AdvanReader-160

- On-board Linux computer: you can program your own software routines, saving the need and cost of an external computer
- Works with batteries, for stand-alone applications: includes a mode of minimum consumption (sleep mode), increasing battery life. It monitors the battery level.
- 4-port
- High power, high sensitivity
- USB HID emulation
- RTC (Real Time Chip) with on-board battery
- Controls up to 1024 antennas, with Keonn multiplexers
- Controls electronically the beam orientation of directive antennas, with AdvanPhaser
- Direct connection to external loudspeaker for alarm applications
- 2 digital/analogue inputs
- 2 only digital inputs
- 8 digital outputs (+5 V)
  - 4 x GPO up to 100 mA ready to drive high power LED
  - 4 x GPO up to 8 mA
- 1 relay output
- Powers up external devices: non-isolated power output: 5 V, 200 mA (DC)
- Powered through PoE, power supply of 12 V (DC), or batteries
- Communications interface: Ethernet, optional WiFi
- Software drivers with advanced functions for monitoring and control

AdvanReader-160 benefits:

- Saves the cost of an external computer
- Fully open Linux operating system
- Ideal for stand-alone systems
- High-performance: high output power and high sensitivity
- Reduces time and cost of developing RFID systems. Ideal for embedding it inside RFID systems
- Can become your own reader, if you put your company logo on the enclosure.

Getting Started

Helpful downloads:

Download Datasheet (see download files section)
Download User Manual (see download files section)

Differences over the AdvanReader-150.03

Please visit this link for more information.

Steps

These are the minimum steps to start using AdvanReader-160:

1. Connect antenna

Connect an antenna to AdvanReader port 1 with an RF Cable.

Never connect or disconnect an antenna while AdvanReader is ON. Always disconnect AdvanReader from the power supply when connecting/disconnecting antennas.

2. Power AdvanReader unit

Connect the AdvanReader to a power supply (Switch PoE, PoE injector, +24 V supply, etc..) and wait until it beeps. It will take between 40 and 50 seconds to boot.

Only one sub-chapter is required (2.1 or 2.2)

2.1 Using a PoE injector or PoE enabled switch

Follow this diagram to connect AdvanReader-160:

Connection using a PoE injector

Connection using a PoE enabled switch

2.2 Using a Power Supply or Battery

Follow this diagram to power AdvanReader-160 with a power supply or battery:

Connection using a power supply

Connection using a 12 V battery

3. Configuration

Almost on any installation it is required to adjust AdvanReader operation.

3.1. Discover Device

Configuration requires Ethernet access to the unit, as it uses a web application.

We need therefore to connect the AdvanReader unit to an Ethernet network and execute an IP discovery process. After the configuration process is finished, the Ethernet cable can be removed.

To be able to discover the AdvanReader IP address, use a PC in the same network as the computer.

Please see the discover devices for the 160/60 Series devices: series160/60-Discover-devices.

3.2. Enter AdvanNet Manager

The previous step will result in the IP that is assigned to the device. Let's name it <AdvanReader-IP-address>

Use a computer in the same network as the AdvanReader.
Open a Web Browser (Chrome or Firefox are required).
Go to the page: http://<AdvanReader-IP-address>
Enter with the following credentials if asked:

User: admin
Password: admin

Select the only device in the drop-down list, if it is not selected, and connect to it:

3.3. Read modes

AdvanReader has 3 different Configurations: Autonomous, Sequential, and Alarm mode.

A configuration can have different read modes:

1. Autonomous configuration:
  1. AUTONOMOUS: In this read mode the RF engine schedules the antenna switching automatically amongst the available RF ports (1, 2, 3 or 4).
2. AUTONOMOUS_TRACK_MISSING: reading mode with specific configuration to keep track of tags coming in and out from the RF field.
3. Sequential configuration:

- 1. SEQUENTIAL: In this read mode the RF engine waits for read commands.
  2. DYNAMIC_INVENTORY: See Dynamic Inventory Wiki page

1. Alarm mode configuration:

- 1. EPC_EAS_ALARM: The alarm recognizes EPC patterns to trigger appropriate events. This is the default read mode.
  2. EPC_EAS_DISABLE: Disables the alarm pattern on each found tag.
  3. EPC_EAS_ENABLE: Enables the alarm pattern on each found tag.
  4. NXP_EAS_ALARM: The alarm recognizes the NXP EAS bit to trigger appropriate events.
  5. NXP_EAS_DISABLE: Disables the NXP EAS bit on any found tag.
  6. NXP_EAS_ENABLE: Enables the NXP EAS bit on any found tag.
  7. SQL_EAS_ALARM: EAS mode that uses an SQL database.
  8. EPCBULK_EAS_ALARM: EAS mode that triggers the alarms when several tags are read at the same time.

3.4. Persist Configuration

Using the apply button only changes the runtime settings, in order to make those changes persistent follow the steps below:

Remember to apply the configuration.
Click the persist button (surrounded in red) to persist the configuration.
In this case, the AdvanReader will start with AUTONOMOUS configuration.

While changing the configuration, AdvanReader operation remains stopped.

In order to start it again:

- Go to monitor tab.
- Press the start button

3.5. Monitor tab

Go to the monitor tab and press the start button. The result will be like the following:

Advanced Configuration

Power and Sensitivity

The power and sensitivity of the AdvanReader its already being set for the best performance but in the RF & Antenna Options tab can be configured for a more suitable performance. For more information about it look at this post What-is-the-difference-between-Power-and-Sensitivity.

Antenna Configuration

Each antenna has its own configuration:

- Reader port: The port where the antenna is connected.
- Mux1 port: The multiplexor port where the antenna is connected.
- Mux2 port: The multiplexor port where the antenna is connected.
- Position: Static position for the antenna (x, y, z).
- Location: String definition for the antenna.
- Power: The power for the antenna (If empty it will use the Power saw in the previous chapter (Power and Sensitivity)).
- Sensitivity: The sensitivity for the antenna (If empty it will use the Sensitivity saw in the previous chapter (Power and Sensitivity)).

There has to be an antenna connected in the configured reader port.

If an antenna is not configured, AdvanNet will not use it, even if its connected.

Events & Actions

You can configure which actions will be trigger in the available events. For example, the most used event is:

TAG_READ: This event is created when AdvanReader reads an EPC and, in this case, it will trigger an Speaker action.
- TAG_READ_ANTENNA_1: This event is created when the antenna 1 of AdvanReader reads an EPC and, in this case, it will trigger a GPO action.

Change device IP

To change the IP visit Change device IP.

Features

Common Series 160 and 70 Series

Please visit Series 160 and 70 series page

REST API development

See REST API development page.

Battery-assisted RTC

The AdvanReader-m2-60 uses a battery to keep the time across reboots.

How date/time management works:

- RTC date/time is loded at boot-up time
- To avoid RTC drift, RTC date/time is updated periodically when NTP client is able to synchronized the time with Internet time servers
- Time zone is OS dependent is can be changes at any time

Access CSV log

CSV files are intended for backup purposes only.

CSV file format may change after an upgrade without further notice.

All system activity is logged into a CSV file. This file can be accessed at any time:

- Retrieve CSV log file accessing the URL (HTTP GET request)

http://{device_ip}:3161/system/fs/retrieveFile/AdvanNetCSVS

The CSV file is retrieved as an uncompress file named

advansafe-100-tags.csv

The CSV file structure is self-explanatory. it contains events of the following type
- TAG_READ: a read event of a tag
- TAG_ALARM: an alarm has been detected. The ALARM event also specifies the type of alarm:
  - NXP_EAS: alarm due to NXP EAS bit.
  - EPC_EAS: alarm due to EPC pattern.
  - EPCBULK:_EAS: alarm due to bulk EPC read.
  - TAG_ALARM_ANTENNA_1
  - TAG_ALARM_ANTENNA_2
  - TAG_ALARM_ANTENNA_3
  - TAG_ALARM_ANTENNA_4

Available starting at firmware version 2.1.0-rc2

The size of the log file could grow up to 300 MBytes. It is very important to clear it out from time to time to avoid long download times.

Clear CSV log

To clear the internal CSV log file, access the URL (HTTP GET request)

http://{device_ip}:3161/system/fs/removeFile/AdvanNetCSVS

Access real-time data

All system activity can be accessed at real-time by listening at TCP socket port 3177.

The protocol used is very similar to HTTP and the message format is xml. The following is a sample of message:

ADVANNET/1.0

Content-Length:488

Content-Type:text/xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<type>deviceEventMessage</type>

<event>

<class>com.keonn.device.impl.DefaultTagAlarmEvent</class>

<type>TAG_ALARM</type>

<typeclass>com.keonn.spec.event.DeviceEvent$EventType</typeclass>

<deviceId>AdvanSafe-m-100-eu</deviceId>

</event>

<deviceId>AdvanSafe-m-100-eu</deviceId>

</deviceEventMessage>

Important characteristics:

Header always contains
- ADVANNET/1.0: protocol version
- Content-Length: length of the message
- Content-Type: type of the message
There is an empty line between the headers and the start of the message.
Line separators are CRLF characters: this applies to header lines and the empty line between headers and content. The content itself (in case of txt or xml type) may contain any form of line separator.

TAG messages

Possible TAG events that will be received are:

INVENTORY

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<type>inventory</type>

<msg-version>2.1.0beta</msg-version>

<op>inventory</op>

<data>

<advanNetId>AdvanNet-instance-d0:5f:b8:ff:0b:c9--1</advanNetId>

<deviceId>AdvanReader-m4-160</deviceId>

<class>INVENTORY</class>

<deviceId>AdvanReader-m4-160</deviceId>

<items>

<item>

<class>READ_EVENT</class>

<deviceId>AdvanReader-m4-160</deviceId>

<data>

<props>

<prop>RF_PHASE:104</prop>

<prop>READ_COUNT:33</prop>

<prop>ANTENNA_PORT:1</prop>

<prop>TIME_STAMP:1424762477480</prop>

</props>

</data>

<class>LOCATED_TAG_DATA</class>

<class>ANTENNA_DEFINITION</class>

<def>AdvanReader-m4-160,1,0,0,0,antenna1,1,0,0</def>

</antenna>

<class>LOCATION_DEFINITION</class>

<loc>antenna1,1,0,0</loc>

</location>

</locationData>

</item>

...

</items>

</inventory>

</data>

</inventory>

TAG_ALARM

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<type>deviceEventMessage</type>

<event>

<class>com.keonn.device.impl.DefaultTagAlarmEvent</class>

<type>TAG_ALARM</type>

<typeclass>com.keonn.spec.event.DeviceEvent$EventType</typeclass>

<deviceId>AdvanSafe-m-100-eu</deviceId>

</event>

<deviceId>AdvanSafe-m-100-eu</deviceId>

</deviceEventMessage>

TAG_ALARM_ANTENNA_1

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<type>deviceEventMessage</type>

<event>

<class>com.keonn.device.impl.DefaultTagAlarmEvent</class>

<type>TAG_ALARM_ANTENNA_1</type>

<typeclass>com.keonn.spec.event.DeviceEvent$EventType</typeclass>

<deviceId>AdvanSafe-m-100-eu</deviceId>

</event>

<deviceId>AdvanSafe-m-100-eu</deviceId>

</deviceEventMessage>

TAG_ALARM_ANTENNA_2

See TAG_ALARM_ANTENNA_1

TAG_ALARM_ANTENNA_3

See TAG_ALARM_ANTENNA_1

TAG_ALARM_ANTENNA_4

See TAG_ALARM_ANTENNA_1

TAG_ALARM_DISABLED

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<type>deviceEventMessage</type>

<event>

<class>com.keonn.device.impl.DefaultTagAlarmEvent</class>

<type>TAG_ALARM_DISABLED</type>

<typeclass>com.keonn.spec.event.DeviceEvent$EventType</typeclass>

<deviceId>AdvanReader-m4-160</deviceId>

</event>

<deviceId>AdvanReader-m4-160</deviceId>

</deviceEventMessage>

TAG_ALARM_ENABLED

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<type>deviceEventMessage</type>

<event>

<class>com.keonn.device.impl.DefaultTagAlarmEvent</class>

<type>TAG_ALARM_ENABLED</type>

<typeclass>com.keonn.spec.event.DeviceEvent$EventType</typeclass>

<deviceId>AdvanReader-m4-160</deviceId>

</event>

<deviceId>AdvanReader-m4-160</deviceId>

</deviceEventMessage>

SYSTEM messages

Possible SYSTEM events that will be received are:

- ADVANNET_INFO

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<type>eventMessage</type>

<event>

<class>com.keonn.advannet.impl.event.DefaultAdvanNetEvent</class>

<type>ADVANNET_INFO</type>

<typeclass>com.keonn.spec.event.AdvanNetEvent$AdvanNetEventType</typeclass>

<advanNetId>AdvanNet-instance-00:1e:8c:25:0c:43--1</advanNetId>

<msg>Device[adrd-m4-100] started in mode: EPC_EAS_ALARM</msg>

</event>

</eventMessage>

- ADVANNET_DEVICE_CONNECTED

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<type>eventMessage</type>

<event>

<class>com.keonn.advannet.impl.event.DefaultAdvanNetEvent</class>

<type>ADVANNET_DEVICE_CONNECTED</type>

<typeclass>com.keonn.spec.event.AdvanNetEvent$AdvanNetEventType</typeclass>

<advanNetId>AdvanNet-instance-7c:66:9d:55:60:df--1</advanNetId>

<deviceId>AdvanSafe-m-100-eu</deviceId>

</event>

</eventMessage>

- ADVANNET_DEVICE_DISCONNECTED

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<type>eventMessage</type>

<event>

<class>com.keonn.advannet.impl.event.DefaultAdvanNetEvent</class>

<type>ADVANNET_DEVICE_DISCONNECTED</type>

<typeclass>com.keonn.spec.event.AdvanNetEvent$AdvanNetEventType</typeclass>

<advanNetId>AdvanNet-instance-7c:66:9d:55:60:df--1</advanNetId>

<deviceId>AdvanSafe-m-100-eu</deviceId>

</event>

</eventMessage>

- Also several error messages can be received.

Battery operation

Battery operation is potentially dangerous.

Please read your battery specification carefully and contact with the battery manufacturing to ensure proper battery operation.

AdvanReader-m-160 can be operated with a battery in the range of 12 to 24 V.

Battery voltage level can be checked at AdvanNet Manager

Battery voltage level can also be queried by using the REST API

Battery voltage may not be accurate, please verify by some other means the value displayed is accurate enough and/or correct the reported value according to the other measure.

Battery level or remaining charge

From battery voltage it is possible to derive the battery level or remaining battery charge.

Every battery has a characteristic discharge curve that can be used to derive such value.

For example, the following is the curve for one NiCd cell

Battery deep discharge

Some battery may suffer damage from deep discharges, battery life may be reduced or battery may become completely unusable.

It is the user responsibility to avoid battery deep discharges.

Customization

AdvanNet Manager

AdvanNet Manager is the web application used to configure and test AdvanReader and AdvanReader derived system.

AdvanNet Manager is a web application written entirely using HTML and Javascript, some parts of it can be customized easily.

Follow the steps above to customize the look & and feel of it:

- As the customization requires access to the internal Linux machine, please request root password as stated in 160 Series Embedded Development

- Log into the Linux machine
- Stop the AdvanNet process: >sudo killall java
- Locate the web application file:

/home/keonn/kernel/module/app.AdvanNet/lib/AdvanNetRest.war

- Customize the contents of the application as defined in AdvanNet Manager UI customization

(just follow the steps 2 to 4 -both included-)

Remove the web application cache

sudo rm -rf /home/keonn/tmp/*

- Restart AdvanNet Manager

sudo /etc/init.d/keonn-startup.sh start

Any change done in the web application will be lost after an upgrade.

Embedded development

See the embedded development page.

USB Wifi Adapters

See the embedded networking page.

System update

AdvanReader 160 Series uses an embedded Linux board with the required software for it autonomous operation. It is a flexible platform that can be extended.

The root user is required in some update steps. Please make sure to follow the guidelines as an improper use of the root user may cause the system to stop working.

Request root password by following instructions here.

Restoring images

Any of the procedures explained in this chapter may delete all the contents in the on-board AdvanReader-m-160 memory.

IN NO EVENT SHALL KEONN TECHNOLOGES SL OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH ANY OF THE PROCEDURES RELATED TO RESTORE IMAGE PROCEDURES.

The on-board Linux board features:

- 4 GBytes eMMC memory on-board.
- microSD slot: this is not required to have a bootable system.
- 512 Mb RAM
- Single core processor up to 1 Ghz

SD images

Download the following images for AdvanReader 160 Series.

AdvanReader 160 Series revision 04:

AdvanReader-m4-160 SD Image

THE IMAGES LISTED HEREIN ARE FOR TROUBLESHOOTING PURPOSES ONLY, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THEY HAVE THE SAME SOFTWARE AS A FACTORY NEW DEVICE.

Copying the SD into the on-board eMMC

All contents in the on board memory will be erased by this process. make sure to backup any important date before starting this process.

This is a straightforward procedure:

- Use a micro SD card of a minimum of 8 Gbyte and class 10.
  - When a SD is inserted, the system tries to boot from the SD first.
- Prepare the micro SD that will be written into the on-bard memory.
  - Must be a bootable SD. Only images provided by Keonn Technologies SL are supported.
  - The used space must not be larger than 3 GBytes
  - Flash the image by using:
  - Windows: use Win32DiskImager
  - Linux: there is no need to uncompress the image. Most distributions come with tools to write to SD or Use a command similar to
  - sudo bzip2 -cd image.img.bz2 | dd of=/dev/sdb bs=128K
- Insert the SD and power the device.
- Make sure the device has started from the SD card. Check for
  - Files you know you have in the SD card only.
  - Files you know you have in the eMMC memory only.
  - The size of the partitions: eMMC is 4 GB and SD cards may be larger.

Execute the script sudo /home/keonn/bin/beaglebone-black-eMMC-flasher.sh

Creating an image of the on-board eMMC

Make sure to backup any important content on the onboard memory by some other means before attempting this process.

Follow the steps:

- Prepare a bootable SD (see previous entry)
- Power off the board and insert the SD card.
- Power the board. Make sure the board has booted up from the SD card (see previous entry to verify this point)
- Connect to the device by using SSH from an external PC.
- Create an image of the eMMC direct to your PC

sudo dd if=/dev/mmcblk1 bs=1M | ssh user@192.168.7.1 "dd of=/home/user/Desktop/adrd_Backup.img bs=1M"

Restoring an image to the on-board eMMC

All contents in the on board memory will be erased by this process. make sure to backup any important date before starting this process.

Follow the steps:

- Prepare a bootable SD. (see previous entry)
- Power off the board and insert the SD card.
- Power the board. Make sure the board has booted up from the SD card (see previous entries to verify this point)
- Connect to the device by using SSH from an external PC.
- Execute

ssh user@192.168.7.1 "dd if=/home/user/Desktop/adrd_Backup.img bs=1M" | sudo dd of=/dev/mmcblk1 bs=1M

- Power off device and remove SD
- Reboot.

Frequently asked questions

IP protection

As an general purpose embedded reader, the AdvanReader-160 is used in completely different environments: from indoors to harsh environments. That's why the reader does not provide any IP rating and the protection must be implemented for each specific use.

Available SDK

The AdvanReader-160 can be used from the following APIs:

- AdvanNet API: Keonn common product API.
- Mercury Java API: modified version of the ThingMagic Mercury API. The modifications allow to use the IO functionality of the reader.

Date/Time management

The reader 160 does not have an internal battery to hold the Date and Time settings across system reboots.

With Internet access

Whenever the reader has Internet access

It uses NTP to update its internal time after each reboot and periodically.
The Date/Time can also be changed by using the AdvanNet Manager (Web GUI). Once the Date/Time has been changed the NTP stops updating the system Date/Time.
The Date/Time can also be updated programmatically using the REST API.

Without Internet access

- The system Date/Time is reset after a reboot.
- It is required to use AdvanNet Manager or the API to update the Date/Time.

In order to change the Date and Time settings from the GUI, please follow the steps on the Series 160 page

This situation will be fixed in the next reader revision, which is due for the first quarter of 2016.

The readers will feature an internal battery to hold the Date and Time.

Time zone management

The Time zone is persisted across reboots.

The TimeZone can be changed by using the AdvanNet Manager (Web GUI)
The TimeZone can also be updated programmatically using the REST API.

IO features

The AdvanReader-160 features the following IO capabilities:

- 1 x speaker output (2 Watt)
- 1 x LED on line
- 1 x Ethernet link line
- 1 x Ethernet activity line
- 1 x +5 V OUT line
- 4 x digital GPO lines: 5 V and 100 mA
- 4 x digital GPO lines: 5 V and 8 mA
- 2 x digital/analogue GPI lines:
  - range: 0 V - 3 V
  - range: 0 V - 10 V
- 2 x digital only GPI lines

Access Sensor data

Sensor data can be accessed with an HTTP GET command

http://$DEVICE_IP/devices/$DEVICE_ID/sensorAll

Where $DEVICE_ID will be something like AdvanReader-m4-160-7b63

The result will look like

<type>response</type>

<op>sensorAll</op>

<data>

<SENSOR_AUX_TEMPERATURE_2>35.28</SENSOR_AUX_TEMPERATURE_2>

<SENSOR_VOLTAGE_6>0.0</SENSOR_VOLTAGE_6>

<SENSOR_VOLTAGE_1>0.41</SENSOR_VOLTAGE_1>

<SENSOR_CONSUMPTION_7>4.6</SENSOR_CONSUMPTION_7>

<SENSOR_VOLTAGE_3>0.01</SENSOR_VOLTAGE_3>

<SENSOR_5VCC_VOLTAGE_5>5.0</SENSOR_5VCC_VOLTAGE_5>

<SENSOR_BATTERY_VOLTAGE_4>0.32</SENSOR_BATTERY_VOLTAGE_4>

</data>

</response>

Where:

SENSOR_AUX_TEMPERATURE_2: is the internal power supply temperature (ºC)
SENSOR_VOLTAGE_6: is the IN1 analogue value (V)
SENSOR_VOLTAGE_1: internal value used to derive the consumption (V)
SENSOR_CONSUMPTION_7: estimate of the unit consumption (W)
- SENSOR_VOLTAGE_3: is the IN2 analogue value (V)
SENSOR_5VCC_VOLTAGE_5: measure of the internal 5 V line (V)
SENSOR_BATTERY_VOLTAGE_4: measure of the 24 V power supply (V)

What is the maximum sensitivity?

In AdvanReader-m4-160 the real maximum sensitivity is around -78 dBm to -80 dBm.

Is AdvanReader-160 reading power limited by POE or power supply?

No, AdvanReader-160 can read up to 31.5 dBm, regardless of whether it is powered by POE or power supply.

Is AdvanReader-160 compatible with a Bluetooth adapter?

Yes, AdvanReader-160 is compatible with Bluetooth adapters for Linux operating systems

What is the maximum SD card size supported by AdvanReader-160?

AdvanReader-160 supports SDXC, so the maximum size will be 2 TB.

What is the maximum speaker cable distance?

AdvanReader uses 8 ohm speaker as they are more robust to cable losses. The speaker will continue working normally with cables up to 20 meters.