CrossTalk Solution Overview

The CrossTalk AutoID Suite is designed to meet the most important requirements regarding an automated identification solution:

• Modular best of breed approach.
• Plug & Play device integration.
• Leightweighted, distributed software components.
• Robust infrastructure, no single point of failure.
• Local real-time processing intelligence.
• Patented tag movement detection and unwanted tag filtering.
• Track & Trace application framework
• Mobile device integration and workflow support.
• Broad EPC and ISO RFID standards compliance.

Crosstalk delivers the best combination of AutoID Middleware, Device Management and Edgeware.

CrossTalk Agent

CrossTalk is build on a distributed agent architecture which is very useful and important for any AutoID infrastructure.

AutoID devices are usually deployed in a warehouse, production plant or shop floor environment. IT datacenters are connected over routed networks with more or less stable and expensive lines.

Thus, it is important to have a dynamic realtime processing and filtering instance on the device itself, or in the devices local area network.

The CrossTalk Agent is designed to run on a small footprint on common (incuding embedded) operating systems. Multiple processes, based on templates, can be easily deployed and monitored on an agent using the DeviceManagement server application. Device drivers can simply be changed to another type or brand, to ensure best of market choice for our clients.

CT Agent key features are

• Plug & Play device integration, support for all common devices.
• Build dynamic read point processes based on a big selection of prebuild service components (50+).
• Develop custom services, using the CrossTalk Service API
• Run multiple processes with auto recovery on failure.
• Automated local event buffering and resync on connection problems.
• Detect movements of passive tags, filter false reads based on noFilis patented algorythms.
• Support for simple HTTP/HTTPS and proxy services for server communication.
• Using different communication channels for event communication to a backend server, and for monitoring communication to the device management server.
• Automated software update and distribution from server to agent.

Using different device drivers and event encoders, an agent is able to control and capture data from various different AutoID systems like:

• Classic passive RFID portal gate.
• Passive RFID RTLS systems like Mojix.
• Active RTLS systems like Identec.

And turn it into a unified event protocol.

CrossTalk AppCenter

CrossTalk AppCenter is a modern platform for track & trace applications. It can be used to build, deploy and run any AutoID scenario. Multiple apps with different scenarios can be "plugged" into the AppCenter.

The integrated object and event repository takes care of any data operation without touching the database itself. Event listeners are able to handle messages from various AutoID systems like passive RFID, active and passive RTLS, WIFI and GPS tags and many more.

CrossTalk provides many adapters to exchange object and event data with backend or automation systems, including SAP (AII, IDoc, BAPI), WebServices, databases, file interfaces and many more.

CrossTalk AppCenter key features are

• Out of the box apps for basic track & trace scenarios.
• Industry solution modules like car tracking, rti management and more.
• Many ready to use views to build custom scenarios.
• Pre-build components for layout, map and chart views.
• Customize existings apps, or build new apps using the AppCenter API.
• Managed object event repository with repository browser.
• Event listener subscription system.
• Deploy multiple scenarios into one AppCenter.
• Flexible user and role rights management.
• Build in rules engine allows to create custom rules without programming
• Fully browser based UI.

AppCenter standard applications:

Device Management

Primary embedded application for the management of any AutoID device infrastructure. Monitoring and configuration of CT Agents. Visual process template designer. This app is typically used by device management administrators.

read more ...

Notification Center

The Notification Center is the common notification message instance for all apps. It offers an interface to collect all alert, warnung, information and debug messages into one pool.
It allows to query notifications into one single report, or to subscribe and forward notifications to SNMP and SMTP systems.

Tag Log

Tal Log app is a simple application for recording and reporting tag read messages from different RFID sources. It allows to create different locations and query results into one single report.

RTLS Infrastructure

The RTLS Infrastructure app is the base for most track & trace applications. It is the binding link between the physical RFID/RTLS devices and the application business logic. All logical components like locations, sites, zones and marker read points will be visually configured with this app. read more ...

Object Tracking

A basic but powerful app to track & trace any object based on AutoID events including Barcode, active/passive RFID and RTLS. Provides list and detail reports, geomap and layoutmap views, dashboard and timeline charts. Customizable maps, object types and rules engine.

DeviceManagement

The DeviceManagement application delivers full control for any corporate AutoID device infrastructure.

It is designed to support a single read point as well as a complex corporate infrastructure with thousands of devices.

Since CrossTalk is build on a distributed architecture, it is the binding component between the central system and the remote CT Agents.

The application itself is a CrossTalk AppCenter implementation, and can be deployed just as another app with it's own user access rights and roles, within the AppCenter framework.

DeviceManagement key features are

• Manage and configure CT Agents.
• Organize Agents in folder structures.
• Monitor and debug CT Agents and its processes.
• Load and update device drivers and service bundles
• Create and deploy processes based on templates.
• Build visual process configuration templates
• Organize templates in folders structures.
• Forward alert messages over SNMP, SMTP protocols to 3rd party receivers.

Monitoring interface

Visual process template editor

Device driver and service bundle management

CrossTalk Mobile

CrossTalk Mobile is designed to build and integrate mobile workflows into any existing AutoID scenario with autonomous on- and offline support.

It is able to load mobile apps on the fly from the server, run and buffer locally without any network connectivity, and synchronize data automatically with the backend system.

The Mobile Agent technology differs from the CT Agent because of the PDA od terminal like type of device and user interactive workflows.

Mobile scenarios are beeing build with the Mobile Application Framework (MAF), which uses XML (XUL) based forms, CSS layouts and JavaScript actions.

CT Mobile Agent key features are

• Run on- and offline multiple mobile scenarios.
• Load mobile apps on the fly from the server.
• Build mobile apps based on MAF with XML(XUL) JavaScript and prebuild components.
• Easily use device integrated sensors like RFID, Barcode, GPS as a scriptable object.
• Support various devices and type of devices like RFID PDA's, forklift and vehicle terminals.
• Deploy and manage mobile apps on the server.
• Centralized user and access rights management.

The Mobile Application Framework (MAF)

Sample screens

RTLS Infrastucture

The RTLS Infrastructure app is one of the default bundled apps in CrossTalk Appcenter. It is the binding link between the physical RFID/RTLS devices and the application business logic and therefore builds the base for most track & trace applications. The infrastucture configuration made by this app and all of its localisation components can be used and enhanced by custom end user applications.

RTLS Infrastructure App is able to handle any kind of AutoID event and is mapping physical raw data into logical locations. Load, calibrate and organize zones with the visual location editor.

RTLS Infrastructure key features are

• Build any location hirarchy using location, site, area and zone elements.
• Visualize objects in geo based and layout based maps.
• Visual location editor to load and calibrate maps, draw and move zones.
• Define zone border tolerance and fencing to prevent zone swapping.
• Handle localisation events from active/passive RFID and RTLS systems, Barcodes, GPS tags and vessel positioning providers.
• Define fixed read points as positioning markers and gate movements.
• Forward logical localisation results as business events to other apps or backend systems.
• Use and enhance infrastucture configuration and localisation views by other apps.

Global Map View

Layout Map View

Visual Location Editor

ReadPoint as Marker definition

Asset and battery management

Bidirectional RFID Gate

Two of the major issues in passive RFID deployments can be solved by the CrossTalk Bidirectional gate services. First of all, filtering unwanted reads of tags not passed the read point. Second, detecting the movement of a tag by anntennas only, without using any additional sensors.

The long term experience showed, that in most RFID scenarios, tagged cars, pallets or other objects, moving or placed around the RFID gate will be captured by the antennas, but do not pass the gate.

On the other hand, sensors like light barriers or radar movement detectors are not reliable, due to persons passing a forklift gate for example. A typical fatal situation is an empty forklift passing a RFID equipped dock door, unloading a truck, the RFID gate reports items placed around the gate as an outbound movement.

The Bidirectional gate services will detect if a tag is static or moving, and also the direction of the movement. It can be used in many scenarios like car tracking, cage tracking, pallet and case level tracking.

The services can be used hardware independed with many combinations of RFID readers and antennas.

Pallet tracking example

Car tracking example

Cage tracking setup example

© noFilis AutoID GmbH 2013