Introduction

AdvanPay-500 features:

• AdvanPay-500 is an RFID conditional detacher of hard-tags for self-checkout in retailstores

• AdvanPay-500 removes the hard tags from garments easily and quickly, avoiding queues in the payment process while offering the maximum security for the retailer.

• AdvanPay-500 is compatible with Concept Tags. Concept hard tags have a very robust locking mechanism that achieves higher theft reduction than magnetic hard tags. 

Introduction

AdvanPay-500 features a Jadak's RFID UHF M6e-Nano module that is used to control the deactivation of tags, by using its GPIO lines.

The connection with the RFID module is a uart over USB.

Jadak's Mercury SDK is required to control operation of AdvanPay-500.  The following development languages are supported:

1. Java (including Android)

2. C#

3. C/C++

The most common work flow is as defined in the below diagram

Getting Started

Helpful downloads:

• Download Datasheet (see download files section)

These are the minimum steps to start using AdvanPay-500

1. Power AdvanPay unit

Follow these steps:

1. Connect the provided USB mini-B cable to a computer.

2. Connect the provided 12 V(DC) power supply to the unit.

2. Operation

AdvanPay-500 is fully operated through Jadak's Mercury API. It is fully compatible with any application developed with Mercury API.

In particular Jadak's Universal Reader Assistant (URA) can be used for easy validation of the unit. URA can be downloaded freely from

https://www.jadaktech.com/product/thingmagic-universal-reader-assistant/

Once installed, connect one AdvanPay-500 unit and launch URA.

• AdvanPay-500 will be automatically detected. Click on Next

• The next page allows you to select a region and to enable the ony available antenna (1). The region selection must be done according to the model (EU/US) and the current country/region of operation.

  • EU model covers country/regions using ETSI or regions in the same frequency band

  • US model covers country/regions using FCC or regions in the same frequency band

Note: because it uses Jadak's API, Java development is restricted to JDK 8.

After selecting the region and antenna, click on Next

RFID operation

Click on Connect

• Adjust the Read Power to 12.5 dBm

• Click on Read, on the left side pane

Approach a tag and you should see the TAG EPC onscreen.

Deactivation

Deactivation is done controlling GPIO#2 of the RFID module. As GPIO lines are bidirectional, we have to make sure GPIO#2 is configured as an output.

Stop RFID operation, after that go to Read&Write options to configure the GPIO

• Select GPIO#2

• Change direction to Output

• Place a Concept Tag in position in AdvanPay-500

• Select High level. If the Tag is in the right position it will be deactivated and it can be easily detached in two parts

• Select Low level again, otherwise AdvanPay-500 will keep deactivating the tag.

Note AdvanPay-500 will only deactivate tags if they are detected at the right spot. try removing the tag and enabling the GPIO#2, nothing happens.

Beeper

The beeper works exactly the same as the deactivation, but at line GPIO#1

• Define GPIO#1 as an Output

• Change the status to High to hear the beep.

Tag detection

Tag detection is managed automatically during normal operation. However, it is important to understand how it works.

Tag detection uses GPIO#3, in this cased used as an input:

• Select GPIO#3

• Place and remove a tag to see hoe the status changes from High (Tag In Place) to Low (Tag not in Place)

(Unselectand select back the GPIO#3 to see Logic Level changes)

Integration

As mentioned previously, AdvanPay-500 is fully operated through Jadak's Mercury API. 

Before hurrying into develop some code it is paramount to understand the desired flow of events. There are many approaches, we present one, which can be used without much change, or just as an inspiration for your own approach.

HW control

AdvanPay-500 featrures 4 basic HW components:

1. RFID module: this is a Jadak's M6e-Nano module

2. Deactivator: this is a step-by-step motor and the required HW and FW to control it

3. Tag sensor: when a tag is in place, a sensor switches to 'high' state.

4. Beeper: it is possible to use an embedded beeper

Parts 2, 3 and 4 are controlled using the GPIO lines from the Nano module:

• GPIO1 (OUT): controls the beeper. High value enable the beeper

• GPIO2 (OUT): controls the deactivator. A short High pulse enables the deactivaor to detach the tag. 

• GPIO3 (IN): tag position sensor. High value means the tag is in place.   

Tag life cycle

The suggested approach has three fundamental principles:

1. It is based on a simple state machine, the active tag being detected can be in 4 different states.

   • RESET: start state

   • READ: the tag is being read.

   • VALIDATING: the tag is under validation. This is normally a task performed against a 3rd party system: sql, HTTP request, remote call procedure, etc.

   • DEACTIVATION: the tag has been validated and deactivation will take place as soon as the tag is in place.

2. Every state has a time window, failing completion in the time windows, forces a reset.

3. Reading an EPC different than the one being process, automatically resets the state machine.

The following diagram explains the life cycle of a detected item

Please visit Keonn's GitHub account for the complete Java code

https://github.com/Keonn-Technologies/AdvanPay-500-Java-Examples

Other

Security

The most common tricks to deceive the system is to pay for a cheap product and try deactivating an expensive one. For this to work the following has to happen:

1. The cheap product is bought legitimately.

2. The cheap product is approach, so that it is detected. Verification on a bought product works and the EPC is validated.

3. Just before placing the cheap product into is final place, a swap is made with an expensive one.

How to avoid it

To avoid or minimize common deception tricks please take into account:

• Adjust RF power to the minimum, so that tags are only read when really close to its final position.

• Adjust the different timing parameters in the code examples.

Additionally, the example in github already offers protection strategies.

• Reset system if more than one tag is detected

• Reset system if the tag being deactivated is moved away from the detachment position

• Allow only deactivation in case the tag is read before being placed in detachment position