CargoNet : micropower sensate tags for supply-chain management and security

Abstract

This thesis describes the development of a system of sensate active RFID tags for supply-chain management and security applications, necessitated by the current lack of commercial platforms capable of monitoring the state of shipments at the crate and case level. To make a practical prototype, off-the-shelf components and custom-designed circuits that minimize power consumption and cost were assembled and integrated into an interrupt-driven, quasi-passive system that can monitor, log, and report environmental conditions inside a shipping crate while consuming only 23.7 microwatts of average power. To prove the feasibility of the system, the tags were tested in the laboratory and aboard transport conveyances.