Papers by Alessandro Pozzebon
2011 IEEE International Conference on RFID-Technologies and Applications, 2011
In this paper we propose a further development of the STONE project, a research project based on ... more In this paper we propose a further development of the STONE project, a research project based on Low Frequency RFID technology for the monitoring of coastal erosion. In the STONE project Passive Low Frequency transponders were embedded inside marble pebbles: these so called "Smart Pebbles" were positioned on a beach in Marina di Pisa, near Pisa, Italy, both on the beach, on the beachface and underwater. After a span of time and a number of storms, the Smart Pebbles were recovered using a waterproof reader through a scan of the beach and of the portion of sea close to the beach. The STONE project gave very good results and in this paper we describe the next steps of the project: first of all the use of new kinds of transponders has been experimented, in order to ease the insertion of the tag inside the pebble and to use this technique also with differently shaped kinds of pebbles. In particular we focused on the use of this technique on pebbles of very limited dimensions. Subsequently we analyze the performances of the system with pebbles of different materials, in order to widen the use of this system to new multi-material environments.
The Senarum Vinea Project Wine Tourism and Mobile Multimedia Devices
Innovative Solutions for the Automatic Payment of Car Parks
Radio Frequency Identification from System to Applications
Abrasion rates of coarse sediments on two artificial pebble beaches at Marina di Pisa (Italy)
Coastal dune systems are arguably one of the most dynamic environments because their evolution is... more Coastal dune systems are arguably one of the most dynamic environments because their evolution is controlled by many factors, both natural and human-related. Hence, they are often exposed to processes leading to erosion, which in turn determine serious naturalistic and economic losses. Most recent studies carried out on different dune fields worldwide emphasized the notion that a better definition of this environment needs an approach that systematically involves several disciplines, striving to merge every data collected from any individual analyses. Therefore, a new multidisciplinary method to study coastal dune systems has been conceived in order to integrate geology, biology, and modern wireless technologies. The aim of the work is threefold: i) to check the reliability of this new approach; ii) to provide a dataset as complete as ever about the factors affecting the evolution of coastal dunes; and iii) to evaluate the influence of any biotic and abiotic factors on plant communities. The experimentation site is located along the Pisa coast within the Migliarino -S. Rossore -Massaciuccoli Regional Park, a protected area where human influence is low (Tuscany, Italy). A rectangle of 100 x 200 m containing 50 grids of 20 x 20 m was established along the coastal dune systems from the coastline to the pinewood at the landward end of the backdune area. Sampling from each grid determined grain-size analysis carried out on surface sediment samples such as geologic aspects; topographic surveys performed by means of DGPS-RTK instruments; geophysical surveys conducted with a GPR equipment, which will be matched with core drilling activities; digital image analysis of high definition pictures taken by means of a remote controlled aircraft drone flying over the study area; biological data obtained by percent cover of each vascular plant species recorded in the sampling unit. Along with geologic and biologic methodologies, this research implemented the use of informatics technologies as well. A network of wireless sensors was created in order to measure several parameters including dune height, wind speed and direction, temperature, humidity. This technique enables high-frequency measurements, instantly sent to a laptop that stores all the information received. The proposed approach is not overly expensive and should allow new ways to thoroughly define coastal dune systems. In addition, the results provided by this study might be useful to enhance and improve coastal protection schemes involving dune artificial reconstruction, which is frequently used as a soft approach to defend endangered sectors of the coast.
High energy events emphasize beach erosion processes, sometimes leading to huge volume deficits n... more High energy events emphasize beach erosion processes, sometimes leading to huge volume deficits not balanced by recovery under fair-weather conditions. In this scenario, artificial replenishments are frequently used as a form of coastal protection with large volumes of sediments re-injected in the system without strongly altering the environment as it happens with hard structures. Since climate change is expected to accentuate in the near future erosion effects, the need to artificially feed beaches is likely to increase. Gravel and pebbles are more and more often used as beach fill, on some occasions replacing sandy sediments. That was the case for two beaches located at either sides of the Italian Peninsula (Portonovo, Adriatic Sea; Marina di Pisa, Ligurian Sea), which constitute the study area of the present research. Portonovo is a 500 m-long mixed sand and gravel beach with a significant pebblesized content (about 40%), unloaded on the beach during multiple replenishments. Marina di Pisa is an artificial, 180 m-long beach, mainly composed of 40-to-90 mm pebbles; it was built in 2008 as a part of a larger protection scheme. Groins or headlands that prevent any sediment exchange with adjacent areas bound both beaches. Periodic topographic surveys were carried out to evaluate the response of these human-altered beaches to high-energy events. The topographic surveys, undertaken with a DGPS-RTK instrument along cross-shore transects (from the landward end of the backshore to about 1.5 m depth seaward), were done following intense storm events occurred during the time period of the research. Transects were done out every 10 m along the entire length of the beaches. Prior to the first topographic survey, a sediment tracing experiment was set up as a form of control of the results provided by the geomorphologic analysis. Pebbles directly sampled from the beaches were marked by means of the RFID technology and injected back all along the beachface. As expected, considerable beach profile changes after the storms were identified, in particular at Portonovo (mixed beach), where huge sediment volumes were displaced longshore according to the incident wave direction as opposed to Marina di Pisa (gravel dominated), where the main beach changes developed along the cross-shore direction. In terms of resilience, results showed a better response of the Portonovo beach rather than the Marina di Pisa beach. The different response might be ascribed to the grain-size that constitutes the beaches: no physical process can rework the pebbles at Marina di Pisa once they are moved during the storms towards the back-end of the backshore or seaward of the step, thus preventing any beach recovery process to take place. Since the awareness on storm impacts is more critical than in the past, the understanding of beach recovery to extreme events needs new insights to combine the preservation of natural beach evolution as well as maintenance for end-users. That is particularly pressing on coarse-grained beaches, where the need to predict storm impact and recovery is much more vital considering that finding suitable sediment to refill the beach is never an easy task.
ISRN Communications and Networking, 2012
We describe the study and development of a 2-meter-wide HF RFID gate providing omnidirectional de... more We describe the study and development of a 2-meter-wide HF RFID gate providing omnidirectional detection of transponders. Common commercial HF RFID gate structures provide a maximum reading range around 150 cm. Moreover, this value is in most cases guaranteed only for the maximum coupling direction, with lower values for the other 2 orientations. The proposed structure raises the value of the reading range up to 200 cm for every orientation of the transponder, with even better results (220 cm) when the transponder is in the position of maximum coupling. This result has been achieved through numerical simulations, focused on the study of the geometry of the antenna system and on the realization of the matching circuit and then confirmed with the physical implementation of the system.
RFID Under Water: Technical Issues and Applications
Radio Frequency Identification from System to Applications, 2013
A wireless waterproof RFID reader for marine sediment localization and tracking
2014 IEEE RFID Technology and Applications Conference (RFID-TA), 2014
In this paper we provide the results of a two months experimentation of Low Frequency RFID techno... more In this paper we provide the results of a two months experimentation of Low Frequency RFID technology for the sediments tracking on a beach close to Ancona, Italy. For this experimentation, cylinder glass tags were used, modifying a previous solution based on the use of plastic disc tags. While the use of Low Frequency RFID as a technology to monitor the movements of sediments under and outside water on beaches subject to high coastal erosion phenomenons was already been tested before and described in previous papers, the use of glass tags was not introduced until this last experimentation due to the fragile nature of these devices that discouraged from their use. Anyway, their use was finally encouraged from the goods results obtained from laboratory test concerning their reading range and their ease of use. The results provided in this paper show that cylinder glass tags are probably the best solution for the tracking of pebbles movements.
Sustainable Radio Frequency Identification Solutions, 2010
Healthcare represents one of the most significant sectors where the diffusion of RFID technology ... more Healthcare represents one of the most significant sectors where the diffusion of RFID technology is growing day by day. Many different applications have already been studied and developed, with both active and passive devices working at all the available operative frequencies.
On the displacement of marked pebbles on two coarse-clastic beaches during short fair-weather periods (Marina di Pisa and Portonovo, Italy)
In this paper the authors describe an innovative toolbox with an RFID-based automatic identificat... more In this paper the authors describe an innovative toolbox with an RFID-based automatic identification technology for tracking and analyzing pebble movements along coarse beaches. The developed system proposes utilizing several 'Smart Pebbles', embedded with an RFID transponder. Through an ad hoc waterproof device it was possible to detect the presence of these Smart Pebbles and calculate their exact position with a GPS device. Though RFID is a radio technology that is unsuitable under water, it can yet be developed to operate under water through certain modifications in the system. Performing several recovery campaigns over a long span of time, it was possible to trace the movements of the entire swarm of Smart Pebbles. All of the information gathered through the RFID system was then analyzed with an ad hoc software interacting with a database containing the movement data of every pebble. The software provided a graphic picture of the paths followed by all the Smart Pebbles and the same was utilized for calculating the distances covered by the pebbles.
Different wireless technologies for the remote payment of street car parks
ABSTRACT In this paper we describe a solution for the payment of car parks based on different tel... more ABSTRACT In this paper we describe a solution for the payment of car parks based on different telecommunication technologies. The solution focuses on Street car parks, i.e. parks located along the streets or in the squares, where there are no entrance and exit bars.
Defining pebbles movement on an artificial coarse beach using RFID technology
... The good performances achieved with this system at Marina di Pisa offer an innovative instrum... more ... The good performances achieved with this system at Marina di Pisa offer an innovative instrument to study coastal ... Three test “smart pebbles” have been realized in order to study the effective functionality of the transponders in ... Table 1. Reading distances of smart pebbles in air. ...
Marine Geology, 2012
In this paper, transport pathways for coarse sediments were studied on an artificial pebble beach... more In this paper, transport pathways for coarse sediments were studied on an artificial pebble beach located at Marina di Pisa (Tuscany, Italy). Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology was used to trace the pebbles. The RFID technique is an inexpensive and reliable methodology that is used to address sediment displacement along the coastline. The use of low-frequency radio signals (125 kHz) enabled the detection of the marked pebbles within a range of 40 cm on the underwater and subaerial portions of the beach. About one hundred pebbles were sampled on the beach and paired with passive transponders. The tracers were released along a series of cross-shore transects (March 2009). The pebbles were injected on the fair-weather berm, on the swash zone, and on the step crest along each transect. The recovery campaign was carried out in May 2009. Fifty-three pebbles were detected; this number is rather high given the intensity of the three storms that hit the coast during the period of the experiment and the significant reworking that this beach is subjected to even under fair-weather conditions. The analysis of the tracer pathways highlighted twofold convergent longshore movement on the beach. The trajectories indicated that the longshore movement dominated the cross-shore movement, but there was no prevailing transport direction. To explore the morphology of the sea bottom fronting the beach, a topographic survey was carried out using an echo sounder. The survey showed the presence of two distinct shoals 20 m off the coastline that are responsible for the resulting coarse sediment transport. These results confirm that even mild sea bottom irregularities may significantly affect sediment transport dynamics along a beach, suggesting that accurate planning for defense schemes such as artificial coarse replenishment must begin with an in-depth knowledge of the morphology of the sea floor. Such information may increase the durability and/or the efficiency of the intervention.
In this paper pebbles marked by passive integrated transponders from two artificial coarse-graine... more In this paper pebbles marked by passive integrated transponders from two artificial coarse-grained beaches at Marina di Pisa (Tuscany, Italy) were analyzed in order to measure the in situ abrasion rate. The beaches (Cella 7 and Barbarossa) were set up in 2006 as a form of coastal protection. They are both composed of pebbles (30-to-90 mm diameter) and bounded longshore by huge groynes. They differ in length (250 m and 110 m respectively) and in the prese nce of an additional defense structure, a submerged breakwater 50 m off the coastline, at Cella 7. The aim of the study is to reckon the abrasion rate of individual pebbles and evaluate abrasion differen ces of pebbles released on Cella 7 and on Barbarossa. The RFID technology (Radio Frequency Identification) was used to track the pebbles due to its reliability and limited costs. The tracers were released on the beaches in March 2009 along closely-spaced crossshore transects. The recovery campaign was carried out in May 2009. A total of 127 pebbles was detected, 83 of which were recovered. Huge beach reworking during the storms determined high burial rates and consequently the loss of a definite amount of tracers. The pebbles that were recovered showed a significant increase in roundness, in particular the tracers that were released on Barbarossa. The average pebble weight loss measured at Cella 7 was slightly lower, which means lower mobilization rate at this site rather than at Barbarossa. The resulting values are significant considering the short time frame of the research (two months) and the limited energy of the storms occurred during the experiment.
Possible configurations and geometries of long range HF RFID antenna gates
2009 6th International Symposium on Wireless Communication Systems, 2009
Abstract In this article we discuss the realization of antenna gate structures for inductively co... more Abstract In this article we discuss the realization of antenna gate structures for inductively coupled passive HF RFID systems. Antenna gates are currently used in several applications, from industrial tracking to access control: in these structures the identification process is ...
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Papers by Alessandro Pozzebon