Television Playout Development Towards Flexible IT-based Solutions

The purpose of this study was to update television playout system. An Estonian television and radio network operator Levira playout centre needed expansion in infrastructure to be able to accommodate larger channel count. Renewals of media asset management and automation systems were also required to handle requirements of the larger channel count and to automate processes. Television playout systems and solutions are going through big changes. These changes reflect partially new developments in the whole broadcasting industry and the way people use video, as well as changes and development in other areas of technology, especially in IT. These changes do not come without challenges with new workflows and ways of operating. These projects were to be done not only for current needs but also to be ready for the coming years. This was taken into consideration on system design and planning as well as on choosing the partners for the projects. As a result of this study, an up to date playout centre was designed with flexible IT based solutions that are easy to update and customize for varying needs of different television channels. Playout centre has room to grow and it is ready for requirements of future without need for major changes in the system.Työn tavoitteena oli television lähetyskeskuksen järjestelmän päivittäminen. Virolaisen television ja radion lähetysverkkotoimija Leviran lähetyskeskus tarvitsi laajennuksen olemassa olevaan järjestelmään, jotta se pystyisi lähettämään suuremman määrän kanavia. Myös lähetyskeskuksen medianhallinta- ja automaatiojärjestelmät täytyi päivittää tämän suuremman kanavamäärän tukemiseksi ja työnkulun tehostamiseksi. Television lähetysjärjestelmät ja ratkaisut käyvät läpi isoja muutoksia. Nämä muutokset heijastuvat osin koko televisiotoiminnan muutoksesta ja siitä, miten katsojat ylipäätään käyttävät videota ja osin informaatioteknologian (IT) kehityksestä. Se on selvää, että muutokset tuovat uusia haasteita, edellyttävät täysin uudenlaisten työnkulkujen ja ajatusmallien omaksumista. Molemmat projektit toteutettiin ottaen huomioon tämän hetken tarpeet tiedostopohjaisen työnkulun ja kasvavan kanavamäärän tuoman kapasiteettivaatimusten suhteen sekä ennen kaikkea lähivuosien mahdolliset vaatimukset muuttuvien jakelukanavien osalta. Systeemin suunnittelu ja yhteistyökumppaneiden valinta painotettiin sen mukaisesti. Toteutettuna lopputuloksena on television lähetyskeskusjärjestelmä, joka pohjautuu helposti päivitettäviin ja eri televisiokanavien vaihteleviin tarpeisiin mukautuviin IT-laitteistoihin. Järjestelmällä on tilaa kasvaa sekä kehittyä tulevaisuuteen ilman välitöntä tarvetta merkittäviin systeemitason muutoksiin

Possibilities of Fabricating Copper-based RFID Tags with Photonic-sintered Inkjet Printing and Thermal Transfer Printing

This letter studies the possibilities of manufacturing copper-based passive UHF RFID tags using inkjet and thermal printing on two substrate materials, polyimide (Kapton) and a polyester based substrate (Flexcon THERMLfilm). Both printing methods are tested to fabricate different tag designs, and the performance of successfully printed tags is evaluated using wireless measurements. Measurement results show that both the printing methods, while using copper material, can be used to effectively fabricate passive UHF RFID tag antennas on selected substrates

Rock Type Effects on Radio Signal Attenuation

This research work is aimed at studying different rock types and the effect of their mineral contents on an active 434 MHz RFID card's radio signal attenuation. This research was done at the ONKALO nuclear waste storage facility using radio frequency identification (RFID) equipment. First, the studied area and research plan, including the used system and equipment, are explained. After this, the researched areas of rock types and their effects on radio signals are presented. This work focused mainly on occupational safety, but it also investigated whether it would be possible to use RFID technology in producing mines as well, especially in the boundary layer of the ore body. This research can help the design of communication frequencies for autonomous devices.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Experimental Study on Inkjet-Printed Passive UHF RFID Tags on Versatile Paper-Based Substrates

We present the possibilities and challenges of passive UHF RFID tag antennas manufactured by inkjet printing silver nanoparticle ink on versatile paper-based substrates. The most efficient manufacturing parameters, such as the pattern resolution, were determined and the optimal number of printed layers was evaluated for each substrate material. Next, inkjet-printed passive UHF RFID tags were fabricated on each substrate with the optimized parameters and number of layers. According to our measurements, the tags on different paper substrates showed peak read ranges of 4–6.5 meters and the tags on different cardboard substrates exhibited peak read ranges of 2–6 meters. Based on their wireless performance, these inkjet-printed paper-based passive UHF RFID tags are sufficient for many future wireless applications and comparable to tags fabricated on more traditional substrates, such as polyimide.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Experimental study on brush-painted passive RFID-based humidity sensors embedded into plywood structures

The integration of electronics and wood is an interesting research area due to the increasing interest to add functionality into various wooden products. The passive RFID-based humidity sensor tag prototype, presented in this paper, is fabricated directly on plywood substrate to be embedded into wooden structures, by using brush-painting and photonic sintering of cost-effective silver ink. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of brush-painted antennas as sensor elements. The developed sensor tag is fully passive and small in size, meaning it can be permanently enclosed into wooden structures. In addition, the sensor tag has all the functionalities of an ordinary passive UHF RFID tag, and a peak read range of about 10 meters. The sensor performance was evaluated in normal room conditions, after two 100% relative humidity tests, and after drying in normal room conditions for 9 days. According to the results, the fabricated UHF RFID-based humidity sensor tags have a great potential to be utilized in humidity sensing applications, and also in normal automatic identification and supply chain control of various wooden products. In addition, the first results of more cost-effective brush-painted copper UHF RFID tags on plywood substrate are presented.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

3D-Printed Graphene Antennas and Interconnections for Textile RFID Tags : Fabrication and Reliability towards Humidity

We present the possibilities of 3D direct-write dispensing in the fabrication of passive UHF RFID graphene tags on a textile substrate. In our method, the graphene tag antenna is deposited directly on top of the IC strap, in order to simplify the manufacturing process by removing one step, that is, the IC attachment with conductive glue. Our wireless measurement results confirm that graphene RFID tags with printed antenna-IC interconnections achieve peak read ranges of 5.2 meters, which makes them comparable to graphene tags with epoxy-glued ICs. After keeping the tags in high humidity, the read ranges of the tags with epoxy-glued and printed antenna-IC interconnections decrease 0.8 meters and 0.5 meters, respectively. However, after drying, the performance of both types of tags returns back to normal.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Brush-Painting and Photonic Sintering of Copper Oxide and Silver Inks on Wood and Cardboard Substrates to Form Antennas for UHF RFID Tags

Additive deposition of inks with metallic inclusions provides compelling means to embed electronics into versatile structures. The need to integrate electronics into environmentally friendly components and structures increases dramatically together with the increasing popularity of the Internet of Things. We demonstrate a novel brush-painting method for depositing copper oxide and silver inks directly on wood and cardboard substrates and discuss the optimization of the photonic sintering process parameters for both materials. The optimized parameters were utilized to manufacture passive ultra high frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) tag antennas. The results from wireless testing show that the RFID tags based on the copper oxide and silver ink antennas on wood substrate are readable from ranges of 8.5 and 11 meters, respectively, and on cardboard substrate from read ranges of 8.5 and 12 meters, respectively. These results are well sufficient for many future wireless applications requiring remote identification with RFID