A smart container uses sensors and other
electronic systems to track and report data such as contents, unauthorized
access and physical location. The goal pursued, to improve supply chain
efficiencies and strengthen security.
Depending on the shipment, you could choose
between different levels of container “intelligence”. You may only want to control
if the doors were opened en route, but also who supervised its stuffing, the
content, the route, the carrier, real time location…
It is also a matter of national security, and that’s
because so far there wasn’t a reliable technology that could determine whether,
for example, the cargo includes drugs.
Smart containers should be able to cover two
issues.
First issue: Detection
There’s a difference between what should be
detected in the private sector and the public sector. Governments care about human
and drug trafficking, weapons and nuclear materials. Private companies want to
make sure the shipment hasn’t suffered any kind of alteration or contamination.
In most cases, basic detection is available and
inexpensive. We can detect breaches into containers using magnetic switches,
light, vibration, temperature, and more. Lots of companies use a combination of
sensors, RFID, and satellite technologies. Detecting a container’s position is
also simple and low cost, using, for example geo-fencing, that detects a
variance between where the container should be and where it is.
But the challenge is to develop sensing
technologies that could detect biological and chemical agents, shielded
enriched uranium, humans, explosives, and drugs with non-intrusive portal
machines of electrochemical and electromagnetic technology that can scan
containers for an instant read-out of the cargo.
Second issue: Transmitting data
There are three main technologies: RFID,
satellite, and cellular.
a) RFID: RFID applications require the carriage
and transmission of data through a wireless system. Changes in the status of an
RFID tagged container can be sensed and transmitted when the container is
interrogated by a transceiver positioned along the global supply chain. The
transceiver sends out the triggering frequency, which produces a return
transmission of any change in the container’s status – for example, if the
doors have been opened.
The main problem here is that the successful
transmission of the data depends of the success of the message traveling in electromagnetic
waves that could be unintentionally or intentionally obstructed. Moreover, RFID
has no global protocols or standards, and needs a physical infrastructure to
support the application.
b) Satellite: Here, we talk about the sophisticated
two-way satellite communications, where a container to declare its location to
those who want to know, it must have another antenna to send the signal. But GPS
systems often have dead spots and they require visible antennas on the
conveyance, and don’t solve yet the detection of the container inside.
c) Cellular: Even though there are roaming
capabilities and connectivity between different areas of the world, it suffers similar
problems to RFID. Infrastructures, frequencies, authentication and data encryption
should be further developed before totally trust in this technology.
The incentives of governments and companies in
the developing of smart containers are huge, specially because of the rocketing growth of
international commerce.
This is an expanding market with uncountable
benefits, because it can cause a drop in theft losses, increase the access to
supply chain data, improve inventories, and reduce overall transit times. The
containers of the future are intelligent.
Mariano José Guillén Paredes. Grupo D1
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