Year
2014
Abstract
Previous implementations of the ARG-US system for transportation applications required a complete installation of the Qualcomm OmniTRACS, or the later Omnitracs MCP200, on the vehicle and modifications to the cab and trailer. Even though the modifications are straightforward and take only about a day to complete, any modifications to the vehicle are rarely permitted by shippers utilizing commercial carriers. To overcome such restrictions, Argonne has developed the ARG-US CommBox, which combines the ARG-US fixed RFID reader with the Omnitracs MCP200 GPRS/GPS module in a single, self-contained and portable unit to provide tracking and monitoring during shipments. Units are powered by batteries that can sustain full operation of typical shipping campaigns for up to several days. The standalone system also enables shippers and carriers to reuse the CommBox for subsequent shipments with different vehicles, without having to install individual systems on all the vehicles in the fleet. The CommBox is compact, can be placed anywhere in the cargo bay, and can suit a wide range of truck sizes. A slim version of CommBox, operating on GPRS without satellite communication, provides a level of tracking comparable to that of the fully integrated ARG-US system for most applications. Utilizing the same web user interface as the fully integrated ARG-US system, users are able to monitor, in near-real time, the location of shipments as well as the “State of Health” (SoH) for the individual items that are monitored by the ARG-US system. A U.S. patent application for CommBox has been filed.