The Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF), a German research organization, has developed a solution for tracking goods within large outdoor storage facilities, or during transport, that combines GPS location tracking, cellular transmission of data to a back-end system, and radio frequency identification tags to identify an item being tracked, and to store data regarding that object in IFF’s software and on the tag. The technology is being employed by Enercon, a wind turbine manufacturer based in Magdeburg, Germany, as well as by an unnamed steel manufacturer. IFF has also provided the technology to measure and report the battery consumption of electric cars, as part of the HarzEE-Mobility research project, being carried out by a consortium of organizations and businesses. IFF is now seeking a partner to sell the solution to customers and provide any necessary support.
In 2007, IFF first began developing a location system for manufacturers to monitor vehicles within large storage yards, at the request of a firm that sought to use the technology in its own products. The organization started developing the solution to sell via resellers two years later, and is currently in conversations with such companies that will provide the system to customers, including manufacturers interested in tracking large items, such as trailers or other equipment, within their own yards.
The system is based on a CeTEC battery-powered Picotrack location-tracking module, which CeTEC modified slightly according to IFF’s requirements for the use case, says Tobias Kutzler, the research institute’s project manager. The device has a built-in GPS unit to measure its longitude and latitude, and transmits that information via a GSM/GPRS connection. It can be attached directly to an asset or product, in order to track its movements and locations in real time. That data is then transmitted to a back-end system via a cellular connection. IFF also attached a passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) Gen 2 RFID tag to the Picotrack-based module. When interrogated by a handheld or fixed RFID reader, the tag provides the unique ID number that enables a user to identify the device providing location data. The ID is linked to data including the unit’s history and when its battery was replaced. The battery-related information can be of value to users when they attach a unit to a new asset or product, by interrogating the tag to ensure that the device does not require a new battery prior to its attachment to an asset. In addition, IFF provides passive EPC Gen 2 UHF RFID tags to be attached (or built in) to the item being tracked. That tag also stores a unique ID number that identifies the object to which it is attached, thereby enabling users to write data directly to the tag, such as its lot number, its date of manufacture, the processes completed on the item and when it leaves the facility.
Because the location-tracking unit is typically removed from an item once it leaves a facility, such as a manufacturer’s storage yard, the passive RFID tag attached to that object itself can be used to store data that could follow the item to a customer, as well as back to the manufacturer for maintenance or repair. IFF does not work with a specific RFID tag vendor, Kutzler says, noting that any passive EPC Gen 2 UHF RFID tag would be suitable for this purpose. However, he adds, the tag attached to the item itself must contain sufficient memory to store data written to it by users. The RFID tag is affixed to the side of the location-tracking module.
According to Kutzler, IFF also developed Web-based software, residing on a server that can be hosted by one of Fraunhofer’s IT company partners. The software stores data about each item fitted with the location device and passive RFID tag. Such information may include the object’s dimensions, along with customer information. Users can then access the software to determine a particular asset’s location, as well as when it moved to that spot. What’s more, the software can recommend locations for items as they are moved, or when the location device is first attached and the object is placed in storage, based on the locations of other goods. This software can be accessed via a network connection on handheld computers, touchscreen devices in storage yards or workstation PCs, Kutzler says, and can also reside directly on a user’s back-end system. The location-tracking module includes a motion detector that can trigger the device to begin transmitting its location. If it does not move, it remains dormant, thereby saving battery life. Once daily, a non-moving unit transmits its location and battery-life details to the software.
Modifications made to the Picotrack device for this application, Kutzler reports, include the integration of an additional sensor to measure its spatial direction. Depending on the direction in which the device is positioned, he explains, its behavior changes. For example, if it is lying on its side, the unit presumes that it has been removed from an asset and thus will not awaken and transmit any data. “This [function] is used if the device is in storage and not being used, saving battery power,” Kutzler states. If held facedown by an employee, the device will send a message indicating that the location unit has been removed from the item to which it had been attached, or that it has left the factory or premises. “This makes it easier to change the delivery status instead of doing it manually in our Web-based application,” he explains.
Working with other Fraunhofer Institute divisions, IFF has also developed a prototype unit with a built-in RFID reader that would interrogate its own RFID tag, as well as a tag attached directly to the item, and that information is sent along with the location and battery-health data. The system could enable users to ensure that the unit is attached to a specific item, and capture data written on that tag, such as the asset’s manufacture date or maintenance history. At this point, however, the institute intends to incorporate further modifications, Kutzler says, to ensure that the battery life is long enough with the added power demands of an RIFD reader.
Additionally, Fraunhofer IFF is considering releasing a solution that might utilize active RFID tags to track goods that may sometimes be located indoors, where a GPS signal could be blocked. In such a scenario, the unit could transmit GPS data when outdoors (such as within a storage yard, or during transit between one storage area and another, or a customer), and location data derived from active RFID tags when indoors, which would require the installation of active RFID readers. To date, however, customers have not required active RFID tags for their use cases, Kutzler notes.
According to Fraunhofer IFF, Enercon is employing the technology to locate its rotor blades designed for wind energy turbines. The blades can measure up to 50 meters (164 feet) in length, and tracking their whereabouts at its outdoor facility proved to be expensive and time-consuming. The IFF solution addresses the problem, Kutzler says, by enabling Enercon to identify each item’s location, as well as manage its overall storage electronically. Enercon declined to comment for the story and Kutzler did not provide additional details regarding the deployment.
A steel manufacturer is also using the technology with sensors to track the amount of stress on equipment as it moves heavy steel parts. IFF used the technology itself as part of the Harz.EE-Mobility project (which focused on electric vehicles using excess wind power to recharge their batteries and then feed electricity back into the power grid), in order to determine the level of power remaining in the vehicle batteries. IFF is a member of the project consortium, while the project itself was led by Otto von Guericke University. During the project, the location-tracking units were wired to battery-life sensors. Intermittently, the devices transmitted each vehicle’s battery power level via a cellular connection.