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RFID for Asset Management at Museum Boijmans
Van Beuningen |
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Our Client:
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The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
in The Netherlands has been giving considerable attention
to their collection registry system for many years.
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Objective: |
This system is able to give an
overview of all the objects that are available in the museum and
provides an information source for external users.
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Requirement:
The system should provide the condition
of valuable assets, the restoration status and location. In the existing system, the necessity
to handle assets for identification often results in damage. Each item
has to be lifted, taken out from its packaging, turned, twisted, etc.,
in order to retrieve the identification number. Damage can vary from
abrasion caused by friction to breakage caused by falling. The
importance to address this problem, linked with the traditional method
of registration is widely acknowledged and has resulted in the
development and use of more advanced technologies e.g. barcode. However,
with all systems used at present, it is still necessary to have visual
access to the identity label. In case of barcode, the label has to be manoeuvred in such a way that a beam of light can reach the label. Also
any damage to the label will make the information irretrievable.
Omron Solutions:
In order to be able to populate the
system with accurate data, the museum will start with a project titled
‘Project: The Physical Control of Prints’. Over 15,000 prints from the
collection, dating back from 1400 A.D. to today, will be photographed
and RFID tagged. Helicon in
accordance with Omron and Philips have developed the concept. The name
for the system is ‘Talking-Tag® system’.
Inlets versus Talking tags
The RFID Tag is an interactive label made of polyethylene, copper and
silica. It has 44 digital memory locations to store data. This data can
be read from the Tag, altered and written on the Tag using radio wave
technology. Each memory location on the Tag can be linked using specific
software to information stored in existing museum databases, such as
object number, photo, description and location. The Tag also holds the
key to information relating to the packing and shipping of objects,
their physical condition, storage conditions, priority of handling etc.
The talking tags are embedded with RFID inlets from Omron. They come on
rolls of 1,000 and 5,000 pieces. Each inlet contains a Philips I·Code
chip, which can store up to 352 user bits of data. The inlets come in
different shapes and sizes, typically 76 x 48 mm, 46 x 43 mm, diameter
21mm and 16,5 x 22 mm. Other sizes are possible.
Hardware
When using the Talking-Tag system, the antenna can read and write
information on the tag and link it to the existing database. There is no
need to open the storage or transit container and it is impossible to
move an object from one location to another, without it being tracked.
Stacked reading makes it possible to keep track of movements of larger
quantities of objects. In order to develop, test and fine-tune the
system, it was tested in situ in several Dutch museums, including the
Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Kröller Müller Museum in
Otterlo, Stedelijk Museum and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The
durability of the tag was tested by means of accelerated aging within a
laboratory environment.
The reading equipment can be divided
into two categories. One is for static reading and one for reading
during movement from one room to another. This will be a controller and
antenna that is built into a desk. For static reading Boijmans use a
V720-CD1D controller together with a
V720 H01 antenna. The reading
distance of this setup is about 20 centimeters. After a picture of the
object has been made, the label is programmed and attached to the print.
The antenna for reading paintings and prints during movement consist of
a pair of gates that will be located at the entrance of each depot.
Every movement of an object is detected and stored in a database.
Manuals and procedures
With the Talking-Tag system a manual is provided. In this manual
guidelines are given for the position on the objects where a
Talking-Tag. can be attached. Also several methods for the attaching
itself are given. The Talking-Tag. system comes with software that is
capable of communication with every database orientated registration
package worldwide. The information on the Talking-Tag is standardised,
with the translation comes from the interface software.
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Result:
The first museum to implement this system for registration is the Museum
Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. They started to 'tag' their
collection of 15,000 prints and drawings. Museum Boijmans wanted to
integrate the RFID system with their current registry system. A third
party developed the software to communicate with the existing software.
This can be done very easily because of the open structure of the Omron
equipment. The operating interface is a standard web browser enabling
people to login from a distance as well as local tracking and tracing
within the museum.
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OMRON IA Global
