Cargo Active Tracking Systems (CATS)

The objective of the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA04.1-005) effort is to develop and prototype a ¿Tag System¿ for maritime shipping containers. The tracking information and status of a shipping container¿s tag system is performed on a global level in a variety of locations: 1) Pre-staged stacked on the dock; 2) Stored on-board of a transport ship; 3) Off-loaded from the transport ship onto the U.S.; 4) In-transit from the dock to shipping terminals. Our approach incorporates the stacking of electronic components with radio frequency (RF) devices to be placed on and around current and future maritime cargo containers. Stacking enables an innovative concept called ¿container laddering¿ that automatically creates a fully reconfigurable network topology of all container positions. The container topology reconfigures automatically as the container placement changes. This enables full monitoring of all containers regardless of their placement, even if stacked and stored below the hull of the ship. All required ship and container sensor information could be monitored and addressed from a designated command and control data center established by Homeland Security. Our investigation will lead to the development and implementation of a prototype in Phase II.