Am i out of my league here?

simplegreen

I was curious. My Grandmother runs a nonprofit organization that sends goodie bags for lack of a better word to soldiers overseas. She’s a bit older (bless her) and she’s having trouble which items go with which bag. So I started thinking I could make something that scans the first item that goes into the bag (or an rfid chip on the front of the bag she’s pulling the item from) and that RFid goes to its internal database and comes back and tells my grandmother which items to place in the bag with the main first item. I’ve been in computers all my life but never REALLY got into electronics. I wanted to build something that had a few constants: Could run on batteries, had an on/off switch, had an internal memory that when uploaded by a custom desktop app would tell the LCD read out what other items went with the bag, and lastly a serial/usb port to upload the data that is exported by the web application. I also thought this would be a great way to get involved in electronics and give me a will to see the project through.

What I really wanted to know from you all is A) any freakin clue how I could pull this off without spending a fortune. anyway I could get some advice or how tos from you or some resources you might have on hand?

So i guess over all:

1) what should my shopping list consist of? Im not bent on keeping costs as low as possible, i want the best solution with out overkill that will give me flexibility to add a possibility of 500+ items and the corresponding reference data to that item

2) Once i have all the parts, my god where do i start, how do i start?



I was suggested by Joe Grand a few items:
www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/BASICStampModules/tabid/134/ProductID/1/List/1/Default.aspx?SortField=ProductName,ProductName
www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/BASICStampModules/tabid/134/List/1/ProductID/50/Default.aspx?txtSearch=serial+lcd&SortField=ProductName%2cProductName
www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/BASICStampModules/tabid/134/List/1/ProductID/114/Default.aspx?txtSearch=rfid+serial&SortField=ProductName%2cProductName

Only problem i see so far is the size of the memory in the microprocessor, based on the information i'd like to display, i dont know if it will hold enough information that coudl go along with the possible 500 different items.

Thanks for reading.

Franklin

There are several ways to do this but if your grandmother is having trouble reading a list how much trouble will she have reading a device and remembering to scan and confirm a tag? Define fortune so we can get started.

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- Stephen

simplegreen

Well i'll admit, I really want to do the project so i can get some experience under my belt. So yes there are some inherit flaws but she's forgetting mainly because there are so many not so much that she wouldnt be able to scan the item ya know?

So how do i say this.. ok so there is a network of these little ladies, if i can get this to work, i'd love to donate the same thing to all of them. Kind of give something back kinda deal. So i'd like the result of the sum of my experiment to be less than 4-500 bucks. But for the first one to get it started i'd spend up to a grand, if i have to but i want to pick the right components and they dont have to be the cheapest nor the most expensive.

Appreciate everyone's help

tedbeau

This is a great idea, and something that I am sure could quite easily be done with the hardware that is available from and for parallax and the basic stamp.

I know that they have RF id readers you can get. For the price range you are talking about I think you can even get a barcode reader. You could place a barcode on each item's bin, scan the barcode as the item is placed in the bag. The Stamp could track and total the items and display the information and suggested next item using the debug command on a computer screen attached to the stamp or on an LCD display.

I don't know for sure if there is any information here on using a bar code reader with the stamp. but I know that it can be done using a palm PDA. I belong to a Palm users forum and this type of system has been done many times.

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simplegreen

Well truth is, I did consider barcoding. And even though it seems more logical, if im honest, i really wanted to get involved with RFID'ing. So thats really the leading reason. Then i figured, what better cause. Regardless of how you feel about war or whatever, helping people is still good stuff.

I think what i really need (in order) is a specific shopping list relative to what I need to build (cause I dont know), then how to actually physically assemble the parts (i've put together at least 2 dozen servers and pc's over the years dunno if this relates), then how to actually interface with what i've built.

Ideas?

J. A. Streich

Just a shot in the dark.

How about connecting an RFID reader, a power source, a LCD to a XBee modules (perhaps a few limiting resisters) for each "hand unit."

A propeller proto- or demo- board connected to one or more XBee modules, keeping track of the location everything, and showing reports on an old CRT or LCD monitor. If you want to get fancy, and have the time, add keyboard and mouse for data entry and correcting things. If not a protoboard, then use an XBee to let the units talk to computer with a real database.

Really it's beginning to sound like a Point of Sale (POS) system.

LoopyByteloose

Can anyone find a good cheap bar code reader? I see the nominal price is $200USD.

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PLEASE CONSIDER the following:

Do you want a quickly operational black box solution or the knowledge included therein?······

···················· Tropically,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan

Regor

I got one off of Amazon I've been happy with
http://www.amazon.com/Contact-Barcode-Scanner-Rugged-Design/dp/B000GGTTC8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1213598224&sr=8-6

It is important to check what barcode formats it reads to make sure it will meet your requirements.

Timothy D. Swieter

It almost sounds like what you want is a "pick to light" system. Back in the day I use to work for a major company that built arehouses, material handling system, baggage handling system and postal sorting machines. One of our products was a pick to light system. An order bin/box/bag had a bar code (you could use rfID too). The order picker would scan the barcode. The system would retrieve information about the order. In front of the order picker was a wall of bin or shelfs and each one would light up. The order picker would take the appropriate item out of the bin and then press the light to turn it off and signal that she "picked" the item. For items that may require a quantity pick, the light may light differently or another devices was used that had 7-segment displays for displaying a count.

Depend on your operation, maybe you build something like this. I like that you are willing to learn and create and to help people. I will subscribe to this thread to keep helping you if you need it.

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Timothy D. Swieter

www.brilldea.com·- uOLED-IOC, RGB LEDs, TLC5940 driver PCB
www.tdswieter.com

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One little spark of imagination is all it takes for an idea to explode