RFID and Imaging Asset Identification for Throughput Bottlenecks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for vehicle and personnel identification at transportation checkpoints are inefficient, causing productivity losses and mechanical wear due to the need for vehicles to stop and idle while personnel communicate with dispatch or customs, leading to bottlenecks and unnecessary wear on vehicle components.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing RFID tags and imaging devices to identify vehicles and personnel in real-time, allowing for authorization checks and perceivable indications to operators, enabling vehicles to proceed without stopping, by transmitting requests to RFID tags and analyzing image data for mobile asset and personnel identification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If vehicles stop and idle for identification and authorization checks, then personnel can communicate with dispatch or customs, but vehicle throughput decreases and mechanical wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification actions by capturing vehicle images and reading RFID tags before the vehicle reaches the checkpoint. This allows authorization checks to be completed in advance, so vehicles can proceed without stopping when authorized, thereby maintaining identification accuracy while improving throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual communication processes (personnel speaking with dispatch or customs via telephone) with automated electronic systems including image recognition algorithms and RFID reading devices. This substitution eliminates the need for vehicles to stop for communication, maintaining identification precision while significantly improving vehicle throughput.
2Loss of information
If vehicles stop and idle during identification, then personnel communication can occur, but additional wear occurs on starters, ignitions, and brakes
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces mechanical communication processes with automated electronic identification systems. Image capture devices and RFID readers automatically collect vehicle information, and algorithms process authorization data without requiring vehicle operators to stop and communicate manually. This eliminates repeated stopping and starting, reducing wear on starters, ignitions, and brakes while maintaining accurate authorization verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables vehicles to self-identify through onboard RFID tags and allows automatic image capture by overhead cameras. The authorization determination is made automatically by the system based on captured data, eliminating the need for manual intervention and vehicle stops, thereby reducing mechanical wear while ensuring accurate authorization checks.
3Reliability
If manual communication processes are used for vehicle identification, then personnel can verify authorization, but bottlenecks occur at checkpoints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual communication and verification processes with automated systems. Image capture devices photograph vehicles and RFID readers automatically read vehicle identifiers. Algorithms process this data to determine authorization, eliminating the need for personnel to communicate via telephone. This automation maintains reliable authorization verification while dramatically increasing checkpoint throughput by processing multiple vehicles simultaneously without bottlenecks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables continuous identification and authorization verification without interrupting vehicle flow. Multiple cameras and RFID readers operate simultaneously to capture data from multiple vehicles at once, allowing the system to process vehicles in a continuous stream rather than requiring sequential stops. This maintains reliable verification while eliminating bottlenecks and increasing overall productivity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Increases vehicle throughput and personnel productivity by allowing vehicles to move while being identified, reducing bottlenecks and mechanical wear by eliminating the need for vehicles to stop and idle during the identification process.
Implementation Method 1
transmitting, via one or more processors, a request to be received by a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag within a read range
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems, methods, apparatus, and computer program products are provided for identifying assets (e.g., mobile assets and/or personnel assets). In one embodiment, a mobile asset can be uniquely identified from RFID tags. In another embodiment, mobile assets and personnel assets can be identified from captured image data. After identification, it can be determined whether the asset (e.g., mobile asset and/or personnel asset) is authorized for one or more activities and a corresponding perceivable indication can be generated.