Remote Design And Deployment Of The Transport-Security, Tracking, And Reporting (T-STAR) System

Remote Design and Deployment of the Transport-Security, Tracking, and Reporting (T-STAR) SystemMichael Schultze, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)Karen Kaldenbach, Oak Ridge National LaboratoryAbstractOak Ridge National Laboratory, under the sponsorship and guidance of the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration Office of Radiological Security (ORS), began the development of the Transport-Security, Tracking, and Reporting (T-STAR) System in 2014. Although others had implemented security systems for detection and tracking sensitive materials during transport, none of these systems provided asset tracking of the conveyance or offered detection of a breach into the cargo compartment or the removal of cargo from the conveyance. ORS realized this was a significant opportunity for security improvement and immediately took action to address. T-STAR was designed to convey location as well as operational and security sensor status at regular intervals, which together communicate alerts to allow assessment of the security of the shipment. Since its development and initial release, multiple improvements have been made, resulting in today’s T-STAR generation 3. Improvements included improved sensors, facilitation of pooled international SIM cards, improved battery performance, and overall easier-to-use hardware and monitoring system user interface. T-STAR is used in multiple countries and was scheduled for additional deployments in 2020. When the COVID-19 pandemic prohibited working in person to design and install T-STAR with foreign partners, Oak Ridge National Laboratory worked with partners remotely to accomplish necessary design updates and implementations for the system. This paper will describe the process used to successfully complete remote TSTAR design improvements and installation with global partners.