DARNBRO LTD
Security Clothing
Introduction
Trevor Darnborough a director of a Doncaster clothing embroidery company, has developed a way of incorporating security information into articles of clothing, which will work reliably over a long period of use. The product is now ready to go to the market. This document concentrates on its potential in the schools market though it would have significant advantages in a number of other areas.
Background
The technology of RFID {Radio Frequency Identification} is the coming technology in a number of applications including retail where it is expected to replace bar coding as the prime supermarket check out technology.
The system involves attaching micro chips to a product which can then communicate to a computer via antennas. Unlike bar coding many items can be dealt with simultaneously and the chip on the product can carry individual information, bar coding also requires complete line of sight,Whereas RFID can be completely out of sight
In the clothing market initial efforts have centred on experiments to utilise the technology for stock control and anti theft purposes by many High Street Stores, it’s use for other applications being restricted by problems created for the built in micro chip by machine washing and tumble drying.
Trevor Darnborough and his team have been working on this problem for several years, and now have a built in RFID system which can withstand repeated machine washes and the rigours of tumble drying. This makes the clothing potentially a key part of a security system which would both do away with the need for {easily lost or borrowed} swipe cards and also create a system which can cope with multiple simultaneous operations eliminating queues at check points and making sure that everybody entering or leaving a certain point is recorded.
The system can also be set up to only open doors for certain people at certain times and will be able to monitor where people are in a building in real time which would of course be very useful in the event of a fire. In for example a school the main doors to the street could be made not to work for children during class times and if children did go off site their names would be quickly known. The chip installed can carry 64k of information which can be used to allow or deny access to different areas of a building to different people and carry relevant personal details.
The application initially is seen as being for people who wear uniforms/corporate clothing, which currently is estimated to be around 25% of the workforce plus for example schools where uniforms are worn. The chip is contained in the logo that is embroidered onto the garment and it is held in such a way that the garment can still be washed and ironed as normal. It is possible that the system could be used in personal clothing eventually but that is seen as a long-term project.
Initial work has centred on schools in the Doncaster area who have expressed a keen interest in the development of the system as the government wants them to introduce a full computerised registration/pupil assessment system {with internet access for parents} by the end of 2008.
The Product
The product incorporates 4 parts.
The first is the physical RFID chip, which can be integrated into a garment in the form of an embroidered design or badge; it could be part of a corporate or school logo but remain invisible. It could also be attached to accessories to clothing.
The second part is the Antenna, which picks up the signal from the chip and can be visible or invisible.
The third part is the reader. At it’s most basic this can be a simple bluetooth hand held reader, which can read from a distance of up to 100 ft from the computer/base station, although it can be upgraded to a static reader currently on the market. In high-grade security environments the reader can be paired with a digital camera that can take an electronic image of the wearer (and compare it to a file image if required).
The final part of the system is the software package that controls all the information. The RFID clothing system can be integrated into a range of software systems depending on the requirements of the application.The total product can operate at 3 levels of security,
1} A simple system using hand held or static readers to monitor and control multiple movements on a large site eg a school or factory.
2} A more highly secure environment could incorporate digital encryption of the wearers face which could then be matched to a file for visual verification of identity.
3} An even more sophisticated system could incorporate biometric information such as facial, retinal, and fingerprint data and could also have holographic images integrated into the garment.
Competition
The most common form of security system used currently is the “ credit card” type system, which relies on the cardholder swiping a personal card through a reader. Information is coded in a magnetic strip in the back and personal details and photos can be added to the front. This is a well-proven system now, but compared to our RFID system it has a number of serious disadvantages. Firstly it relies on the card holder having his card with him at all times, secondly if one person swipes to open a particular door there will be no record of any other people that walk through at the same time, and thirdly they are relatively easy to forge or copy or steal. Also a card either on its own or connected to a lanyard or cord can be used as a weapon, Finger print recognition is very accurate but is a excellent method of passing contamination and disease, all these methods rely on the person having to perform a task.
There is work going on with proximity and smart cards which can overcome some of these problems though they will still require people to remember to carry the cards with them at all times and make a positive effort to have it read.
Advantage of clothing based systems for schools.
The use of an RFID clothing based security/registration system for schools has the following main advantages,
1} The chip is in their clothing and does not require a card to be carried removing the problem of forgotten or lost cards. In any area where uniforms must be worn it means that everybody will register as soon as they pass a reader.
2} RFID reading is passive and can cope with hundreds of simultaneous readings so there will be no queuing or requirement for specialist barrier systems to ensure everybody checks in.
3} It will be possible to monitor the movements of each pupil around the school so that if one leaves one classroom but does not arrive at the next it will be picked up. This will also eliminate the need to register everybody before each individual class.
4} The clothing is particular to an individual student so if it is lost or stolen nobody else can use it within the school.
5} The installation of the chip adds less than £2.50 to the cost of a garment.
6} The clothing can be used to give different people or different age groups different levels of access to certain areas.
Market
While the product has a vast number of applications the initial plan is just based on the schools market where an immediate opportunity exists. Nearly all schools have some sort of uniform and an urgent requirement both for security and anti truancy reasons to install a system, which registers and monitors children on the school premises.
The government has indicated that it wants all registrations to be done using computers and available on line by the end of 2008.
Where are we now
Trials have been conducted in Doncaster School, and have proven to be 100% accuracy with no garments failure, early problems did arise with hardware compatibility in the schools equipment, but were quickly solved,
Information supplied by the schools indicate that the electronic/software system currently used is only achieving a 73% success rate, the only system that gives a accurate account is the old fashioned registration book method, but unfortunately with the schools moving into the high tech era this will no longer be a option.
UK Patents were filed in February 2007; US Patents filed February 2008, intellectual property rights have been in place since 2002,
Please NOTE this system is NOT a surveilence or tracking system