Mobile Vehicle Asset Tracking via Local-Range RFID
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing position-tracking systems for mobile assets are laborious and prone to errors, requiring manual data gathering and costly, power-intensive communication methods, which limits their efficiency and accuracy in providing continuous location and status information across various environments.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing mobile vehicles equipped with installed on-vehicle (IoV) and installed on-asset (IoA) equipment, which leverage local-range communication to interact with assets and central control systems, reducing the need for broad or facility-range communication capabilities, thereby minimizing costs and power consumption while enabling accurate tracking and control of asset locations and statuses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual data gathering methods are used for tracking assets, then system complexity is reduced, but productivity and accuracy deteriorate due to laborious processes and human errors
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automated self-tracking of assets through RFID tags and sensors that automatically collect and transmit location and status data without human intervention. Mobile vehicles equipped with readers autonomously gather information as they move through facilities, eliminating manual data gathering while maintaining manageable system complexity through standardized protocols
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical data collection methods are replaced with electronic RFID reading and wireless communication systems. The mobile vehicles use automated sensors and readers to detect asset positions and statuses, substituting human labor with electronic detection and communication systems that improve productivity while complexity is managed through integrated software
2Measurement precision
If broad-range communication capabilities are implemented for asset tracking, then measurement precision is improved, but use of energy and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements local-range communication where mobile vehicles read RFID tags and sensor data only from assets in their immediate vicinity. This localized approach provides sufficient location accuracy for facility tracking while consuming minimal power, as communication is activated only when assets are within reading range rather than maintaining continuous broad-range communication
Solution Approach 2:
Asset tracking uses periodic sampling where mobile vehicles collect data at regular intervals as they traverse facilities. This periodic measurement approach maintains adequate location precision over time while reducing average power consumption compared to continuous high-precision tracking, as sensors and communicators are activated only during periodic data collection cycles
3Reliability
If continuous real-time tracking is implemented, then reliability of location information is improved, but loss of energy and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic tracking where mobile vehicles collect asset location and status data at regular intervals during their routine movements through facilities. This periodic sampling maintains reliable tracking information for operational needs while significantly reducing energy consumption and operational costs compared to continuous real-time monitoring, as systems are activated only at scheduled intervals
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous useful tracking action by utilizing the regular movement patterns of mobile vehicles throughout facilities. As vehicles naturally traverse different areas during their operational cycles, they continuously collect tracking data without requiring dedicated continuous monitoring infrastructure, maintaining reliability while minimizing additional energy expenditure
4Measurement precision
If extensive communication infrastructure is deployed for asset tracking, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Mobile vehicles serve as intermediary nodes that collect data from multiple assets during their movements and relay information to central systems. This intermediary approach provides comprehensive tracking coverage and precise status detection without requiring direct communication infrastructure at every location, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining measurement precision through the mobile collection points
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are described with regard to determining and controlling a location and status of assets directly and/or indirectly. The techniques may be used to track and control the respective locations and status of any number of objects. Applications include but are not limited to tracking dry and refrigerated trailers and their status in a supply-chain yard; tracking pallets and boxes and their status in a warehouse; tracking items in a retail environment; tracking finished goods and work in progress in and around a manufacturing plant; tracking vehicles in a parking lot; tracking cargo and equipment at an airport; tracking equipment in a lay down yard; etc. In all cases the laborious and error prone data gathering is replaced with automated data collection methods reducing cost, increasing accuracy, and increasing efficiency.