An Intelligent Warehouse Stock Management and Tracking System based on Silicon Identification Technology and 1-Wire Network Communication Kai-Xin Tee School of Engineering Monash University Sunway campus, Malaysia teekaixin@gmail.com Moi-Tin Chew and Serge Demidenko Centre of Technology RMIT University Saigon South campus, Vietnam chew.moitin@rmit.edu.vn serge.demidenko@rmit.edu.vn Abstract— This paper presents a novel electronic system for stock control and container tracking in a storage warehouse environment. The system is based on the use of advanced electronic identification tags and 1-Wire communication tools. Each warehouse container is affixed with a small electronic ID tag (called iButton). The tag is an electronic chip housed in a durable 16mm button-shaped stainless steel package (micro- can). The chip provides a unique ID number, read-write memory and 1-Wire interface communication circuitry. It is powered by a long lasting internal battery. The tag keeps information on storage loading/unloading history, goods contents, ownership, etc. Another iButton identified as location tag is placed at each and every storage cell. Once a container is placed into an available storage cell, the pair of ID tags (on the container and in the cell) appeared immediately on the 1-Wire communication network, hence allowing the central controller (PC) to update the latest space utilization and the container/stock associated with it. This intelligent way of tagging the containers with their particular contents to any available storage cells, offers a new alternative to the conventional storage and stock management system where a particular container must be placed into its pre-specified storage space. Keywords – iButton, identification tag, 1-Wire communication, automated storage system, stock management I. INTRODUCTION Efficient and effective stock control and tracking is a hallmark of a successful company. Many companies and industries have heavily invested into getting the best stock and inventory management systems. Various studies have shown that the effectiveness and performance of an inventory relies on the accuracy of the goods information at any given time, which includes the storage locations, goods retrieval rate from the shelves, packing history, stock quantities, contents, etc. [1-3]. Such information is crucial in helping the management to regulate a stock level, to forecast market demand and material controlling in the warehouse. There are two commonly known technologies which are most widely used in the inventory systems nowadays. They are based on the use of barcode and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). The barcode-based systems though cheap to implement are easily susceptible to wear and tear damages. Their performance could also be affected by poor print quality and print contrast ratio. Using RFID technology in management inventory system is not completely without its problems either. Issues related to electro-magnetic interference, signal distortion, absorption and deflection between RFID tag and reader are the most common problems there. Other factors like vibrations and static charges can also negatively affect the performance of RFID tags. The durability of the RFID tags can pose another problem: it is deteriorated when exposed to moisture, which is often present in storage areas [4-6]. This paper describes a novel implementation of warehouse stock control and tracking system based on the advanced silicon identification technology product (so-called iButton) and the 1-Wire communication protocol [7]. It elaborates on both the hardware and software implementations that provide a user friendly environment with high reliability among other features. II. SYSTEM OVERVIEW To achieve the goal the following additional technical arrangements are implemented in the storage warehouse. Each of the storage cells/shelf positions is equipped with an individual position identification tag – iButton [7]. All the storage cells are linked through the 1-Wire communication network to the central host computer. However only cells with containers in them have a closed loop and thus seen by the computer. Those cells that are not occupied are disconnected and thus are not seen by the PC. Every storage container is also attached with its own iButton with data on the container content, owner, storage instructions, expiry date, loading/unloading history, etc. Each placement of a container to an available storage space automatically leads to connection of both the position and container tags to the 1-Wire network linked to the central computer - Fig. 1. The network connection is configured according to the MicroLAN architecture [7]. GND plane MicroLAN based on 1-Wire Bus MicroLan Server and Store database Operator terminal Cell iButton Container iButton . . . . . . Figure 1. Network Architecture 2011 Sixth IEEE International Symposium on Electronic Design, Test and Application 978-0-7695-4306-2/11 $26.00 © 2011 IEEE DOI 10.1109/DELTA.2011.62 111 2011 Sixth IEEE International Symposium on Electronic Design, Test and Application 978-0-7695-4306-2/11 $26.00 © 2011 IEEE DOI 10.1109/DELTA.2011.62 110