A Selection of handheld readers tried out by the Pilot are shown at the bottom of this section
Immediately below are several different types of fixed readers and systems that are currently installed and operational in Scottish marts and abattoirs. Many thanks to everyone involved for their hard work.

Aberdeen & Northern Marts

Designed, manufactured, supplied and installed entirely by Nedap Agri
Nedap Agri race reader at Aberdeen & Northern Marts (Thainstone).
Click on the picture below for a bigger view
 

This reader has been in continuous use for more than a year and allows all of the sheep leaving the auction ring to pass through, without slowing sale throughput. It consists of 5 reader modules and antennae in different orientations and the data goes to a built-in computer where it is stored, and also similtanously sent in real time to the ScotEID database via the Internet. Lot separation is performed by pressing a pneumatic button on the reader. It can also be done by a "Lot RFID Card" .
The reader itself has a separate indicator showing Lot Number and number of sheep read each lot read. See the Orkney Mart video clip below.

Aberdeen & Northern Marts

Designed, manufactured, supplied and installed entirely by Eromsa
Click on the picture below for a bigger view

This reader was installed at Thainstone at the end of July 2009, and consists of 2 rows of 10 readers with 10 antennae in each row. There are also 4 vertical antennae. In total this Fixed reader has 24 reader modules and 24 antennae.
Lot separation can be achieved by pressing a button on the reader, by a RF remote switch or a "Lot Separator card".
The data is sent directly to the ScotEID database using ScotEID software . The reader boards and antennae were developed by EROMSA in Italy. A PC handles the data and the programme.

Orkney Auction Mart

Designed, manufactured, supplied and installed entirely by Nedap Agri
Shown below is the Nedap Agri race reader installed at Orkney Auction Mart.
Click on the picture below for a bigger view
 

St Boswells Livestock Centre

Designed, manufactured, supplied and installed entirely by Tagmaster, with the exception of the basic Reader Modules which are by Allflex.
The image below shows a sheep lot, with mixed eartags, passing through the reader installed by Tagmaster at Newton St Boswells Auction mart
Click on the picture below for a bigger view

The reader originally consisted of a table structure holding several flat horizontal antennas followed by three arched antennas. A pc with touchscreen together with the ScotEID software has been used to upload data in real-time to the ScotEID database. The configuration was changed to 2 rows of arches each with 3 readers and antennae in late July 2009. Lot separation is done by use of an RFID "Lot Card" or by touch screen on the Java Programme.

Wallets Marts (Castle Douglas)

Designed, manufactured, supplied and installed entirely by Aleis
Pictured is the Aleis reader installed at Wallets Marts (Castle Douglas).
 
This system uses the ScotEID Java software for sending data directly to the ScotEID website in real-time - or it can store it in reader memory and upload later using the Java application. The unit consists of an array of 10 readers and antennae working with different polarisation, phase and field orientations. Lot separation is performed by Lot separator card, or by the Readers on internal microprocessor.

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ABATTOIRS

McIntosh Donald (Portlethen Abattoir)

Installed by Cox Agri - Reader and Antenna manufactured by Agrident
Here is a single Agrident reader installed by Cox Agri at McIntosh Donald Portlethen.
Click on the picture below for a bigger view

RFID reader antenna panel mounted on concrete on the left side of the race just before the elevator
The reader is connected to a computer in the office 150 metres away using RS 485 communications. The ScotEID software has been used to automatically upload the data at the end of each lot.

Orkney Meats (Abattoir)

Installed by Dalton. Reader and Antenna manufactured by Gallagher.
Shown below is the Gallagher reader/antenna which has been supplied and installed by Dalton ID systems at Orkney Meats (Kirkwall - Orkney).
Click on the picture below for a bigger view

The panel antenna is installed vertically behind the kill line.
The reader is located on the opposite side of the factory wall from the antenna. The reader is linked to the intake computer using 35 metres of RS232 Serial comms and has the ScotEID java software to upload data to the ScotEID database in real time.

Scotbeef (Bridge of Allan Abattoir)

Installed by Newgate Technology - Reader and Antenna manufactured by EDiT
Shown below is a single EDiT iD reader which has been installed by Newgate Technology at Scotbeef (Bridge of Allan).
Click on the pictures below for a bigger view
 
RFID reader antenna panel suspended above the elevator in the lairage
The touch panel pc is mounted on a swivelling arm so it can be moved out of the way when not in use. The PC is using the ScotEID Java Software to upload data to the website in real time using a custom config file (settings.yml) which is located in the .scoteid folder.

Scotch Premier Meat Ltd (Dornoch Abattoir)

Installed and manufactured by entirely Nedap Agri
Click on the picture below for a bigger view

RFID reader antenna is vertically mounted on the left hand side of the live sheep elevator
The reader uses Nedap's own firmware and ScotEID webservices to upload data to the ScotEID database.

Woodhead Bros (Turriff Abattoir)

Installed and Built by Tagmaster with Tagmaster designed Antenna and an Allflex Reader module.
Click on the pictures below for a bigger view
 

Tagmaster use a saddle shaped antenna mounted over the top (Folded) over live sheep elevator. It is similar to a single element of the Tagmaster Market reader.
The ScotEID Java application is used to send data to the ScotEID database using a customised touchscreen computer and Lot separator card.

HANDHELD READERS

Here are a few of the Handheld Readers the Scottish Pilot have used in Phase 1.

Click on the picture below for a bigger view

Some of those readers are suitable for lower throughput Scottish auction markets and abattoirs, and all have a place on farm.

The different variants of handheld and stick readers the Pilot tried out (see above picture) can be very variable with regard to functionality, flexibility, complexity and cost. All of those readers shown in the picture have been used, or at least evaluated by, the Scottish Pilot.

In the absence the availability of "off the shelf auction market readers" in summer and autumn 2008, the Scottish Pilot used handheld readers. It ended up that one or two types of stick readers handled nearly all the pilot reading in Scottish Marts and Abattoirs until January 2009, and the stick reader that recorded the date and timestamp along with the read, and held it in memory was the one most used by the Pilot Team.

Some the readers in the snapshot are eminently suitable for farm management purposes, but not so easy to use when reading large numbers of sheep for basic movement recording.