HOW TECHNOLOGY AFFECTS US
Needless to say “The age of Information Technology is well upon us”. Rapid advances in technology are constantly changing the ways we handle everyday problems. Technology affords us faster, more accurate and efficient methods of keeping track of large amounts of information and allowing us communicate it to our colleagues without any errors in transmission.

Businesses are making use of the internet at all levels. From simple email to real time transmission of audio and video we all can share our information with anyone, anywhere in the world, with or without data security, in a matter of minutes.

In order to send meaningful information we must develop methods to collect this data efficiently and without mistakes. To get meaningful results you must start with meaning information. In other words “Garbage in –Garbage out”!

AUTOMATIC DATA COLLECTION
It really was not that many years ago when retailers carried around a pencil behind their ears and added up the customer’s receipt on the side of the brown paper bag the product left the store in.

Today we all experience an automatic data collection phenomenon each time we check out of the grocery store. Every product is marked with a UPC bar code symbol. Every checkout counter utilizes a high-speed laser scanner to read these codes and identify the packages as they pass through. This checkout process is a common example of a highly efficient data collection process that affords high-speed recording and virtually error free results.

Similarly, our credit cards incorporate a magnetic stripe in which the account number, expiration date and other pertinent information is encoded. We all have experienced an automated gas pump or ATM where the magnetic striped card is utilized to complete the transaction.

Right around the corner is smart card technology, where a large amount of data can be stored on a silicon computer chip placed within your card. This data may contain your biometrics information, such as your personal fingerprints, retinal eye scans, facial recognition characteristics, medical records, buying habits and anything else Big Brother needs to keep track of you. This advanced technology will also make it more difficult for the bad guys to utilize stolen cards for their schemes.

Up there with smart cards is RFID technology. An RFID tag is a very small radio frequency transponder. You may have seen this technology used in the “chips” the veterinarians place under a dog’s skin to identify him in case he is found after running away. The RFID tag contains a miniature coil of wire to act as an antenna. When a scanner scans over the area of the tag it “excites” the tag and causes it to come alive. The tag then reports back to the scanner its presence by transmitting its unique assigned serial number and any other data that is stored in it. They tag may also be capable of receiving and storing additional records data.

Today you can wave the Mobil “Speed Pass” at the gas pump or drive through the tollgate at 20 miles an hour with “SunPass”. Give it a few more years and there will be RFID tags on your garbage cans, keeping track of your weekly pickups. When you stand in line at an amusement park carrying your ticket you will be automatically tracked to see how long you have to wait on the line before gaining access to the ride.

Not only have they identified the customer but they have also collected other pertinent data about the customer.

DATALOGGERS
Add electronic sensors to the identification process and you can automatically collect all kinds of data. Not only can you take readings of identification, now you can keep track of temperature, humidity, pressure, weight etc. and you can also view their changing trends over time.

Data Loggers have build in clocks. They keep track of real time while storing the individual readings taken at each sampling point. These data loggers show trends in the environment they are recording.

Dynasys engineers are experts on all types of automatic data collection technologies. When you have a complex data collection application please call your Dynasys Sales Engineer to help you specify the right components for your project.