For the amusement parks, the use of RFID systems
dramatically increases the efficiency and security of any the facility by
taking advantage of the benefits provided. The amusement parks can benefit from
the use of a cashless point-of-sale, vending, access control, and other
applications. The major benefits of using the RFID system are obvious in the
amusement parks no need of a card, ticket, or wallet for one to have full
access to all the places within the facility. The use of RFID-enabled lockers,
vending, and POS stations offers an ultimate experience for the guests.
For the amusement parks, the problem of losing children
and challenging experience in searching them. Locating a missing child in a
park can be difficult because they cover a large area, and there are many
guests either getting in or out. The use of RFID technology can help to track
children wherever they are (Chen, 2010). A new system called REACT is a privacy
preserving children tracking method which utilizes RFID tags placed on children
(Lin, Lu, Kwan & Shen, 2010). An example is a wristband that helps to track
the child’s movement throughout the park as they gain entry to various
checkpoints with RFID readers. The data is relayed back to the storage area
where the park operators can queue the children for easy location on the
request of a parent.
Overview of the RFID system
Basics
of the RFID components
RFID is an automatic identification technology that
enables easy identification, tracking, and detecting the different objects
connected to it. It comprises of tags having an antenna and scanner in which
the tag has an electronic label attached to the objects to store data. Other
major components of the RFID system are tags, antenna, reader, communication
gadgets, and software. There should be communication between the reader and the
tag that can be through wired and wireless networks. RFID uses an ultra-thin
electronic circuit called an inlet which can be sealed with an economical
wristband, label, card, or other items. The system allows instant and accurate
capture as well as verification of the data. It also provides a
non-line-of-sight interface that can be read around clothing, water, and the
non-metallic materials. The system allows reading and writing for data transfer
and communication with the host system and data storage (Wu, Ng, Yeung &
Ding, 2009).
Advances
in RFID system
There
are several advances in the use of RFID system in the amusement parks. The most
significant issue is the cashless point-of-sale services that enhance
convenience and improves on speed. Access control is also important in the
parks since it allows easy tracking of the guests, enhancing the anti-passback
feature, and also the patrolling experience. The keyless entry to the parks is
convenient and acts as an electronic wallet to the guests. The use RFID-enabled
lockers have ease of use and allow the day guests to store their items.
Industry
standards used in the RFID system
There are standards that apply to the amusement parks.
Among them is the ISO 17842-1: 2015 that regards the safety of amusement rides
and amusement devices. The standard specifies the minimum requirements
necessary to ensure the safe design, calculation, manufacture, and
installation. The machinery and structures used in the parks can be mobile,
temporary, or permanent. For instance, the amusement devices should repeatedly
be installed without loss of integrity and temporary in fair grounds of the
amusement parks. Other standards applicable in the amusement parks include ISO
45001 of occupational health and safety that helps to reduce the workplace
risks and creates a safe working environment. Also important Is ISO 27001 of
information security that ensures that the information used within the
organization is secure. It is also important to adhere to Risk management
standard labeled as ISO 31000 helps to manage the risks that could have a
negative impact on the performance of the amusement park (ISO, n.d). The park
is liable for many risks and hence requires proper risk management
strategies.
Benefits
and disadvantages of the RFID system in the amusement parks
The system helps to increase per cap spending, reducing
shrinkage, allows breakage especially the non-refunded cash left on the
wristband, automatic process, and enhancing the guest convenience. The major
applications of the RFID system in the amusement parks include cashless point
of sale, Keyless entry by use if lockers, automated admissions, and ticketing,
access control, security, tracking of the guest and the employees, age
verification, line queue control, and improved safety. The cashless RFID
reduces the time taken in the queue (Avoine, Dysli & Oechslin, 2005).
The major disadvantages of using the RFID system are the
high cost of implementation and long period for return on investment, as well
as the effects of the signals from the tags by metal and liquid. The RFID
system can collect and communicate by use of large information files leading to
huge amounts of data liable to be comprised in the case of a security breach.
Security
concerns and practices associated with the RFID system
RFID systems use various data security methods and are
crucial in protecting the private and confidential data stored in them. The
major threat to the use of RFID technology is the risk of a third party
tampering with the readers and the network used by the RF communications of the
tags and the readers. Other security concerns of interest are the impacts of
profiling, denial of service attacks, and jamming the inventory. There have
been several applications of the RFID system in different industries, but the
issue of security concern has not been resolved. The safeguarding of
information can be challenging to the administrators of the RFID systems due to
the possibility of tag sniffing. The effect of tag sniffing is an alteration,
corruption, or deletion of information.
Sniffing is capturing the packets transmitted through a system network
and reading the data to get the confidential information.
Impact of implementation
The implementation of the RFID technology in the
amusement park has several benefits which cannot be understated. The technology
will essentially enhance efficiency and security of the park as well as provide
the additional benefits of cashless point of sale, vending, access control, and
guest applications. The issue of locating children within the park can be
simplified by use of the RFID tags that record the location proximity of the
children as they pass across a reader. However, the implementation of the
systems also affects the human workforce of whom some will be irrelevant due to
automation. The policies used to run the amusement parks require to be changed
to allow easy adoption and integration of the systems. The park has to comply
with the standards in place, safety guidelines, and the operational aspects.
Training is also key to the implementation of the RFID technology.
Conclusion
Radio frequency Identification is a fast growing and
evolving technology that helps to enhance the mode of operations as well as
customer service. The type of technology is becoming the next big thing in many
industries that include healthcare, aviation, airline, manufacturing, and the
amusement parks alongside others. The RFID systems provide solutions to some of
the problems encountered in the amusement park and most significant being easy
locating of children when they get lost within the park perimeter.
References
Avoine, G., Dysli, E.,
& Oechslin, P. (2005, August). Reducing time complexity in RFID systems: In International Workshop
on Selected Areas in Cryptography (pp. 291-306). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Chen, C. (2010). Design
of a child localization system on RFID and wireless sensor networks: Journal
of Sensors, 2010
ISO (n.d) ISO Standards and their benefits in
industries, Retrieved from http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards.htm
Lin, X., Lu, R., Kwan,
D., & Shen, X. S. (2010). REACT: An RFID-based privacy-preserving children are tracking scheme for large
amusement parks. Computer Networks, 54(15),
2744-2755.
Wu, D. L., Ng, W. W.,
Yeung, D. S., & Ding, H. L. (2009, July). A brief survey of current RFID applications: In 2009 International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybernetics
(Vol. 4, pp. 2330-2335). IEEE.
Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at Melda Research in nursing research papers if you need a similar paper you can place your order for article critique writing services.
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