vrijdag 4 januari 2008

04/01/08 Smartbox (Artikel RFID Journal)

DHL to Market RFID-enabled Smart Box
Developed in conjunction with the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation, the system can identify the box's cargo and location, as well as monitor internal environmental conditions.
By Rhea Wessel Jan. 4, 2007—The Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF) has developed an intelligent container that records which RFID-tagged items are put in or taken out of it, and can be tracked throughout a logistics chain with location-sensing technology.
The Smart Box combines RFID, GSM, sensors and locating technologies with custom-designed software designed to pull all these elements together. The company is exhibiting it at the DHL Innovation Center, where visitors can test it by adding and removing objects, then track the box's location as it moves around the showroom. The system makes up an important part of DPWN's RFID strategy for transporting high-value goods.
RFID antennas are built into the box's walls and lid, with the remaining electronics—an RFID interrogator that can read 13.56 MHz passive tags conforming to the ISO 15693 standard; a CPU; sensors; a GPS receiver; and a GSM mobile phone unit—installed in its base. The current Smart Box prototype, made of plastic, is about 1.20 meters long by 80 centimeters wide by 80 centimeters deep (47 inches by 31 inches by 31 inches), but the technology can also be used either in containers that are bigger or much smaller. The reader and antennas can detect when RFID-tagged items are put in or taken out of the container. Sensors measure such factors as temperature, pressure, shock and humidity, while the GPS receiver calculates the box's location. The GSM mobile phone unit can place an automatic call to a central oversight agency if commanded to do so by the CPU in certain situations, such as when the box is opened unexpectedly or the temperature inside moves beyond set parameters.
IFF has developed the software installed in the box's CPU and on a PC at the central oversight agency. The software utilizes information collected via GPS, RFID and sensors to create charts for monitoring conditions within the box, or for showing the box's position on digital maps. All of this information can be shown on a small LCD display attached to the box's exterior, or on a screen at the central control station.

1 opmerking:

Anoniem zei

Hoi Ary,

Ik zie dat ik de eerste reactie mag geven op je redelijk nieuwe blog.
Ik had natuurlijk een reply kunnen geven op je mail, maar ik vond dit leuker ;).
Ik heb je blogsite toegevoegd aan mijn RSS-feeds, en ja, jammer dat je stavance nieuwsbrief er niet meer is...ben benieuwd hoe dit zich gaat ontwikkelen...
Succes ermee!

Peter (van den Berg, dus niet zo anoniem als het lijkt ;))