I-Corps: Asset Tracking using Bluetooth Beacons

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project involves large scale asset tagging -- to monitor and track an organization's physical assets. Potential areas that could be impacted include distribution centers, manufacturing and assembly facilities, ports, and vehicle fleets. This project enables geo-location information to be collected about assets, providing opportunities for data analysis and productivity and movement optimization. A focus on these and other applications will result in faster shipping times, lower fuel consumption, and increased traceability of products. At ports, for example, a specific impact of the project may include tracking of intermodal chassis (i.e., the wheeled frames used for moving shipping containers), addressing classic problems such as chassis shortages and chassis storage dilemmas, thus enabling faster product movement and shipping times. Additionally, tracking intermodal containers at ports may present opportunities to dimension, in 3-D, entire collections of stacked containers as well as those placed adjacent to each other. As a result, intermodal container search-time is decreased enabling higher container throughput at the port. This I-Corps Project utilizes a novel configuration of low-cost communications technologies, including Bluetooth, GPS, and cellular modules, to support rapid and cost-effective asset tracking coupled with software utilizing complex algorithms. The combination of these technologies yields real-time direct results including rapid deployment response with a simple user interface. Competing systems often require facility-wide, permanent infrastructure to support deployment that can result in lengthy installation times coupled with very high operating costs. The system developed for this I-Corps project significantly reduces the amount of infrastructure necessary and can be installed in less than one day for any size facility.