Application of RFID and GpsOne for port container freight management solution

Overview

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) non-contact radio frequency automatic identification technology is one of the most popular technologies currently used in logistics and warehousing management. It is an automatic identification technology that has matured since the 1980s. It uses radio frequency for non-contact two-way communication to exchange data to achieve identification purposes. Compared with traditional magnetic cards and IC cards, the biggest advantage of radio frequency cards is the non-contact automatic identification technology. Therefore, no manual intervention is required to complete the identification work. It is suitable for realizing system automation and is not easily damaged. It can identify high-speed moving objects and simultaneously Identifies multiple RF cards and operates quickly and conveniently.

GpsOne positioning technology is actually a solution for applying and improving GPS technology, also known as Assisted GPS (Assistant GPS) positioning technology.

GpsOne mobile positioning technology combines GPS satellite signals and CDMA network signals for hybrid positioning. The GPS positioning method is used when the terminal can receive GPS satellite signals. When the terminal is indoors or in an environment with poor reception of satellite signals, the auxiliary GPS satellite signals received by the CDMA base station are used to achieve auxiliary positioning to meet indoor and outdoor full coverage positioning. At the same time, the ring can effectively utilize CDMA communication technology to complete remote information exchange.

When containers enter and leave the port, cargo statistics, location adjustment, cargo replenishment, safety monitoring, and regular tracking and scheduling are major issues in modern port management. Using RFID technology, we can realize real-time and effective identification and management of containers; using GpsOne technology, we can use GpsOne technology to perform timely, accurate and efficient location calibration tracking and dispatch monitoring of container status.

The DRF8x0x series of RFID products and the DPS8xox series of GpsOne products, independently developed with independent intellectual property rights by the R&D and Engineering team of Contemporary Technology Company for more than four years, can effectively complete various container management tasks at the port and are essential for modern Logistics Management. high-tech Tools.

1. Project characteristics

The biggest feature of the project is that it combines the mature smart card technology, wireless communication technology, and advanced software technology of Contemporary Technology Co., Ltd. to organically integrate various mature technologies and apply them to actual engineering needs such as container entry and exit gates, accumulation, and transportation monitoring.

●At the port gate, non-contact smart RFID Cards are used, and contemporary technology DRF8900 fixed readers are used to automatically identify and manage the identity numbers of containers entering and leaving the port, and to quickly summarize and collect statistics on the items contained. Smart card management is the foundation and direction of information management of various management systems;

●For containers that are stacked together, the DRF8901 vehicle-mounted/DRF8800 handheld mobile reader of Contemporary Technology Company can quickly identify and read the RFID cards installed in the boxes, and perform statistical summarization of the containers and their loaded materials.

●Whether it is a stacked container or a moving container, the application of the DPS8901 GpsOne positioning communication equipment of Contemporary Technology Co., Ltd. can not only complete real-time location information tracking and monitoring, but also read the material information provided by RFID in the locked target at any time through China Unicom's CDMA network. .

2. System function description

The device is divided into two subsystems and a monitoring command and dispatch center:

●One of the subsystems is the RFID reading and writing system provided by contemporary technology, which consists of two parts: one part is the microwave signal identifier (reader), that is, the entrance and exit gate communicator, which is installed at each entrance and exit gate of the port; the second part For electronic tags, the system is equipped with a registered electronic tag for each container, which is installed at the appropriate location of the container. The module has an identification code and an information code for the contents of the box. When a container entering or exiting the warehouse reaches 8 to 12 meters away from the gate, the reader detects the presence of the container, activates the gate communicator, and detects the identity code (ID) in the electronic tag of the incoming container. The ID is loaded in the form of a microwave and Transmit to the communicator, the information database in the communicator will check and make statistics on the container, and upload the information to the command center through the communication network. The entire system response time is only 0.3 seconds.

When it is necessary to statistically manage the containers accumulated in the freight yard, the vehicle-mounted RFID Reader provided by Contemporary Technology completes this task: using the DRF8902 four-port device, four reading antennas are installed on the working body, and the movement of the car body is used to read the data between 8 and 12 seconds. Collect data and statistics on containers on both sides of the moving route within a distance range of meters.

●The second subsystem is the DPS8901 GpsOne communication positioning terminal system provided by Contemporary Technology. Through remote excitation by the command and dispatch center, the collection and monitoring of container remote location information, real-time status and other information can be realized. The position error it provides is about 5-10m. In situations such as underground warehouses where GPS satellite signals cannot be received, the position error is about 50m.

●Command and dispatch center

Complete the reception, statistical compilation of various information on the port's entry and exit gates and containers, and handle emergencies. In particular, for systems equipped with GpsOne equipment, the command center has a location information display function (GIS), which can monitor the real-time geographical location of the target on the display screen at all times, and implement emergency handling and management more accurately by partially zooming in on the displayed map. Cargo replenishment. It is extremely important for timeliness in preventing theft, fire prevention and emergency adjustment.

3. System composition

It consists of electronic tags attached to containers, transceiver antennas at port entrances and exits, tag readers, GpsOne positioning communication equipment, backend management platforms and internal communication networks.

● Command and dispatch center equipment (computers, GIS map software, logistics management software, etc.)

●Entry equipment (entrance communicator, tag reader, etc.)

●Exit gate equipment (basically the same as the entrance equipment) l Electronic tag (same as the registration number)

● GpsOne positioning and navigation equipment

4. Work flow

●The RFID Antenna is controlled by the reader and continuously emits radio waves for search. When the container passes through the transceiver at the port management gate, the transceiver is triggered and emits code information that can uniquely indicate the identity of the container passing through the gate (such as container code, category, tonnage, etc. and source or destination, etc.), and simultaneously receive identification inspection, video storage information, and the transceiver of the entry and exit port management station receives the signal, which is processed and transmitted to the computer system for data management and archiving for inquiry. Carry out information storage (entry) or information comparison (exit), and release normally after confirmation.

● The container carries GpsOne and accepts the material management information sent by RFID. Once remotely triggered by the dispatch center, it immediately returns the target geographical location information and material management information to the center. At the same time, the command center can monitor the specific geographical location of each GpsOne container through the GIS interface.

●Use of radio frequency card

In this scheme, taking into account the characteristics of the use of radio frequency cards, there are two types of radio frequency cards used in the scheme: integrated circuit solidified type and on-site wireless rewriting type.

Among them, the information in the integrated curable electronic tag is generally injected in the ROM process mode during the production of the integrated circuit, and the information Stored in it is immutable; the on-site wireless rewriteable electronic tag has specific rewriting instructions, and the information stored in the electronic tag is Also located in the E2 storage area. Generally, the time required to rewrite the electronic tag data is much greater than the time required to read the electronic tag data. And the writing distance is about 40% to 80% of the reading distance.

A radio frequency card that records container location, item category, quantity and other data is installed on the container. With the help of radio frequency identification technology, the exact location of the container in the cargo yard can be determined, and the updated data can be written to the radio frequency card (on-site) when moving. wireless rewriting class). The system can also identify unauthorized container movements, benefiting management and security. In particular, relatively simple radio frequency cards (integrated circuit curing type) are attached to the items inside the container to facilitate the recording and statistics of materials in the container. Considering the different shapes of the items in the box and the convenience of placement, it would be problematic to have one label for one item. Only a few labels are attached to an item to ensure that one label is visible at all times. This is very necessary when using portable collection equipment. As a special reminder, for metal materials, the power radiation performance of the RF card antenna caused by cylindrical metal is the most serious. When it is 50mm away from the antenna, the reflected signal drops by more than 20 dB. When the center distance between the antenna and the object is 100-150mm, the return signal drops by about 10 to 12 dB. When the distance from the antenna was 100mm, several bottles of water (plastic and glass) were measured, and the return signal was reduced by more than 10 dB. In this way, the effective collection distance will be greatly reduced when counting information on such items in the box. Similarly, since containers are all made of metal, and the boxes are stacked and weighed heavily during the stacking process, the installation of RFID tags on the containers must adopt a multi-directional and multi-surface installation method to ensure the speed of the data collection process. and completeness.

●Use of reader

The functions of the reader's control unit include: communicating with the application system software and executing commands sent by the application system software; controlling the communication process with the radio frequency card (master-slave principle); and encoding and decoding signals. For some special systems, additional functions include executing anti-collision algorithms, encrypting and decrypting data to be transmitted between the RF card and the reader, and performing identity verification between the RF card and the reader.