of reference tags. KeywordsRFID; Web services; pervasive; mining.

environments using RFID, also works where two types of wireless technologies are meet, i.e., Zigbee technology is used in conjunction with RFID for localization [4]. Few of these studies show results in terms of system accuracy. In this paper we discuss algorithms for indoor localization and compare the proposed algorithm in terms of accuracy of the system. The first work to propose RFID to perform localization tasks was [5] with the LANDMARC algorithm. This is followed by the angulation technique [6], LANDMARC with virtual tags [7] and advanced technique of LANDMARC with k-neighbour tags [8]. This work presents an effective solution for locating people inside of mines. In the end, we propose a pervasive computing system based in web services to transmit data, for the location we use the concept of placing reference tags in conjunction with technique of trilateration. Due to external factors, such as electrical noise generated by machinery and other situations that complicate signal transmissions inside the mine our algorithm generates a channel estimation prior to application of localization algorithm. This paper in first instance explains clearly the methods and theories used, describes the UML language, Ericksson and Penker Extension, the Friis propagation model and the trilateration technique. Then we explain the proposed system and a localization algorithm, and finally it presents the results, which shows the gain in accuracy of the proposed algorithm. II.

I.

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In general, companies perform basic activities that are needed to avoid accidents in the workplace. It is important to manage and organize the basics aspects, required by current legislation, especially in security. Therefore, it is essential that companies strive to improve safety conditions with modern technology. Due to low security levels, the government of every country reported increasingly stricter policies regarding safety at work. There have been many cases in the mining industry that miners get lost in different areas or levels due to mine collapse. It is necessary to have a monitoring system in order to locate these people and offer immediate help in emergency situations. In this case, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) is not suitable for indoor localization, it is essential that new technologies are studied to fulfill the purpose of indoor location. After studying and analyzing various technologies that enable to locate people inside the mining tunnels, we reckon that technology of radio frequency identification (RFID), whose wireless properties for identification and low cost, is the best candidate for this task. There are few previous works for RFID localization in the mining industry, in the literature, e.g., least-squares approach to estimate the starting position using RFID tags [1], also in [2] a mapping with RFID in an underground mine using a car that has a reader inside, in [3] localization in underground

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Figure 1 shows a schematically diagram of the system to be implemented in the mining tunnels, the proposed architecture considers a web server that contains web pages that access the services offered, several RFID readers deployed by the mining tunnel, storage web services that are responsible for providing an interface to RFID readers, Demon web services which is a web service that reads the database and interprets the calls to execute any of the services, Actuator web services corresponds to the services identified in the prototype are responsible for processing information system, database server, including types of geometry data, this type of data to design an interface that keeps maps to represent the zones and nodes.

Worker With Tag Tag Antenna Tag Reader

having the current RFID tags [12], each of the cells possess several reference tags and three readers, which are required to perform the trilateration technique.
Actuator Web Web Pages Services Web Services Storage

In figure 3 we can see the proposed design for each cell.

Sql Server

Demon Web Services

Fig. 1. System description

Locating people works through a RFID system with sensor network that operates in a continuous tracking mode, sending data in real-time to the reader. Due to huge traffic, different node-issuers send information to different receptors. The type of route is one jump, the tag send information directly to the reader without sensors intermediaries. The scheme of a RFID system is illustrated in Figure 2, where multiple readers obtain information from different electronic tags.

Fig. 3. Cell design

The proposed algorithm first read various reference tags deployed within a cell, whose coordinates are known. This is made with intention of estimating the channel and finding a relationship between distance and signal power received by the RFID reader. Immediately the electronic tags placed on clothing of people or machinery are read to know the distances between them and RFID readers. Finally three readers are chosen to resolve the location algorithm using trilateration technique. III.

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Fig. 2. RFID scheme

A. Anlysis and Design of Service-Oriented Architecture In according of [15], analysis and design of services are not an official methodology like Unified Process, but a strategy to support a SOA life cycle. These steps consist of tasks that discover services candidates, data input and services levels. It defined 4 levels: Utility services, to encapsulate external systems; Entity Services, to manage data; TaskCentric Services, to execute task as services and Orchestration Services, to encapsulate a complex task. These principles are a good guidance to identify level of services with any model language. B. Ericksson and Penker Extension Unified Modeling Language (UML) synthesized the notations of the Booch method, the Object-modeling technique (OMT) and Object-oriented software engineering (OOSE) by fusing them into a single, common and widely

The proposed location system is based on the concept of placing reference tags to make a channel modeling. This procedure is combined with trilateration technique. The mining tunnel is divided into several cells of 10m x 10m, this area is considered because the range of the antennas

usable modeling language. UML aims to be a standard modeling language which can model concurrent and distributed systems. However, UML needed to be extended in order to more clearly identify and visualize important concepts of processes, goals, resources and rules of a business system. To address this issue, Eriksson-Penker created a set of extensions based on the existing model elements of UML called ErikssonPenker Business Extensions and provide symbols for modeling the processes, resources, rules, and goals of a business system. These extensions form a basic framework for business extensions to UML (rather than a definitive set of business extensions) to which a business architect can add stereotypes or properties suitable to his or her line of business [9]. C. Friis Model propagation The Friss propagation model is developed in [10], the propagation model is used to predict the power level received when there is line of sight between transmitter and receiver. According to Friis model, if the distance between the reader and the antenna increases, the attenuation factor increases. This factor can be represented in decibels as:

Fig. 4. Trilateration

A possible analytical resolution is given by the solution of two quadratic equations, each of which will have two roots, having one common root to both equations. IV.

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PLdB = n * 10 log10 ( / 4r)

(1)

In order to find web-services candidates in analysis step [15], it modeled the process view from [9]. Figure 5 shows atomic process to find services in 2 roles: remote node to detect and read reference tags, and a central control system. Remote nodes read and sent data ! + " = #. to control (1) system (1) that receipts and saves this measurement in a database. Control-System processes are real candidates of web services.

Where PLdB is the attenuation factor of the environment, n is an empirical factor of the environment, is the wavelength of the signal and r is the distance between the reader and the electronic tag. D. Trilateration The trilateration technique is shown in [11], to use trilateration, estimates of distances are required. This process takes advantage of the features that are present in a wireless sensor. The wireless communication characteristics are determined in part by the distance between transmitter and receiver, and if these features can be measured in the receiver, they can serve as an estimate of distance. To solve the trilateration problem shown in figure 4, we have to find the point of intersection of three circles of which centers are known.
Fig. 5. Process of locating people

Services design includes identification of services from candidates discovered in the analysis. In this step, it documented task-centric services that need coordination. Figure 6 shows a people location service (task-centric service), which begins with daemon service because pervasive system needs automation features to calculate a real location of workers from data stored in the database. Once that it registered the last measurement, the service is responsible for obtaining historical measurements to perform a calculation of the location of person, and it verify its profile to know if the

worker has permission to be in that area and change the area state like unauthorized, authorized or mixed. Additionally, it generates an alert if the person is not authorized.

shows an approximation curve similar to that proposed in the work of Aletheia University [14].

Fig. 6. Coordination of location.people service

Fig. 8. Channel modeling

The data base model shown in figure 7 allows saving measurements from RFID reader and linking employees with areas. Furthermore, it includes a profile to setup an allowed area and possible activities. The state of an area is considered like a field in its entity and helps to prevent disasters in case of start a dangerous procedure like blasting. It considered a geometry data type, which is presents in some database products, to recording and operating geometrical coordinates to represents maps. Other entities extend its functionality in the measurement of other sensors.

Figure 9 shows the comparison of the different variations of the proposed algorithm with the LANDMARC algorithm where the error distance is used as a basis for localization accuracy. Defining the location estimate error, as e, being this, the linear distance between the actual coordinates of the tracking tag (xo,yo) and the calculated coordinates (x, y), and is given by: e =((x-xo)2+(y-yo)2)1/2 (2)

Fig. 9. Comparison LANDMARC with different variations of the proposed algorithm.

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Fig. 7. Database model

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According to the Friis propagation model, if the distance increases, the attenuation factor increases. Figure 8 shows the calibration channel of the new proposed algorithm. For simulation we considered a reader who works at the frequency of 915MHz, 13 electronic tags placed at distances from 1 to 13 meters with separation of 1 meter and a value of n = 9,6 value in metallurgical environments as [13], the simulation result

This paper proposed a pervasive system to locate people in indoor mines. It was designed, analyzing processes to discover requirements to be automated that were accomplished with services oriented architecture to collect and save data from RFID readers and reference tags. Furthermore, demon services execute a novel algorithm to locate workers and update the state of areas in according to person profile. In order to improve the accuracy of location, it proposed a new algorithm to calibrate channels that accomplish the Friis propagation and works with RFID of large range. It compares the accuracy of

trilateration with traditional algorithm such as LANDMARC. If it increases the number of reference tags, simulation shows an improvement in localization accuracy.

!"#$%&'()*+($,The authors acknowledge with thanks the financial support of the Center for multidisciplinary research on signal processing (Conicyt/ACT1120 project) and of USACH/Dicyt 061117S project.

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