Inventory Control in Stores Dec05-09 Team: Jeff Benson Frederick Brown Christopher Reed Brian Wagner Date: December 6, 2005 Client: ISU Senior Design Program Advisor: Dr. Degang Chen

Presentation Outline  Introductory material  Project activity description  Resources and schedules  Closing material

Definitions  GUI – Graphical user interface  RFID – Radio frequency identification  RFID scanner/reader – A device used to communicate with the RFID tags.  RFID tag – A small object that can be attached to, or incorporated into a product that is used to store and retrieve data.  RS232 – Recommended Standard IEEE 232 [computer serial interface].  SQL – Standard computer language for accessing and manipulating databases.

Acknowledgement The team would like to thank:  Professor Degang Chen  Professor John Lamont  Professor Ralph Patterson III  Adam Mishler  Jason Warschauer

Problem Statement  Barcode technology is the leader in inventory control  Current technology is flawed which limits its effectiveness  Issues include: -Amount of data stored in a barcode -Need for human intervention -Necessity for line-of-site to transfer data

Solution Approach  Research current trends in inventory control systems  Research possibilities of different technology  Identify issues that can be resolved using different technology  Create DVD rental store

Operating Environment  DVD rental store  High traffic areas  Temperature range of 0  to 50  C  Little or no humidity

Intended User(s)  DVD rental store manager  Trained staff members  Inventory manager

Intended Use(s)  Track inventory and sales  Order supplies that are out of stock  Obtain information on tagged products  Obtain customer information

Assumptions  Able to obtain RFID equipment  Able to interface with RFID reader  Software will be windows compatible  Proof of concept  One reader has to perform all tasks  System will not be completely stand alone  System will require some human interaction

Limitations  Team’s lack of experience with RFID  Must cost less than $150  Time available to learn RFID software and hardware  Scan distance  Only have one reader

End Product and Other Deliverables  Demonstration including a working model of a sample system that shows: -how a tag is scanned -what info can be collected -how info can be linked to database

Present Accomplishments  Obtained reader and tags  Completed design for GUI and database  Generated connection between reader, database, and GUI  Software completed

Project Activities  Research  Design  Implementation  Testing

Research  Input device Manual input, barcode scanner, RFID reader  Input device communication type Serial, USB  Interface software C++, Java, C#  Data storage method MySQL, SQL Server, Access

Barcode vs. RFID Barcode  Requires line of sight to scan codes  Can only read one bar at a time  Cannot scan entire pallet RFID  Doesn’t require line of sight to read each tag  Can scan many tags simultaneously  Can scan all cases on a pallet with single pass through  Writeable tags

Serial RS 232 vs. USB Serial RS232  Slower transfer speed  Widely used among RFID interfacing  Serial source code USB  Faster transfer speed  Uncommon in RFID applications  More complex to program

Java vs. Visual C# Java  Previous experience  SQL source code  Platform independent  Many developer environments C#  Serial source code  Fast GUI construction  Powerful developer environments

SQL database  Simple search queries  Easily upgradeable  Open source  Many examples

What the team chose  TI RFID reader  Visual C# express  MySQL database

Further Research Activities  RFID technology  Interface connections  Inventory control systems

System Flowchart

Design Activities Below are the software components of the inventory system:  Inventory database  Customer database  GUI

Different Screens  Add/Update DVDs  Add/Update customers  Customer history  Check-out/Return

Inventory Flowchart

Customer Flowchart

DVD Inventory

Inventory Data

DVD Checkout

Implementation Activities  Original Setup system using write-able tags Develop code using Java  Revised Setup system using just readable tags Develop code using C#

Testing and Modification Activities  Check to see if reader communicates with the software  Check to see if the database communicates with the software  Add tables to database

Other Significant Project Activities  RFID reader Checksum errors  Interface Connecting GUI with database Connecting reader to the system

Resources and Schedules  Personal effort requirements  Other resource requirements  Financial requirements  Project Schedules

Personal Effort Requirements

Other Resource Requirements

Financial Requirements

Project Schedules(Original)

Project Schedules(Revised)

Closing Material  Project Evaluation  Commercialization  Recommendations  Lessons Learned  Risk and Risk Management  Closing Summary

Project Evaluation Milestones  Project Definition(15%)3  Technology Selection (30%)5  End Product Design (40%)4  Project Reporting(15%)5 Overall (100%)4.25 (5 – Success) (4 – Very Good)

Commercialization  There are no current commercialization considerations  Proof of concept

Recommendations For Future Work  Set up an inventory system using writeable tags  Enhance security and reliability  Set up a network using multiple inventory systems  Develop fully implemented system for client

Lessons Learned (1)  What went well Good team communication Stayed on task  What didn’t go well Defining the project Obtaining a reader

Lessons Learned (2)  Technical knowledge gained Learned C# and MYSQL database  Non-technical knowledge gained Learned about the possibilities of RFID technology Learned how inventory control systems are set up

What to do differently  Define project more concretely  Start designing database and GUI sooner

Risk and Risk Management  Anticipated Risk Loss of a team member Loss of code  Unanticipated Risk Reader doesn’t communicate with PC Unable to obtain RFID reader

Closing Summary  Team goal is to develop a functional inventory control system focusing on a DVD rental store in order to prove that the methods will work successfully.

Questions??