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Dynamic Advertising

System Preliminary Design Review – October 23,

2009Team Zink

Nicholas Cipriano, Ali Jameel, Jeremy Mestancik, Brian Simakauskas

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Problem Statement

Public transportation advertising today is not at its full potential

Organizations have a difficult time targeting a specific market• Public transportation offers an “all or nothing”

advertising approach

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Problem Statement

Current advertisements must be physically printed and placed on every bus they are to appear on• Waste of resources

Buses are cluttered with paper advertisements• They do not catch the eye

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Background/Motivation Why Ads on a Bus?

• Buses travel on routes that go through the busiest expressways and cities

• Cover residential and commercial areas of the city not covered by billboards

More than 9 million passengers ride PVTA buses each year*

What if there was a way to choose specifically when and where to advertise?• Lower costs for customers while maintaining exposure

* Source: PVTA.com

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Our Solution

A system in which advertisement display is based on time and location

Output the ads onto an LCD screen located inside of the bus

Incorporate a user friendly web site in which customers can:• Purchase ad space• Upload their own ads

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For Example…

On-bus advertisement

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Requirements

Ability to change ads based on location, time, direction

Accurate GPS positioning Must update frequently via Internet

• Internet connection may not always be present• Update via bus Wi-Fi, public Wi-Fi

Clear, visible, high resolution display Adaptable to other bus systems Appropriate for a bus

• Durable, mountable

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Requirements

Must run on bus power

Automatically distinguish between routes• Buses may run different routes throughout the day

Website• Will allow users to choose when/where to advertise and

upload graphics

Host System• Will organize advertisements and send to appropriate

buses

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Block Diagram

BusHost Server

ITX BoardGraphics

Card

Ethernet

WirelessAdapter

LCDDisplay

SSD

Update check

Location

Ad data

Bus route data

Website

Advertisements

CPU

GPS

User Input AdCustomer

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Intel Atom Processor 230• 533 MHz

Intel GMA 950 onboard video• 2048x1536 at 75 Hz maximum resolution• High Definition capability

Onboard LAN connection 2 GB DDR2 memory

Intel Mini ITX Board

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GPS - Garmin GPS 15L

WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System)• Accurate to within 3m 95% of the time

12 Channels• Connect up to 12 satellites

Connects serially• RS 232 interface

Good EMI/RFI performance ratings Active antenna

• More expensive, better performance

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Costs

Item Cost

Mini ITX Board $59.99

GPS Module $54.00

GPS Antenna $26.00

Wireless Adapter $19.99

LCD Monitor $150.00

System Enclosure ??

Total:~ $300.00

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Design Alternatives

Fully networked system• No ads stored locally on bus• Ads update regularly from Internet• Reliable Internet connection required

Closed system – Manual Update• No Internet connection• Ads updated manually via serial connection

3G network based• Subscription costs• More reliable Internet connection

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Challenges

GPS signal processing Updating advertisements in real time Maintaining Internet connectivity

• What if Internet connection fails for extended period of time?

Creating a user friendly website Memory management Creating a customer database

• MySQL

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Team Roles

Website Design – Nicholas Cipriano GPS signal processing – Ali Jameel Networking – Jeremy Mestancik Advertisement display/storage – Brian

Simakauskas

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MDR Deliverables

Ability to read GPS coordinates and display different images on LCD

Establish communication between host and client (bus) systems

Website with basic functionality• Obtain a domain, server space