electronic toll collection

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Chapter 1
1.1 Introduction
RFID is a wireless link to uniquely identify tags. These systems communicate via radio
signals that carry data either unidirectional or bidirectional. The tag is energized by a time
varying electromagnetic radio frequency (rf) wave that is transmitted by the reader. This rf signal
is called carrier signal. When tag is energized the information stored in the tag is transmitted
back to the reader. This is often called backscattering. by detecting the backscattering signal, the
information stored in the tag can be fully identified. RFID systems are comprised of two main
components rf reader and rf tag the RFID tag, or transponder, is located on the object to be
identified and is the data carrier in the RFID system. Typical transponders
(transmitters/responders) consist of a microchip that stores data and a coupling element, such as
a coiled antenna, used to communicate via radio frequency communication. Transponders may
be either Active or Passive.
Active RFID and Passive RFID are fundamentally different technologies. While both use
radio frequency energy to communicate between a tag and a reader, the method of powering the
tags is different. Active RFID uses an internal power source (battery) within the tag to
continuously power the tag and its rf communication circuitry, whereas Passive RFID relies on rf
energy transferred from the reader to the tag to power the tag.
Passive RFID either 1) reflects energy from reader or 2) absorbs and temporarily stores a
very small amount of energy from the reader’s signal to generate its own quick response. in
either case Passive RFID operation requires very strong signals from the reader and the signal
strength required from the tag is constrained to very low levels by the limited energya. on the
other hand Active RFID allows very low level signals to be received by the tag, and the tag can
generate high level signals back to the reader, driven from its internal power source. Active
RFID tag is continuously powered, whether in the reader field or not.

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1.2 Toll system
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or toll way, is a public or private roadway for which
a fee (or toll) is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help
recoup the cost of road construction and maintenance, which (on public roads) amounts to a form
of taxation.
Toll roads in some form have existed since antiquity, collecting their fees from passing
travelers on foot, wagon or horseback; but their prominence increased with the rise of
the automobile, and many modern toll ways charge fees for motor vehicles exclusively. The
amount of the toll usually varies by vehicle type, weight, or number of axles, with
freight trucks often charged higher rates than cars.
Tolls are collected at points known as toll booths, toll houses, plazas, stations, bars, or
gates. Some toll collection points are unmanned and the user deposits money in a machine which
opens the gate once the correct toll has been paid. To cut costs and minimize time delay many
tolls today are collected by some form of automatic or electronic toll collection equipment which
communicates electronically with a toll payer's transponder. Toll booths are usually still required
for the occasional users who do not have a transponder. The tolls are often prepaid or collected
"automatically" from an affiliated credit card service. Some toll roads have "automated" toll
enforcement systems that take photos of drivers who do not pay the tolls and their license plates.
They typically get the toll bill along with a fine.
Criticisms of toll roads include the time taken to stop and pay the toll, and the cost of the
toll booth operators—up to about one third of revenue in some cases. Automated toll paying
systems help minimize both of these. Others object to paying "twice" for the same road: in fuel
taxes and with tolls. In addition to toll roads, toll bridges and toll tunnels are also used by public
authorities to generate funds to repay the cost of building the structures. Some tolls are set aside
to pay for future maintenance or enhancement of infrastructure, or are applied as a general fund
by local governments, not being earmarked for transport facilities. This is sometimes limited or
prohibited by central government legislation. Also road congestion pricing schemes have been
implemented in a limited number of urban areas as a transportation demand management tool to
try to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.
Fig.1.1 Toll plaza

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Chapter 2
2.1 Electronic toll collection (ETC)
Electronic toll collection (ETC) aims to eliminate the delay on toll collecting
roads by tolls electronically. ETC determines whether the cars passing are enrolled in the
program, alerts enforcers for those that are not, and electronically debits the accounts of
registered car owners without requiring them to stop.
In some urban settings, automated gates are in use in electronic-toll lanes, with 5 mph
(8 km/h) legal limits on speed [in other settings, 20 mph (35 km/h) legal limits are not
uncommon. However, in other areas such as the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, and at
various locations in California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Texas, cars can travel
through electronic lanes at full speed. Illinois' Open Road Tolling program features 274
contiguous miles of barrier-free roadways, where I-PASS or E-ZPass users continue to travel at
highway speeds through toll plazas, while cash payers pull off the main roadway to pay at
tollbooths. Currently over 80% of Illinois' 1.4 million daily drivers use an I-PASS.
Enforcement is accomplished by a combination of a camera which takes a picture of the
car and a radio frequency keyed computer which searches for a drivers window/bumper mounted
transponder to verify and collect payment. The system sends a notice and fine to cars that pass
through without having an active account or paying a toll.
Factors hindering full-speed electronic collection include significant non-participation,
entailing lines in manual lanes and disorderly traffic patterns as the electronic- and manual-
collection cars "sort themselves out" into their respective lanes; problems with pursuing toll
evaders; need, in at least some current (barrier) systems, to confine vehicles in lanes, while
Fig.2.1 ETC toll plaza

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interacting with the collection devices, and the dangers of high-speed collisions with the
confinement structures; vehicle hazards to toll employees present in some electronic-collection
areas; the fact that in some areas at some times, long lines form even to pass through the
electronic-collection lanes; and costs and other issues raised when retrofitting existing toll
collection facilities. Unionized toll collectors can also be problematic.
Even if line lengths are the same in electronic lanes as in manual ones, electronic tolls save
registered cars time: eliminating the stop at a window or toll machine, between successive cars
passing the collection machine, means a fixed-length stretch of their journey past it is traveled at
a higher average speed, and in a lower time. This is at least a psychological improvement, even if
the length of the lines in automated lanes is sufficient to make the no-stop-to-pay savings
insignificant compared to time still lost due waiting in line to pass the toll gate. Toll plazas are
typically wider than the rest of the highway; reducing the need for them makes it possible to fit
toll roads into tight corridors.
2.2 Transactionprocessing
Transaction processing deals with maintaining customer accounts, posting toll transactions
and customer payments to the accounts, and handling customer inquiries. The transaction
processing component of some systems is referred to as a "customer service center". In many
respects, the transaction processing function resembles banking, and several toll agencies have
contracted out transaction processing to a bank.
Customer accounts may be postpaid, where toll transactions are periodically billed to the
customer, or prepaid, where the customer funds a balance in the account which is then depleted
as toll transactions occur. The prepaid system is more common, as the small amounts of most
tolls makes pursuit of uncollected debts uneconomic. Most postpaid accounts deal with this issue
by requiring a security deposit, effectively rendering the account a prepaid one.

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Chapter 3
Types of ETC place
3.1 Types of ETC place
1) Two piece type
2) Three piece type
3) Built-in type
3.1.1 Two piece type
Fig.3.1 two piece type
This type combines the antenna with the main body including the ETC information processing
function and ETC card insertion slot into one package and can be fitted to areas such as the
dashboard that will not interfere with wireless communication. This type is commonly referred to
as a "two piece type" since it consists of the ETC in-vehicle device and the ETC card.

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3.1.2 Three piece type
Fig.3.2 three piece type
This type has an antenna that is separate from the main body of the device. With the three piece
type, a small antenna is fitted to the dashboard and the main body can be fitted anywhere inside
the vehicle as long as it does not interfere with handling of the ETC card. This type is commonly
referred to as a "three piece type" since it is made from three parts, the main ETC in-vehicle
device, the antenna, and ETC card.
3.1.3 Built-in type
Fig.3.1.3 build-in type
This type sold by automobile manufacturers has a design which is coordinated with the vehicle
interior. Various types have been made available by manufacturers such as those with antennas
built into the room mirror or those whose main body is fitted inside the center panel. Built-in
types come in both two piece types and three piece types.

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Chapter 4
Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)
RFID stands for Radio-Frequency Identification. The acronym refers to small electronic devices
that consist of a small chip and an antenna. The chip typically is capable of carrying 2,000 bytes
of data or less.
The RFID device serves the same purpose as a bar code or a magnetic strip on the back of a
credit card or ATM card; it provides a unique identifier for that object. And, just as a bar code or
magnetic strip must be scanned to get the information, the RFID device must be scanned to
retrieve the identifying information.
RFID Works Better Than Barcodes
A significant advantage of RFID devices over the others mentioned above is that the RFID
device does not need to be positioned precisely relative to the scanner. We're all familiar with the
difficulty that store checkout clerks sometimes have in making sure that a barcode can be read.
And obviously, credit cards and ATM cards must be swiped through a special reader. In contrast,
RFID devices will work within a few feet (up to 20 feet for high-frequency devices) of the
scanner. For example, you could just put all of your groceries or purchases in a bag, and set the
bag on the scanner. It would be able to query all of the RFID devices and total your purchase
immediately. (Read a more detailed article on RFID compared to barcodes.)
RFID technology has been available for more than fifty years. It has only been recently that
the ability to manufacture the RFID devices has fallen to the point where they can be used as a
Fig. 4.1 RFID reader (a) and RFID tag (b)
Fig.(a)
Fig.(b)

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"throwaway" inventory or control device. Alien Technologies recently sold 500 million RFID
tags to Gillette at a cost of about ten cents per tag.
One reason that it has taken so long for RFID to come into common use is the lack of
standards in the industry. Most companies invested in RFID technology only use the tags to track
items within their control; many of the benefits of RFID come when items are tracked from
company to company or from country to country.
Common Problems with RFID
Some common problems with RFID are reader collision and tag collision. Reader collision
occurs when the signals from two or more readers overlap. The tag is unable to respond to
simultaneous queries. Systems must be carefully set up to avoid this problem. Tag collision
occurs when many tags are present in a small area; but since the read time is very fast, it is easier
for vendors to develop systems that ensure that tags respond one at a time. See Problems with
RFID for more details.
4.1 Working of RFID
A Radio-Frequency Identification system has three parts:
 A scanning antenna
 A transceiver with a decoder to interpret the data
 A transponder - the RFID tag - that has been programmed with information.
The scanning antenna puts out radio-frequency signals in a relatively short range. The
RF radiation does two things:
 It provides a means of communicating with the transponder (the RFID tag)
 It provides the RFID tag with the energy to communicate (in the case of passive
RFID tags).
This is an absolutely key part of the technology; RFID tags do not need to
contain batteries, and can therefore remain usable for very long periods of time
(maybe decades).
The scanning antennas can be permanently affixed to a surface; handheld
antennas are also available. They can take whatever shape you need; for example, you
could build them into a door frame to accept data from persons or objects passing
through.

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When an RFID tag passes through the field of the scanning antenna, it detects
the activation signal from the antenna. That "wakes up" the RFID chip, and it
transmits the information on its microchip to be picked up by the scanning antenna.In
addition, the RFID tag may be of one of two types. Active RFID tags have their own
power source; the advantage of these tags is that the reader can be much farther away
and still get the signal. Even though some of these devices are built to have up to a 10
year life span, they have limited life spans. Passive RFID tags, however, do not
require batteries, and can be much smaller and have a virtually unlimited life span.
 The tag need not be on the surface of the object (and is therefore not subject to
wear)
 The read time is typically less than 100 milliseconds
 Large numbers of tags can be read at once rather than item by item.

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Chapter 5
Tags & Readers
5.1 Tag
A radio-frequency identification system uses tags, or labels attached to the objects to be
identified. Two-way radio transmitter-receivers called interrogators or readers send a signal to
the tag and read its response. RFID tags can be either passive, active or battery-assisted passive.
An active tag has an on-board battery and periodically transmits its ID signal. A battery-assisted
passive (BAP) has a small battery on board and is activated when in the presence of an RFID
reader. A passive tag is cheaper and smaller because it has no battery; instead, the tag uses the
radio energy transmitted by the reader. However, to operate a passive tag, it must be illuminated
with a power level roughly a thousand times stronger than for signal transmission. That makes a
difference in interference and in exposure to radiation.
Tags may either be read-only, having a factory-assigned serial number that is used as a key
into a database, or may be read/write, where object-specific data can be written into the tag by
the system user. Field programmable tags may be write-once, read-multiple; "blank" tags may be
written with an electronic product code by the user. RFID tags contain at least two parts: an
integrated circuit for storing and processing information, modulating and demodulating a radio-
frequency (RF) signal, collecting DC power from the incident reader signal, and other
specialized functions; and an antenna for receiving and transmitting the signal. The tag
information is stored in a nonvolatile memory. The RFID tag includes either fixed or
programmable logic for processing the transmission and

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5.2 The selectionof tag
The selection of active or passive tag affects factors like range of communication, data
storage capacity, sensor ability etc. If the tag is active the reader can spot more tags within
seconds than the passive tag, but as the cost is compared the passive tags are cheaper than the
active tags. The life of the passive tags are more than the active tag because , active tag requires
tag power supply within the chip.
The different frequencies that the tag can work are;
5.2.1 Low frequency (LF)
These tags work at a frequency of around 125 kHz and have a reading range of less than
50 cm. The reading speed is relatively low and the tags are relatively insensitive to interference.
This band enjoys relative freedom from regulatory limitations because it has not been reserved as
an ISM frequency range, although in this frequency interval other systems operate typically for
aeronautical and marine navigational services. Tags in this frequency range have been using now
in applications such as access control and animal tracking.
5.2.2 High frequency (HF)
Operate worldwide at 13.56 MHz and can be read at distances of around one meter, but
tags use more energy than low frequency tags. Existing uses include tracking books in libraries
and baggage at airports. At around 13.56MHz, electromagnetic fields can propagate through
water and tissue but cannot penetrate metals. Antennas are made simply of turns of coils of small
radius.
5.2.3 Ultra-High frequency (UHF)
These tags work at a range between 433 and 2000 MHz and can be read from further away
and at higher speed than HF tags. This makes this frequency the most appropriate for supply
chain applications, such as tracking pallets and case

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5.3 Readers
RFID systems can be classified by the type of tag and reader. A Passive Reader Active
Tag (PRAT) system has a passive reader which only receives radio signals from active tags
(battery operated, transmit only). The reception range of a PRAT system reader can be adjusted
from 1–2,000 feet (0–600 m), allowing flexibility in applications such as asset protection and
supervision.
5.3.1 Active Reader Passive Tag (ARPT)
system has an active reader, which transmits interrogator signals and also receives
authentication replies from passive tags.
5.3.2 Active Reader Active Tag (ARAT)
system uses active tags awoken with an interrogator signal from the active reader. A
variation of this system could also use a Battery-Assisted Passive (BAP) tag which acts like a
passive tag but has a small battery to power the tag's return reporting signal. Fixed readers are set
up to create a specific interrogation zone which can be tightly controlled. This allows a highly
defined reading area for when tags go in and out of the interrogation zone. Mobile readers may
be hand-held or mounted on carts or vehicles.

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