Expiration Date Monitoring System

1
Expiration Date Monitoring System

• Group Members
• Enrique Coronado
• Guada David
• Kimberlee Kauffeld
• Steve Lafferty
• Denisse Ramirez

2
Overview

• Current Statistics
• Problem Statement
• Objective
• System Design
• System Components
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgements
• Questions

3
Current Statistics

• Unsaleable products, which include expired
  items, cost the consumer products industry 1.3
  of annual sales, or approximately 2.5 billion a
  year
• Inadequate stock rotation is the top cause of
  growing unsaleables rate

Source July 2002 study sponsored by the Grocery
Manufacturers of America (GMA), the Food
Marketing Institute (FMI) and Food Distributors
International
4
Problem Statement

• Managers have difficulty monitoring the
  expiration of shelf-deteriorating products
• Hardware and software tools are necessary to
  identify and manage expiring products

5
Objective

• Design a system to meet the following
  requirements
• Monitors and updates the expiration of perishable
  items
• Physically indicates which products have expired
  and their location within the store

6
System DesignPicture Flow Diagram
Calculate Shelf Life
Find Expired Products
Record Temp. of Milk
Generate Reports
7
System Design
Sensor/Transceiver
Sensor/Transceiver
Base Station Data Port
8
MICA Motes

• Wireless modules used for research of low power
  sensor networks.
• Capabilities
• Sensing, communicating computing
• Applications research, security, environmental
  monitoring and large scale distributed networks
• Operating System Tiny OS

9
TinyOS Programming

• Runs the hardware and network by
• Making sensor measurements
• Routing measurement data
• Controlling power dissipation
• Capable of taking readings from multiple motes

10
TinyOS Programming

• Records mote ID, date/time and temperature
  readings in real time
• Mote Measurement 243.47 - 1.21TF
• Stores data in CSV format compatible with
  Microsoft Excel
• Measurement rate 1 every minute
• Location indicator Sends an LED signal when
  prompted

11
Calculation of Shelf-Life

• The shelf life of milk under normal conditions is
  about 900 hours (37.5 days) bacteria growth of
  19.8 bu/mL
• Xi remaining shelf life after ith time period
• kTi bacteria growth rate at temperature Ti
• kn k at normal storage temperature
• (30C T 39C) 0.022 bu/hour

Xi-1 kTi kn
Xi
12
Excel Database

• Imports data from CSV file
• Date/time, mote ID, temperature
• Calculates remaining shelf life for two products
  after each interval
• Stores complete history of product temperature
  exposure

13
Visual Basic Interface

• Provides a User Friendly environment
• Prompts the Excel Database
• Monitor the product
• Update expiration date
• Displays Reports and Charts
• Prompts the mote to emit an LED signal when
  product is expired

Execute
14
Light Indicator
LED Signal on Expired Milk

• MICA mote emits an LED signal when
• Product has expired
• Manually intervened by user

MICA Mote Data Port
15
Conclusions

• Developed one of the first concepts of monitoring
  the expiration of products
• As technology develops, sensors could be embedded
  in product packaging
• Potential use in further applications

16
Acknowledgements

• Dr. Badri Nath, Computer Science
• Andrew Tjang, Computer Science
• Dr. Steven Petrucelli, Biomedical Engineering
• Stephen Orbine, Electrical Engineering
• Dr. Kit Yam, Food Science Department
• Muhammad N. Jalil, Industrial Engineering
• James Walsh, njserves.org

17
QUESTIONS?