Year
2015
Abstract
Although the tagging and tracking during transportation has been addressed with battery-based active sensors or active tags, our objective in this paper is to extend the capabilities of passive RF tags and seals for tracking during transportation. We propose to communicate with passive tags during transportation by equipping the vehicles with passive tag readers that also communicate with cellular-based long-range systems, thus enabling tracking during the transportation. The ability to reliably and securely monitoring and tracking of SNM is an important goal in Safeguards applications. Although the tamper-resistant and authenticated passive tag-seal-sensors (TSS), developed by LLNL and Dirac Solutions Inc., have been successfully demonstrated for portal and stationary inventory monitoring, the SNM tracking while transportation using TSS is not yet available. In this paper, we report on extending the capabilities of TSS system by integrating its reader to an existing cellular communications links. Such integration allows real-time monitoring of items through secure wireless communications that employs AES encryption and dynamic authentication during transportation. This unique approach offers real-time monitoring of sensitive assets during transportation and securely provides valuable information (a data set consisting of the tag ID, seal tampering state, Gamma radiation level, temperature and accelerometer data, location and time stamps) without the need for batteries. By not using any batteries in these tags and seals, their reliability and lifetime is significantly increased while eliminating the need for battery maintenance.