Using RFID Tags Around the House? 254
Attacked-by-gremlins writes "I have a larger family and various items in the house (some tools, some pieces of clothing) 'travel' unexpectedly. We joke about gremlins doing that, but it's tiring never to be sure that I'll find an object where I left it two days ago. For the sheer hacking fun of it, I'm thinking of sticking RFID tags on some and trying to triangulate a position with several tranceivers placed in the house. Has anyone have any suggestions for this amateur 'Google Home'? Thanks."
Why Not? (Score:4, Funny)
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Seriously, moderated flaimbait? Now you've got to be kidding. Funny or insightful at least, come on meta mods, please catch this one if it's not fixed now.
Mod me down for off topic if you must but I'm actually willing to take a hit if it gets this parent back into the +
The parent is a valid point about the topic.
Re:Why Not? (Score:5, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
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errr...no, i don't have kids. but i'll bloody well be sure to beat them soundly on a regular basis. for the sake of the future.
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That's because Western adults value people who can think for themselves and challenge authority.
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I found one in the bedroom. The wife was hanging something up. The rest are AWOL. I hope to see them again someday.
I think he'll run into some serious problems with RFID's. First, the sensor broadcast all the time, wh
Re:Why Not? (Score:4, Insightful)
I will second your view, in any case; it's one thing for your kids to grab your nose, pat your back, pull on your shirt, but I agree that it is absolutely essential that people forbid their their kids from touching "Dad's stuff".
On the other hand, if by "stuff", you are referring to the various possessions you have stored around your house, you are completely deluded if you think your kids with "NEVER" touch it, regardless of what kind of "discipline" you impose. If it's interesting to them (for example, because it is forbidden), they will get to it, eventually. On the other hand, if it's boring, well then, you have nothing to worry about.
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Nothing to do with consideration. (Score:2)
It has nothing to do with consideration, and everything to do with something simply being set down somewhere and you not remembering where - even if that place is where it's "supposed" to be.
I thought Woz was already working on some kind of home location tag system though that sounded more practical.
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Either way, it doesn't seem far fetched that there could be a very good market for a product that could do this relatively cheap. So there you go, forget about the home tinkering and start thinking about a new business if you can find a way to make it cheap
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For myself whenever I use something I clean up and put everything back at once. When I come home from a long trip I take care of everything and put it away first even if I am tired. If I don't things tend to go missing. This stems from the fact that when I traveled as a kid my parents made me unpack everything away right away.
you can have good habits, picking up after yourself constantly is one of those.
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Remote controls lost in the couch are a great application of this, IMHO, particularly if you can get a proximity wand that measures the distance to the desired RFID tag. :-)
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People are very complex and can delude themselves in a great variety of ways. From confirmation bias, to 'I wouldn't do that.'
Re:Remember 'The Meaning of Life" (Score:5, Insightful)
Huh? My cordless phone at home is rarely in its cradle. But I can push the pager button, it beeps, and I found the phone. I'd say technology can help find misplaced items.
Or you could use technology to abuse your children (just kidding, kind of) until they bend to your will. That might work too.
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Humanity, in general, is always going to have problems. No matter how perfect someone thinks they are, they are eventually going to misplace the phone, their keys, or are going to slam on the brakes in their car. Nothing you can do to stop that.
So, with that in mind, why not use technology to solve the effects of the problem?
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Second, even if I can't solve the problem, I might like to treat the symptoms. Cold medicine doesn't cure my cold, but it does keep my from draining 4 quarts of mucous from my face every day when I have one. I'd prefer a cure, but since I don't have access to one the symptom-prevent
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d'ya really think i need help finding the base RIGHT AFTER I PUSHED A BUTTON ON IT?
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I can't believe you got modded up as insightful.
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I can do it, but only one at a time...
It is just slow because you have to do x, then y, then z
I'm a spreadsheet wizard, but crunching all those numbers by hand would take eons
I can build a house, but I can build it faster if I use nailing guns
See... it doesn't solve problems, it only makes the answer fit into our skill sets.
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What the hell kind of comment is that to make on Slashdot? Most people here LIVE to throw technology at a problem...
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Likewise, using technology isn't going to make finding things better. If anything, it encourages bad habits (i.e. not being organized) and makes it harder down the line when you may not always have the said tech
Range (Score:4, Informative)
Can RFID triangulate at short ranges? (Score:2)
Re:Can RFID triangulate at short ranges? (Score:5, Interesting)
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I don't know of anything out there commercially available with a precise enough clock to manage it time based.
You can get up to about 10 feet with certain UHF tags and receivers, but that is really pushing FCC limitation on signal power. RFID tags really just aren't locators, regardless of how mu
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Re:Can RFID triangulate at short ranges? (Score:4, Interesting)
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Re:Range (Score:5, Interesting)
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To do it effectively won't be cheap.... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:To do it effectively won't be cheap.... (Score:4, Funny)
I've been playing with RFID for about 5 years, and it's great for remote controls, tape measures, and other easy to misplace items.
I also managed to get it to work with the Collectorz [collectorz.com] software, so I can 'check out' a book or movie.
The hand-held reader I have is powerful enough so that I can stand in middle of a small room (approx. 10' x 10') and get a reading if the item I'm looking for is in the room. Handy for finding stuff. It was around $200, and that was a year ago.
I'd post the make and model number of the reader, but I haven't been able to find it for a couple days. I probably should have tagged it.
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$$$ budget? (Score:3, Informative)
Of course, we had different needs than you, so there are probably considerably cheaper alternatives.
Re:$$$ budget? (Score:4, Insightful)
I do not know if this would be cheaper, just a thought.
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Huh? How does one triangulate in n dimensions without n+1 receivers?
For two dimensions, I understand it as follows... place one reader in the plane of the objects, and one outside the plane. The circle you get from combining the data from the two readers will intersect the plane in two points, so at best you can get a set of two possible locations for the object. If the readers are sufficiently accurate (and precise!)
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Huh? How does one triangulate in n dimensions without n+1 receivers?
Your logic seems solid enough to me. We aren't using the triangulation feature, so I probably remembered incorrectly and posted without thinking through. If I'm picturing things right:
1 transceiver should be able to resolve location to a spherical surface. (Or a circle if you assume it's on the ground.)
2 transceivers should get it down to a circle. (Or two points on the ground.)
3 should give you a choice of 2 possible points. (Or 1 on the ground.)
4 should find the tag in 3-D space.
This is all assuming
Now, where dd I put that RFID scanner? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Now, where dd I put that RFID scanner? (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Now, where dd I put that RFID scanner? (Score:5, Funny)
Patent it and sell it. (Score:2)
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As adults, it is generally accepted in common sense as in law that if you fail to respect the property/things of others, you have to pay fines or be taken out of the publi
Serious suggestion (don't use RFID) (Score:4, Funny)
Next time someone misplaces your stuff, use one hammer to break their hand. If the skin breaks and blood gets on the hammer, throw it in your neighbor's yard and find a way to plant the receipt over there.
When the police come to find you, explain that you found your spouse, kid, dog, whatever in a crazed state with broken fingers. They must be hallucinating because they are blaming you. Hey, look at that! Maybe your neighbor just went inside, and, oh my god, there's a bloody hammer right next to his birdbath! Well, case closed, officer.
You'll never have anything misplaced again.
Use the other hammer to beat a dead horse (Score:4, Funny)
So, what's the second hammer for? A redundant array of independent hammers?
Re:Use the other hammer to beat a dead horse (Score:5, Funny)
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X-mark (Score:2)
.
Maybe they (or their competitors) have a smaller unit that would work.
You might want to try a loc8tor (Score:5, Informative)
Sure, I have some advice. (Score:2)
It would be less cost and trouble to just buy triplicates (or more) of everything you commonly misplace.
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If you could just tag items based on where they belong then you could sweep through the house looking for items that should be in a particular place. I think the submitter would be satisfied with something that would just speed up searches for items rather than needing absolute positioning of all items in the house.
didnt Wozniak try this? (Score:2)
Remote Beeping Device (Score:2)
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You will need (Score:2)
Getting a reader that can do a whole room will be many hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
Cheaper suggestion (Score:2)
Then, install cheap notebooks (or perhaps mini-audio recorders) next to the doors, so the next time anyone needs something, at least they'll give you a message. "Hey Frank, I need to borrow your ipod".
If that doesn't work, hire a family counselor to force you guys to START COMMUNICATING!!
My previous reading on slashdot suggests... (Score:2)
Garage Sale (Score:4, Insightful)
If you're losing items in messy closets or bedrooms, then you probably need to clean up the clutter. That or you own way too many valuable possessions that may be stolen or permanently lost. Live simple.
I live in a small, energy-efficient home. I own exactly what I need and no more. I have a computer, a desk, a chair, books, an acoustic guitar, a bike, and a couch. And that's about it.
All of my cookware and utensils stay in the kitchen and never leave. Cleaning supplies stay in a closet. My toothbrush in the medicine cabinet.
I never lose a thing. Ever.
Re:Garage Sale (Score:4, Funny)
Meh (Score:2)
Re:Garage Sale (Score:4, Informative)
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I'll put something down for a minute to go answer the phone, or use the bathroom, and then completely forget what I was in the middle of doing. Or, I'll get up and forget to put the tool down, and then spend five minutes looking for what I have in my hand.
Trying to organize things, find a place for them, and keep it that way literally gives me headaches. I'm not quite sure why.
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It's not really that the *children* need toys, insomuch as the parents need toys for their children so said children don't cause the parents to explode.
Ah, yes, I remember that Blessed State (Score:5, Funny)
Then I got married, and the sudden Alzheimer's onset began. Things... Things began to move. It began small, tv remotes, car keys and the like. Soon it extended out to clothing, kitchen appliances. And then things began to just -- I'M NOT CRAZY DAMMIT! STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT! -- things began to DISAPPEAR. Treasured old jeans, t-shirts I'd had since high school, important tax receipts from 1992, they all began to just go away with no explanation.
Then the poltergeists came, and my wife insisted on calling them children. I fiercely hold my TV remote in my hand, knowing that if I loosen my grip on it it will fly across the room. Change on the desktop, shiny hand tools, anything that beeps, whistles or lights up, DVDs of any stripe, anything less than 60 lbs of dead weight can fly away in a heartbeat.
But I'm safe now, here in my closet. I got my favorite Leatherman, my surefire flashlight, my solid brass Zippo lighter and MY TV REMOTE DAMMIT and I am NOT LETTING GO OF THEM! NOT LETTING GO!
And I am not opening the door. They're MINE, YA HEAR ME? MINE!!!!!!
Last room entered (Score:4, Insightful)
You, my good fellow... (Score:2)
Try UHF RFID Readers; they have better range (Score:2, Interesting)
only solution. (Score:2)
simple is a central PC and scanners at every doorway 4 per doorway should do it. to cover both sides and high/low carrying. then simply query the last doorway that tag 4855432 passed by, now you have what room it is in.
This works great until someone get's wise and then carries it in the doorway blind spots or grabs things at random and makes doors detect the items then smuggle them past the s
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hah (Score:3, Informative)
Passive:
pro - Tags are extremely small, readers are cheap, tags are cheap
con - Range, non-existant
Active:
pro - Range
con - expensive tags, tags are large, tags are battery powered
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A little off-topic but one thing that annoys the hell out of me is maintaining food in the fridge. Just how far is the range on a passive RFID?
For example it would be really cool if things like mayonnaise jars came with RFIDs and your refrigerator had an RFID reader + internet connection. Then you could run a database on the fridge and when you were away from home you could figure out hold old the mayonnaise is without having to open the fridge. In fact we could go one step further and have the fridge e
active vs. passive rfid (Score:3, Informative)
A passive RFID tag is powered by the reader - hence its short range. An active tag carries its own power supply - like the toll booth speedpass tags.
Active tags run from about the size of a dime to about the size of a paperback book - in my job I deal with the paperback book-sized tags.
Simple: BUY BIG STUFF (Score:4, Interesting)
They sell those giant-sized remote controls at Walgreens or your local random-crap-mart. Buy one, you'll never lose it again. It can't fall between the cushions of the couch because it's friggin huge. If the thing you don't want to lose doesn't come in giant-size, permanently attach it to something which is too large to lose but still portable. Gas stations have learned this lesson, that's why the bathroom key is attached to a huge plank.
To make it even easier, paint it something bright and garish.
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Why triangulate? (Score:3, Interesting)
So now if I have to (Score:2)
"Google" Home, of course... (Score:2)
The RFIDHouse (Score:5, Funny)
It's a little work upfront, but think of the advantages. No time wasted organizing your possessions. No time wasted "tidying up." Nothing can ever be out of place, because nothing BELONGS anywhere. The mixing bowl might not be in the kitchen, but it's no trouble. Just search for it using any of the dozens of wall terminals installed around the house, and a series of flashing arrows will direct you right to your desired object.
TOP SECRET FACT:Most cars tracking RFID ALREADY! (Score:2, Interesting)
TOP SECRET FACT:Most modern cars have tracking transponders ALREADY!
Spy transmission chips embedded in tires that can be read REMOTELY while driving.
Yup. My brother works on them (since 2001).
The us gov T.R.E.A.D. act (which passed) made it illegal to sell new passenger cars lacking untamperable RFID in the tires allowing efficient scanning of moving cars.
Your tires have a pas
Re:TOP SECRET FACT:Most cars tracking RFID ALREADY (Score:3, Funny)
cheaper, more fun buy 10 or chain em down (Score:2)
As for tools, I buy cheap wrench sets whenever they are on sale, and I only break out the good wrenches after I have broken one of my cheapies.
Just *DON'T* find missing socks (Score:3, Funny)
They're missing for a reason. If you find them, a paradoxical black hole will open up in your dryer and engulf the entire planet. Trust me, I've done the math.
For the love of god... not the socks.
Sounds like a NASA joke (Score:2)
http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp [snopes.com]
The cheap solution is to purchase some of these cheap tags and attach them to the objects in question;
http://www.nexusgadgets.com/Key-Finder-Key-Ring-pr-16448.html [nexusgadgets.com]
http://www.cgets.com/item--Remote-Key-Finder--Single_Key_Locator [cgets.com]
http://www.storepulls.com/products/Sonic_Key_Finder-218299-4432.html [storepulls.com]
That last one is under $2US.
monitor doorways (Score:2, Interesting)
Homeseer (Score:3, Informative)
Suggestions? (Score:3, Funny)
When you have people over for a dinner party, turn off the speaker that says "PLEASE RETURN TO THE STORE!"
RFID Reader and Tags (Score:2)
More expensive things than hammers go missing (Score:2, Insightful)
Finally... (Score:2, Funny)
Tag a box of stuff. (Score:2)
Hedley