RFID Technology to Aid in Education of Deaf and Hearing-Impaired Students

In our last post we gave you a pretty broad overview of RFID technology and mentioned that we’d be focusing on RFID for a little while, since it is one of the more exciting emerging networking technologies for which ingenious people are finding ingenious applications. Well, here’s one of them.

The process of education is fraught with philosophical difficulties. How do you teach a student that a picture of an apple corresponds with the letters a-p-p-l-e corresponds with the word-sound “apple?” If you really think about it, it’s a miracle we learn anything at all. And now imagine how difficult it is for hearing-impaired students. Two researchers at Southeastern Louisiana University
are working on this very problem--and they’re using RFID technology.

Becky Sue Parton and Robert Hancock, two assistant professors at SLU, have devised a project called the “Physical World Hyperlinking” teaching system. It is based off of the common Internet tendency to take a piece of text or an image and hyperlink it to something that expands on or clarifies its meaning. They’re applying that principle to everyday objects in order to teach deaf and hearing-impaired students their meanings and uses. Starting with an initial set of 500 objects--all equipped with RFID tags--the pair have created a system of reference whereby the objects trigger a computer to give information content such as an interpreter signing the word describing the object and photos or videos of the object in use.

For example, a student can pick up a pencil and then several photos of various pencils and variations of pencils will be displayed as well as a video of someone signing the word for pencil, the word pencil written in English, and a pronunciation guide for speaking the word pencil. The system can be used in the classroom or even adapted for home use via a laptop.

Parton and Hancock have been awarded a $390,000 grant from the US Department of Education to develop the Physical World Hyperlinking system. Traditionally, hearing-impaired students learn sign language by pairing classroom objects with drawings that depict the signs; this process is fairly slow, however, setting back such students five to six years behind the educational curve. Parton and Hancock contend that this new RFID-based system will teach students much more quickly by allowing them to interact with their environment on a more visceral and playful level.

Hopefully more education researchers will take advantage of RFID technology. This example really highlights some of the strengths of RFID. In a way, RFID allows the “real world” to catch up to the Information Age by imbuing everyday objects, from pencils to massive shipping containers, with a rich set of information.

On RFID

Picture this: It is 1946 and World War II has recently ended. Tensions are high, however, between the United States and the (then) U.S.S.R. Russian inventor Léon Theremin, who has twenty-six years earlier invented one of the first electronic instruments, the theremin, was imprisoned and forced to work on scientific research to help the Russians in the impending Cold War with the Americans. Under these conditions, Theremin invented a listening device dubbed "The Thing." It is the first electronic listening device (commonly known as a "bug"). The Thing used passive electromagnetic induction to transmit an audio signal. It was also the precursor to modern-day RFID technology.

Generally speaking, RFID tags are composed of an integrated circuit that stores and processes information, and modulates and demodulates a radio frequency signal. A separate component is comprised of an antenna, which transmits and receives the signal. There are three common types of RFID tag:

1. Active RFID tags, which use a batter to transmit signals autonomously;
2. passive RFID tags, which need an external source to make a transmission (like Theremin's Thing);
3. and battery assisted passive RFID tags, which also need an external source to provoke a transmission, but have a greater range than mere passive RFID tags.

RFID is actually one of the fastest-growing segments of the networking industry. It finds wide application across just about every field:

• Asset Tracking
• Asset Management
• Product Tracking
• Theft Prevention
• Inventory Systems
• Sporting Events Regulation
• Passports and Identification
• Mobile Payment
• Transportation Payment
• Transportation and Logistics
• Animal Identification
• Library Systems
• Education
• Museums

Over the next few weeks, we're going to delve into some aspects of RFID as it relates to networking. Stay tuned!

Is Chrome the speediest browser on the block?

It’s starting to look that way. Yesterday Google announced the official release of Chrome 3, its WebKit-based, open source (and Windows-exclusive) browser. It is vaunted to have a faster JavaScript engine, improvements to Omnibox, the ability to support themes (similar to FireFox skins), and a redesigned tabs page.

Even though the browser has only been around for a little more than a year, it has been a pretty big show over the bow in the browser wars, not the least because of the upcoming Google Chrome OS and the already-emerged Android OS for smartphones.

The latest version of the Chrome web browser is said by Google to handle JavaScript over 150% faster than the original version of Chrome. Its V8 JavaScript engine is now much faster than Mozilla’s TraceMonkey JavaScript engine and nearly as spry as Apple’s Nitro engine.

Chrome 3 underwent extensive user beta testing, so its official release is not exactly making waves; it does allow a wider user base to gain easy access to the browser. Some of its improvements are obviously aimed at the casual user, such as the theme system, which allows users to customize the browser’s look and feel and take advantage of pre-made styles, which are available from the Chrome theme gallery. For the power users, Chrome brings in support for several important HTML5 features such as the Video element.

Google’s pet browser is growing up fast. According to the analytics firm Net Applications, Chrome’s marketshare increased from 1.52% in January to 2.84% in August. It is now more widely-used than Opera and it is gaining quickly on Safari. Undoubtedly, these gains are just further Google’s plans for world domination.

A Great Resource for Networking Pros

Here's a good resource for the networking and IT professionals out there: Tek-Tips forums. Here on their networking portal there are links to further portals that cover a range of manufacturers and devices:

• 3Com: Hubs
• 3Com: NIC's
• 3Com: Routers
• 3Com: Switches
• ADTRAN networking solutions
• Ascend(Lucent) networking solutions
• Cisco: LocalDirector load balancing solutions
• Cisco: Routers
• Cisco: Switches
• Compatible networking solutions
• Enterasys (Cabletron) networking solutions
• Extreme Networks networking solutions
• Foundry Networks solutions
• HP: ProCurve networking solutions
• Intel networking solutions
• Juniper Networks solutions
• Linksys networking solutions
• Lucent Technologies networking solutions
• Motorola networking solutions
• NBase-Xyplex networking solutions
• Network Appliance networking solutions
• Nortel networking solutions
• Shiva (Intel) networking solutions
• U.S. Robotics networking solutions

The forums are well-moderated and heavily trafficked. If you have a persnickety question about networking, or if you're feeling helpful, you should definitely check Tek-Tips out. Each sub-category also has a list of links, FAQs, jobs, whitepapers, and other resources.

Friday Links

NVISION is adding some new features to its enterprise routers.
PC World offers some tips on buying a wireless router.
Leoxsys is launching a new draft-N wireless storage router.
Will there be a Wi-Fi virus outbreak? Maybe...

Not Another Dual-Band Wireless Router?

Earlier in the week we wrote about how you should set up a dual-band 5 GHz/2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network in your home. Now, appropriately enough, it looks like Netgear is set to release its flagship router, the elegantly-named RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router WNDR3700.

The WNDR3700 is the company’s top-of-the-line draft-N router. It offers concurrent signal (that is, simultaneous) dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi. It also has a feature called ReadyShare, which allows for high-speed wireless access across your network to a USB hard drive connected to the router. It also has broadband usage meter (which is a first in a consumer-grade wireless router). Netgear calls the router the “ultimate networking machine for gamers, media enthusiasts, and small businesses,” and we have to agree.

The router is supposed to be equipped with a 680 MHz processor and offer speeds up to 500 Mbps WAN to LAN, and up to 350 Mbps in “real-world wireless throughput.” It is also DLNA-certified, which will make it more proficient at streaming digital media.

The RangeMax Dual Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router WNDR3700 is currently available to purchase, worldwide and it comes with a one-year warranty. It has a hefty (but assumedly worthwhile) price tag of $190. If you’re looking to make a big upgrade to your home network, you could do a lot worse than the WNDR3700.

Are you interested in faster network speeds?

If you’re using a wireless router to connect your home network to the Internet, then you should definitely be using a simultaneous dual-band 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi network. There are currently several routers that support dual-band Wi-Fi, including the Apple Airport Extreme, D-Link DIR-825, and Linksys WRT600N.

Why go dual-band?

There are tons of wireless devices clogging up the 2.4 GHz spectrum: Bluetooth headsets, microwaves, cordless phones—even other Wi-Fi networks. Alternately, the 5 GHz spectrum is wide open and nearly as fast as a wired connection; however, you cannot abandon the 2.4 GHz network altogether without leaving behind your older devices. Therefore, you should go with a dual-band Wi-Fi solution.

How to go dual-band

First of all, you’ll need to make sure your computer hardware supports a 5 GHz 802.11n wireless connection. Newer MacBooks and iMacs with a Core 2 Duo support 802.11n Wi-Fi. If you’re a PC user, then you need to check your hardware profile under the Control Panel or check the manufacturer’s specifications. If your built-in hardware doesn’t support 802.11n Wi-Fi, you can purchase hardware that will hook up via USB or a PC Card adapter.

It is pretty simple to set up your dual-band Wi-Fi network. If you have a Mac, then it is as simple as turning on the 802.11n-capable router. Your Mac will automatically use the 5 GHz network while your other wireless devices will remain on the 2.4 GHz network.

If you’re more fastidious about your devices or if you’re using a PC, you’ll have to set up two wireless networks from the dual-band router: One 5 GHz and one 2.4 GHz. You’ll want to go to the router configuration screen by entering its IP address in a web browser. There, you can configure it to create two different networks. Now you can point your 802.11n-capable hardware to the 5 GHz network, and your other hardware to the 2.4 GHz network. You won’t miss your old speeds, we guarantee it!

Hey folks!

We're the Networking and Telecom Guys, and we'll be blogging about news, tips, and tricks having to do with... you guessed it: Networking and Telecom.