Radio frequency identification (RFID) tag - Idea

[Marco2001]

Radio frequency identification (RFID) tag

The first phase of the MIT project dealt with onboard inventory, which can suck up astronauts' valuable time. According to de Weck, astronauts on the International Space Station spend several hours a day keeping track of items, such as food and scientific equipment. "What they're really supposed to be doing is productive science," he says.

Today, space station astronauts keep track of their supplies by giving each item two bar codes that must be manually scanned -- one that identifies the item and another that specifies its location. "One of the hypotheses we're trying to test...is whether a more hands-free operation would be beneficial," says de Weck.


On Devon Island, the group tested this hypothesis by taking an inventory of every item on the HMP base -- from dried fruit to all-terrain vehicles -- and giving each a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. Unlike bar codes, which must be scanned by hand, RFID tags use radio signals to communicate with nearby readers, which may be handheld or mounted on, for example, ceilings, walls, gates, or vehicles.

De Weck and Simchi-Levi's group used RFID readers mounted on gates to track the base's all-terrain vehicles and improve scheduling procedures. On the Moon or Mars, a portable RFID reader could be used to determine which supplies are in an exploration vehicle before astronauts take it for a day trip. The reader could "go through the Humvee, find out what's in the truck, compare it with a standard equipment list, and give a green or red light to the mission," says Mike Li, the project's software architect.

http://www.technologyreview.com/article/16033/

[profit004]

Gameplay wise this was already in, when you could open the computer screen and see where things like the O2 can and the like were.

[Marco2001]

Locator in Mars Colony only shows where equipement is. It doesn't show single items like: MRE packs, samples, parts, seeds etc..
They showed that even a simple fruit can be located using a smal sticker-chip.
The system they developed it's simply locating where is what...it tells peeple where some equipement will be needed (mision objective).
Currently in MCC there is no way to check remotely how many GPR-shots are stored. You have to go and check it by yourselve. They showed that it's possible and better to keep track of every single thing that is in- or outside the base. In the example with GPR shots...when someone want's to check how many do they have left, he goes to the monitor, and ther's it's clearly labeled, and if there isn't enough of those GPR-shots, system will inform everyone that the base is low of them, and will suggest from where could it be transfered (where is more than needed) or produced.

[profit004]

I guess it is a good way to explain the omniscient game mechanics if hyper decides to put them in.

But if I have to grab an RFID tag every time I harvest a plant and put it in the cooler and drag it across the base....

Yeah    >:C

I will not be pleased.  Just so you know.

[Hyper]

Objects that have locator transmitters on them much like GPS tracking cell phones I can see. Reality is if we go there, early on I would suggest that low tech is the way we would go. If it has parts it will break. I had thought about part of the dialog boxes for objects there would be a selection to add a locator transmitter then supply a stock of them but that is still up in the air.