RFTrax Adds RFID to Railcar Tracking

Rail operators and shippers can use the AMP suite to track the locations of railcars, as well as the goods each car is hauling and their condition. RFTrax's sensor and tracking device, the Asset Command Unit (ACU), is a modular device able to accommodate a GPS receiver, a GSM cellular communication unit (or Iridium data modem, at the customer's discretion), an Identec Solutions i-card UHF interrogator and multiple sensors for sensing shock, radiation, temperature or other forces to which goods being shipped are exposed during transit. RFTrax customers purchasing the RFID-enabled ACU will also buy Identec Solutions' IQ UHF active tags, which they can then encode and attach to goods. The interrogator and each of the sensors can be programmed remotely, over the GSM or Iridium communication link to the RFTrax back-end system. For example, the reader can be set to search for tags with ID numbers, or for those that have sensed that a railcar has started or stopped moving. Each user can choose which conditions to monitor and add additional sensors, depending on business needs.

The ACU runs on a lithium battery charged by a solar panel mounted outside each railcar. RFTrax says the battery, with periodic charges, has a lifespan of up to 10 years. On a full charge, the battery can run for up to six months, allowing for long periods without the railcar receiving sun exposure.

The AMP software lets companies set up business rules that can be used to alert workers if a tagged object is removed from a railcar at a time when or a place where it should not be moved. Haygood says the RFTrax is already using this software, along with temperature sensors inside locomotive engines, to help rail operators save on fuel costs. In northern cities, rail operators tend to run the diesel locomotive engines constantly—otherwise, they would run the risk of not being able to restart the engines during cold weather. With the RFTrax sensors, they can turn the engines off, then turn them back on before the temperature in the engine falls below a predetermined setting. Haygood says this can save rail operators in northern climates up to 150,000 gallons of fuel each month.

The RFID-capable AMP is available now, says RFTrax, and pricing for the ACU runs from $600 to $1,500, depending on the volume and the sensor package chosen. In addition, each RFTrax customer pays a monthly subscription fee that covers RFTrax's GSM or satellite communication costs. This price can run as low as $15 per month for a subscription involving just one unit that sends data to RFTrax once daily, but it will increase with the quantity of ACUs deployed and the number of times they transmit data.

RFTrax is owned by Fairfield Industries, a global company specializing in manufacturing electronic equipment, including seismic monitoring.