Automated data capture

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Automated data capture systems

Data is captured automatically to control an air conditioning system or when selling goods at a supermarket checkout, for instance.

Data about physical parameters is collected by sensors. 

  • Temperature sensors measure the temperature of a room for use in a heating/air conditioning system or the temperature of freezer cabinets in shops, for example.
  • pH sensors measure th pH of a swimming pool for use in water quality control systems.
  • Light sensors measure the light level in a room for use in controlling lighting systems.
  • Pressure sensors measure the water pressure in a central heating system.
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Analogue and digital data

Data collected by sensors is an analogue form and has to be converted to digital form for use by computer systems.

Sensors are connected via an analogue to digital converter to a computer which can record or use the data.

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Matrix bar codes

Matrix bar codes (two-dimensional bar codes) are often called QR codes (quick response codes). They carry more data than the conventional bar code. 

The code is made up of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background and can be read much faster than ordinary bar codes.

QR codes can be read by a smartphone using a free app. This allows the user to be given more information about the product very quickly and to link directly to the manufacturer.

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Bar codes

All goods for sale in supermarkets have bar codes which contain data that can uniquely identify them.

The bar code is read by a bar code scanner/reader at the checkout and the data is read and used to look up the details of the item in a database on the supermarket's computer system.

Self-service checkouts work because all the information about the item does not need to be entered again since it is already on the store database.

The customer scans the bar code and the details are retrieved and displayed on the screen. 

Staff also use hand-held or portable readers to:

  • Scan the items on the shelves
  • Count the number of items on the shelf
  • Send the data to the store computer system to update the database so the store knows how many items are in stock.
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RFID tags

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are small devices which use radio waves to transfer data from the tag to a computer system.

RFID tags are used by supermarkets to automatically identify items.

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Near field communications

Near field communications (NFC) are used in smartphones to create radio links over a very short range of a few centimetres or less.

A smartphone using NFC is touched or waved very close to another device to:

  • Exchange data such as a configuration for Wi-Fi.
  • Make contactless financial transations, eg. pay for parking
  • Fast data transfer of transation details similar to those in credit cards to allow 'mobile payment'.

NFC sets itself up faster than Bluetooth and there is no need for pairing, but data transfer is slower than Bluetooth.

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