Radio frequency identification-based system to automate management, security of cargo container shipments
New York — October 29, 2003 — Savi Technology, a provider of real-time supply chain asset management and security solutions, today announced the availability of the Savi Sentinel, a radio frequency identification (RFID)-based system that clips onto ISO intermodal containers and automates intrusion detection, in-the-box environmental conditions and content integrity, as well as has two-way wireless network communication capabilities.
Savi said that when Sentinel is linked with the provider's automated global tracking network, shippers, carriers and logistics service providers gain real-time visibility on the location, status, security and integrity of their shipments.
Sentinel provides multiple functional capabilities on each side of a large metal clip that fits onto the door of the container, according to Savi. A door sensor and sensor hub on the side of the clip, facing the interior of the box, detects tampering of the door. It also collects data from other sensors inside the box, which detect interior environmental changes such as temperature, light, shock, vibration, atmospheric pressure, chemicals and radiation.
This data is then relayed in real-time to a transponder and RFID antennas on the part of the clip that's on the outside of the door. The integrated system can automatically alert the network about everything from the possibility of food spoilage to the presence of a terrorist's weapon of mass destruction, in addition to reporting its location.
Savi said that software applications linked with the Savi Sentinel also can produce real-time audit trails of each shipments, enabling users to analyze shipping patterns for better planning or for clarifying liability in the case of late, damaged or lost products.
In addition, the Savi Sentinel, when used with the Universal Data Appliance Protocol, can interoperate with barcodes, passive EPC-compliant tags and satellite tracking systems for visibility of the shipment, ranging from individual items inside the container to the container itself and even the mode of transportation, whether it's an ocean vessel, railcar or truck.
Ravi Rajapakse, Savi's chief technology officer, said, "The design and technology are tailored to address in a practical manner both the security concerns and ongoing inefficiencies inherent in the transport of intermodal containers from their point of origin to final destination in the global supply chain."
The transport of goods via cargo containers accounts for more than 90 percent of world trade, with about 20 million containers used in world trade, including 6 million shipped into U.S. ports, each year.
The Savi Sentinel was introduced today at the opening of the U.S. Maritime Security Conference.
