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The ICT Lab Utrecht has conducted research for the municipality of Utrecht over the past year and a half on the feasibility of a smart watch zone. In a smart watch zone, RFID technology is used to prevent bicycle theft (read more about the concept here). The ICT Lab Utrecht has commenced the construction of a test setup to assess the functionality of RFID technology. Subsequently, an application was developed to store the RFID measurements, facilitating easier execution and analysis of experiments. Through these experiments, it was determined whether bicycle theft could be detected with the help of the smart watch zone; indeed, this was found to be the case. Special RFID-on-metal tags were also tested to ascertain feasibility.
Partly as a result of the research, the municipality of Utrecht has decided to initiate a pilot for a smart watch gate. In a smart watch gate, only the entrances and exits are monitored, rather than an entire area. This solution is particularly suitable for bicycle parking facilities with fixed entrances and exits. In addition to the pilot with a smart watch gate, the municipality of Utrecht is also exploring the possibilities for a smart watch zone for pop-up bicycle parking facilities.
Want to learn more? Contact Jasper Veldman.