College Faculty Develops Reliable Cashless Vending

A pair of engineering faculty members at Bob Jones University in Greensville, S.C. were able to develop a cashless vending program for the campus that has been reliable, secure, and has increased vending sales by about 25 percent. The faculty members used the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in the campus security system to develop the cashless vending system. The college vending program is self operated.

Many institutions and campuses use RFID cards for door access. The Bob Jones University faculty members, who have no background in vending, demonstrated that the same technology being used in the campus security system can be used to facilitate purchases in various venues on the campus.

Several years ago, after the decision was made to make all campus buildings accessible via RFID, another decision was made to use RFID for vending candy and pastry.

The first system developed was implemented on a 1980s vintage candy and pastry machine called a Snackshop 7000®.

The developers of the cashless vending have come to the conclusion that RFID is more secure and easier to use than the technology used in other cashless systems, such as those that use bar codes or magnetic stripes.

Unlike a bar code, RFID is not easily duplicated. Unlike a magnetic stripe card, RFID is not easily deprogrammed or erased. Magnetic stripe readers also have mechanical reliability issues due to dirt build up.

The RFID card is read, then authenticated over a proprietary Intranet in real time. When authentication is acknowledged, the machine activates a purchase. Purchase information is then securely delivered to the database.

Candy, pastry, drink and laundry (wash and dry) machines are all available. New and recent Coke and Pepsi vending machines from various manufacturers are operational under this system, along with 1980s vintage technology and Maytag® serial communications from various manufacturers. All transactions are available online for users to view and for easy bookkeeping.

RFID TECHNOLOGY EVOLVES, OFFERING MANY USES

RFID technology has proliferated over the past few years. Wal-Mart and the U.S. Department of Defense have both mandated RFID technology implementation from product suppliers in order to maintain accurate supply chain control. This technology is much like the bar-coded UPC label consumers are used to seeing on packaging at the store, except it is invisible.

The UPC code has no security and is freely accessible by anyone with the technology to read, or even write, to it. RFID is much more, however.

RFID offers better security, which is why it is currently being implemented in passports, drivers’ licenses and credit cards. These usages need to be carefully secured.

Identity theft, travel information and tracking, as well as financial data are all at risk. Furthermore, an important use that may have a lower necessity for security than the previously mentioned, is RFID access to buildings, homes and vehicles.

As is typical of all new technology, the scope of usage creeps to new applications as a need arises. This was the case with vending and laundry service in a campus environment.

A campus RFID card that gives access to buildings can also be used to provide access to food and beverage vending, along with laundry machines and other sales venues where the ID holder has access to the facilities. The same card can also be used to pay for meals in the cafeteria.

SECURITY FEATURES DRIVE RFID IMPLEMENTATION

Many organizations are using RFID today on account of its security benefits. Security of RFID devices is very complex. To simplify, some devices can be read at a fairly long distance, such as 30 feet, or even more. There is usually no security at this distance.

The typical RFID used for building access has a short read distance of two or three inches.

An RFID badge is at least as secure as an ID badge with a magnetic stripe, and significantly more secure than an ID badge with bar codes.