Radio frequency wireless communicator

I have created a simple RF transmitter and receiver that communicate but only one way.  I used two arduino boards with the RF transmitter and receiver chips. When the receiver receives the signal it then blinks LED pin 13.

The arduino RF transmitter on the left sending a signal to the receiver on the right. This sends off the blinking LED on the receiver arduino.

I followed this simple tutorial

As our trackers would have two parts (RF and ultrasonic) I started to look at the setup for the ultrasonic piezo transducers for arduinos. So far the only circuits I have found are for ultrasonic range finders that use both the receiver and the transmitter in the same circuit. It sends a signal and then waits to receive its echo to calculate the distance from the object it echoed off. Going by the ranges I have found for those it looks like they can only go a few metres. This means we will have to change our way of tracking to something that is stronger in signal or more costly. Other options that are still available is using IR, only problem with that may be also the signal strength and the direction of the transmitter.

Another group from my course are also looking into indoor tracking but to a different extent. They have been told that it is possible using only RFID tags that calculate the signal strength to find the position of the person. After finding some more indepth research I understand it is possible but may become expensive and not as precise. On Monday I will be able to understand this better as I will be meeting someone who has a vast knowledge in this area.

References

“Arduino - Ping”, n.d. http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Ping?from=Tutorial.UltrasoundSensor.

“Hobby Robotics » Cheap Arduino Wireless Communications”, n.d. http://www.glacialwanderer.com/hobbyrobotics/?p=291.

 

Kaj Nummila, and Kaarle Jaakkola. “Rfid-based Indoor Positioning”, September 30, 2011. http://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&rct=j&q&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CJ8BEBYwAw&url=http%3A%2F%2F217.152.180.26%2Fupinlbs%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2F3%2FRFID%2520based%2520indoor%2520positioning.pdf&ei=1MatT4eYHMfymAXt6OSiCQ&usg=AFQjCNHG6_tlrMHA8VZDDwSJFma8Vd385w&sig2=5BVCefNwoHpvvr2SYy3rTA.