Automatic Identification And Data Capture Information Technology Essay

AIDC, the standard we called Automatic Identification and Data Capture. The AIDC is the prevalent technologies in the word now and we used frequently in our life .Using AIDC we can collect data and information without using the keyboard, like smart card or credit card, example when we buy a thing with a certain huge amount we can using credit to swipe it, the card consist personal information and bank account number so that after a month banker can calculate the total and send to bill to ask the user pay for it.

AIDC not just only have smart card or credit card and that have magnetic strips. Magnetic strips are common used in company to identify the person and let user enter or exit the company building, which the magnetic strips consist the personal information .Some of the restaurant or shop also have their own member card and this also a AIDC, which the member card storing the point and personal details, when customer came to purchase their product in offer day the system knows discount the price.

There are so much of AIDC technologies, such as barcode, optical character reader, biometrics, radio frequency identification, voice recognition. In this paper I will discuss about few type of AIDC technologies how these technologies can bring effective to our work.

2 Definition of AIDC

Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) is using to identifying objects, transfer the data directly into computer without using the keyboard, and receive data from the computer. AIDC Technologies include bar codes, smart cards, and voice recognition, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), biometrics, magnetic stripes ,Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

AIDC normally used images sounds or videos to obtain data, a transducer helps converts the image or sound in to digital file which knows by computer .The computer helps compared the data inside the database and verify identity and provide authorization to let user enter or exit to the secured system.

AIDC also used to recognize the objects; users not need to enter one by one manual into computer system, it automatic entering into system it can save a lot of time. In biometric security systems, computer system identifying the iris print, facial image, palm image, finger mark to verify the person ,this can perform more accuracy and secured because the finger mark are unique and others people cannot really copy it.

AIDC technologies can prevent data input error and time consuming, manually enter data may cause some input error and using AIDC the data input are more accuracy and it providing a quick response time to receive and enter the data.

3 Usage of AIDC

Collecting the data from documentation

Usage of AIDC is helps capturing the image from printed document or paper documents and helps transform the image to digital file knows by computer. There are several technologies help AIDC for data captured by different document.

These several types are Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR), Optical Mark Recognition (OMR), Optical Barcode Recognition (OBR), and Business Card Recognition (BCR).

OCR typically using for printed text document generate by computer such as Microsoft Word document, Txt file .ICR typically using in hand writing text document ,it can recognize human hand writing.OMR similar like barcode reader like can recognize some specific mark design by user and each mark represent an information by company.OBR normally used to recognize the barcode on the product when OBR scan the barcode the price and code number will generate on the screen.BCR typically used in business cards recognition and it stored the customer information. These basic technologies allow extracting information from documents and used for information systems such as ERP, CRM and others.

Logistic Control System

Figure 1: Coca-cola using AIDC in logistic control system

AIDC used for helps logistics to improve the management quality. The manufacturing history, expiration date, product code, and other data are encoded into AIDC technologies. Every container consist an image similar like barcode to allow worker to scan it. Follow up the expiration date workers are easily arrange the shipping time to sent out the product and improve traceability based on manufacturing history control.

Using AIDC in logistic control system can prevent shipping mistake because every container has own unique product code and worker just only shipping with correct product code and it will cause less mistake.

Sales Management System

Figure 2: AIDC used in sales management system

AIDC also common used in sales management system, the product name, product code, product type, manufacture date are all encoded into AIDC technologies and print on the product. As customer need to be paying the staff just used the reader device to scan the barcode ,the computer system will verify the barcode form database and retrieve the price and the product detail to the user .

Using AIDC it is accuracy and timely to gather all the information instead to use manual find the product information.

4 Advantage of AIDC

Inexpensive Data

By using AIDC application can keep track the file record using a label that can read by machine .Without ADIC, company need implement a system keep track the file location and if a file moving to another place also need update the data in central database.

However, AIDC can prevent lost files in a company and company no need to waste time find the lost file .Just get an accurate picture and print AIDC image in the picture by arrange the file code, when user need the file just used reader to collect the data from database .It can save time and cost to finding the lose file.

Information Availability

AIDC systems can helps people report his status immediately and no need wait for the central system response in one day or two day later, because some of them are using paper handling and it will cause delay happen and operating process will be slower

AIDC systems let people directly report their own activities instead of filling out forms which get entered into a central system a day or two later. Because the paper-handling delay disappears, business processes dependent on information quicken.

Consider a typical distribution center. Workers unload trucks on one side, reconcile the material against purchase orders, determine the proper outbound mode and destination, and finally load the material on outbound trucks at the other end of the building. If AIDC is not used, material sits idle while people wait for information. People need to know to which purchase order a box belongs. They need to know if a package should leave through standard shipment channels or whether it needs express handling. They also need to know where to ship the package.

However, if you use AIDC to report immediately a received pallet to the central computer system, in many cases fork truck drivers take the pallet directly to an outbound truck. You only have to handle the pallet once, you don’t need warehouse space to store it, and you decrease the total amount of in-transit inventory required to supply your operation.

Accuracy

AIDC is more accuracy compared to manual system because it using computing to collect the data .In real case ,human may enter wrong data to database and occur much more errors than using computerize.

With decreasing man power and increasing workloads , we have more time to do others task .AIDC help company lower the cost and increased work effective to competition with other company in the same time also can provide a accuracy data .

Disadvantage of AIDC

Security Issues

Using AIDC user many decode data using device or smart phone to get all the information. Example like company data store print like barcode and store in database room , any people just need scan the barcode and will get all the data and information.

Device Dependency

Without the device or smart phone AIDC cannot do anything like receive the data or processing the data. All the AIDC process in control by computer and with the device , we cannot communicate between computer and receive and decode the data what we want .

2. Bar Code Technology

Bar Code is one of the AIDC technologies are common used in our life , barcode data are read by optical barcode machine .Normally we the barcode we saw is in the lines and spacing of parallel line ,this type of bar code we called it 1D (1 dimensional )barcodes. Now got another type of barcode called 2D (2 dimensional) they in pattern of square , 2D bar code use symbols others than bars but they are generally refer to as barcodes, 2D barcode can store more data compared to 1D and 2D barcode now are getting more popular basically they used for advertisement purpose.

2.1 Linear bar code

A linear barcode symbol is a sequence of printed lines, or bars, and intervening spaces normally we called it 1D. The number and width of the spaces is determined by a specification for each symbol.

Figure 3 : Universal Product Code is a type of continuous and many bar width code. In the UPC-A barcode, each digit is represented by a seven-bit sequence, encoded by a series of alternating bars and spaces.

There are 2 type of symbol used in linear barcode which is continuous and discrete. In continuous symbol usually abut with one character ending with a space and the next beginning with a bar, or vice versa. Characters in discrete symbol begin and end with bars; the inter character space is ignored, as long as it is not wide enough to look like the code ends.

Two-width vs. many-width: Bars and spaces in two-width symbol are wide or narrow; how wide a wide bar is exactly has no significance as long as the symbol requirements for wide bars are adhered to (usually two to three times wider than a narrow bar). Bars and spaces in many-width symbol are all multiples of a basic width called the module; most such codes use four widths of 1, 2, 3 and 4 modules.

2.4 2D Bar code

A two-dimensional code stores information with height and length of the symbol. Since both dimensions contain the data and the vertical redundancy is weak so some of the information will misreads to prevent this problem normally most two dimensional code using check words to ensure the accurate reading.

Initially, two-dimensional symbol consist of small amount space .The first application used 2D bar code in healthcare industry ,these 2D barcode used to place with small unit-dose packages .

2D Bar codes have become widely popular because of their reading speed, accuracy, and superior functionality characteristics. As bar codes became popular and their convenience universally recognized, the market began to call for codes capable of storing more information, more character types, and that could be printed in a smaller space.

As a result, various efforts were made to increase the amount of information stored by bar codes, such as increasing the number of bar code digits or layout multiple bar codes. However, these improvements also caused problems such as enlarging the bar code area, complicating reading operations, and increasing printing cost.

Multiple bar code layout

2D Code with stacked bar codes (stacked bar code type)

2D Code (matrix type)

2D Code is also progressing from the stacked bar code method (that stacks bar codes), to the increased information density matrix method. There are well over 20 different 2-D symbols available today. The following is the QR code it is the one of 2d are most popular now.

QR Code is a kind of 2-D (two-dimensional) symbology developed by Denso Wave (a division of Denso Corporation at the time) and released in 1994 with the primary aim of being a symbol that is easily interpreted by scanner equipment.

QR Code (2D Code) contains information in both the vertical and horizontal directions, whereas a bar code contains data in one direction only. QR Code holds a considerably greater volume of information than a bar code.

2.4.2 Critical Evaluation of QR code

We can clearly know the QR code has much more better than others barcode because QR code has higher capability to store the data compare to other barcode so we can store in many data like company report , documentation or image . QR Code provides the following features compared with conventional bar codes.

High Capacity Encoding of Data

Linear bar code normally can storing a maximum 20 digits compared to QR code its can be stored several hundred times more information, up to 7,089 characters can be encoded in one symbol. QR code can be handling all type of data, such as numeric and alphabetic character ,symbols ,binary ,URL link and etc

Small Printout Size

Due to QR code collect data by both horizontal and vertical so QR code can be encoding the size into much smaller printout size example Micro QR code.

Dirt and Damage Resistant

QR code has error correction capability so that data has chance to be restored even the symbol is dirty or damaged. Maximum no more than 30% damaged the image still can restored.

Readable from any direction in 360°

QR code can captured of 360 degree. QR code allows the position detection patterns located at three corners of the symbol.These position detection patterns guarantee circumventing, negative effect of background interference, and perform high-speed reading.

Structured Append Feature

A QR code be divided into multiple symbol .Conversely, information can be stored in multiple QR code symbol and combine as a single data symbols .One data symbol maximum can be divided up to 16 symbols, because its allows printing in a narrow area.

Magnetic stripes

Magnetic stripe technology is one of the AIDC technologies Magnetic stripe is common is everywhere ,such as credit card, ATM card, security control, member card, airline ticket and so on. Magnetic stripe is cost effective way in the industry and consist readable ability to many functions. Magnetic Stripe is similar like floppy disk technology .It uses magnetic material to store data but floppy disk can be store image and sound but magnetic stripe used to store data and printed-out on paper or plastic. Magnetic stripe card designed to swiping to the reader and transfer data to the computer.

Magnetic stripe have a row of tiny magnets .The data collected to the computer is setting these polarities of the magnets, reader detect the polarities of the magnets in order to receive data. There are two type of reader which is swiping card reader and inserting card reader.

Swiping card reader also called swipe readers have a slot to let magnetic stripe card to drag example in when we paying in Jusco hyper market the cashier drag the member card in order to add in the member point it also my consist some problem when the card is dragged too slow or too fast.

Another reader called inserting reader. Usually the card is “swallow” by the reader and reading the stationary head. This reader is giving the system constant reading and stable speed for reading the information.

The advantages of magnetic stripe includes:

Data can be modified or rewritten

High data capacity in relation to bar codes

Add security since it is not in human readable form

Immune to contamination with dirt, water, oil, moisture, etc

No moving components, physically robust

Well established standards

No consumables required for writing or rewriting

Some disadvantages of using magnetic stripe cards:

It doesn’t work in a distance, thus requiring close contact to the reader

Data can be damaged by stray magnetic fields

Since it’s not in human readable form can be a disadvantage in some applications

7.Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a one technology of AIDC .RFID used electromagnetic waves to collect data between a terminal and an object, typically RFID used to identification and tracking a product or person. Some of the RFID tag can be read from several meters away. A basic RFID system consists of 3 type components which is a transponder, reader, and computer.

 Figure: Basic RFID system used to transmit data

Firstly the reader send the radio signals to activate the tag and collect the data .Reader can send radio waves in range of anywhere form up to 100 feet. Lastly the reader decodes the data encoded in the tag and passed the data to computer processing. FID system enable transmit data by a portable device and to indentify control access, security and etc. Typically an RFID tag consist a microchip that can store as 2 kilobytes of data attach to reader.

Uses of RFID

Asset Tracking

Nowadays a lot company use RFID tags to prevent asset lost, a microchip tags build with the asset allow company to keep track the location asset if the asset out of the range with reader the computer will send alert to inform company’s staff.

Supply Chain Management

RFID technology has been used in supply chain company for many years basically they used RFID to keep track the shipment among their partner. Retailers such as Jusco, Tesco and Giant are in the forefront of RFID adoption. Without RFID these retailer hard to keep track the stock and decrease the supply chain efficiency.

Payment Systems

RFID not only in supply chain environment that RFID also play a important role in payment system. One of the important systems by todays is road toll payment system. The car driver can pay their road fee without stopping the car example: smart tags.

Security and Access Control

RFID has been used to control who has enter and exit to the building for long time .The advantages of RFID is convenient compared to Magnetic Stripe card, user can hold up and unlock the door rather than swiping a card .

Biometric Technologies

Biometric technologies also consist one for the AIDC and biometric technologies has many type such as, hand and finger geometry, facial imaging, eye-based method, voice, signature ,and etc. Biometric technologies consists higher security than other AIDC technologies due to its unique and specific identification technologies and normally it will cost more expensive than other AIDC technologies.

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Figure: Methods of biometric technologies.

Face

Facial images can used to be biometric identification, the face recognition are based on the shape of face attributes, such as the eyes ,eyebrows, lips, nose, and chin shape, last the combination of the face analysis break down into a number of canonical faces. Now face detection device are build-in in our laptop for identify the owner, but it has a limitation which is requiring a simple background or special illumination, if the location of face not in the correct place, it may fail to identify the owner.

Face Thermogram

The face thermogram is using infrared camera to detect vascular system in the human face. The face thermogram is unique to each individual and is not vulnerable to disguises. Although, the face thermogram can be individual but this is no proven that face thermogram are sufficiently discriminative.

Fingerprints

The fingerprint identification has been used for long time agora fingerprint is the pattern of ridges and the formation has be determined during the fetal period. Both hand fingerprints are the same so fingerprint are important to let police to identify the person associated with criminal investigations.

Hand geometry

Hand geometry used human hand shape, lengths and widths of the finger to measure and identify. The technique is simple and low cost. Individual anomalies such as dry skin are no affect the identification accuracy. But the main disadvantages are its low discriminative, because our hand shape is not going to be same as older, especially during childhood. Lastly, because the physical size of a hand geometry-based system is large, it cannot be used in certain application such as laptop computers.

Retinal Pattern

The retinal pattern formed by veins beneath retinal surface in an eye, its is stable and unique therefore can be used to identification. The retinal pattern captured by infrared light ,in order to acquired a fixed portion of the retinal ,the subject must focus on the spot in the visual field. Many application no used retinal pattern to identify because it scanner are very expensive normally the retinal pattern used in high security environment example in the prisons.

Iris

The iris is the annular region of the eye bounded by the pupil and the sclera. Iris consist of complex structure and very distinctive so its is used for identification .Iris is more readable than retina, but iris is no secure it can make by contract lens and wear by another’s people .

Signature

Each person has a unique wring style. However, no two signatures is exactly the same. There are two the signature based recognition method, static and dynamic. Static signature verification

use only the signature of the geometry (shape) functions and dynamic (online) signature verification using both geometry (shape) characteristics and such as acceleration, velocity, pressure dynamic characteristics, and track profile signature. The inherent advantages of signature-based bio-system is the signature has been established as an acceptable form of personal identification method can be transparently incorporated into existing business processes, requires the signature such as credit card transactions.

Voice Recognition

Voice recognition detected the speech we talk, and each person can produce different sound of speech due to his shape or mouth, nasal cavities, lips. Speech-based verification can based on text-independent or text-dependent. In a noise environment the voice recognition difficult to detected. Speech-based authentication is currently restricted to low-security applications because of high variability in an individual’s voice and poor accuracy performance of a typical speech-based authentication