CRIME: New Airport Shipping Security System Introduced

Credit: © Fraunhofer Fraunhofer IFF/Anna Mahler
Air freight being loaded. Researchers at the Fraunhofer IFF are working
 with other partners on a digital fingerprint for security-sensitive air freight
 in the project ESecLog. This is intended to make tampering with shipments
easily detectable in the future.

You're writing crime fiction, or an adventure or spy novel, and a character is shipping something via airline or your story involves theft or tampering with an airline shipment.  Then this is a report you should consider, the latest technology that will be introduced at a conference in October, 2014.

 In the release, the authors state that this new system are, "Fingerprints for freight items."  Something to consider as you develop your story.


Security is a top priority in air freight logistics but screening procedures can be very time consuming and costly. Researchers intend to boost efficiency with a new approach to digital logistics, without sacrificing the security of air freight operations.

Security is a top priority in air freight logistics but screening procedures can be very time consuming and costly. Fraunhofer researchers intend to boost efficiency with a new approach to digital logistics, without sacrificing the security of air freight operations.

Thousands of freight items are shipped by plane every day, around seventy percent of them in airliners. Stringent controls are supposed to prevent hazardous substances such as explosives from being smuggled on board. Screening procedures, such as x-ray scanning of freight, are time consuming and costly and have to be repeated in the event of suspicious circumstances. Easily verifiable features that verify that a freight item is "secure" have been lacking until now.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF in Magdeburg are working with development partners and users such as Panalpina and Lufthansa Cargo in the joint project ESecLog to resolve the dilemma between security and efficiency: Using simple screening procedures, they aggregate features such as 3D contours or RFID identifiers into one central shipment profile for every freight item. "The trick is that we document and aggregate these features into one complete digital image. Thus, every freight item has one digital fingerprint. This delivers accurate information of freight's security status throughout the entire transport chain across operations and at any time," explains Olaf Poenicke, project manager at the Fraunhofer IFF.

Safety Wire Prevents Subsequent Tampering
The partners are working, for instance, on a marker that can be used to verify whether a freight item has already been x-rayed -- something that has not been traceable. The researchers are additionally developing an RFID seal in order to detect subsequent tampering with a shipment. To do so, they affix a transponder on a package's seal with an ultrafine safety wire. If it is opened, the wire breaks. The shipment continues to be identifiable but the screener is additionally notified that the wire has been damaged. "This technology makes it possible to even inspect entire pallets. If one of the freight items has a broken wire, the shipment concerned can be identified precisely by its ID," according to Poenicke. A pallet's contour can additionally be captured by means of a 3D scan. The pallet's contour changes if a package is subsequently placed on it.

 3.2 Stars on Good Reads
Click for more info
All of this information is aggregated into a kind of shipping record. Screeners can view this documentation in the central fingerprint information system as a timeline on a tablet. If necessary, they can retrieve additional information on individual stations and view all of the x-ray scans once again. This system will drastically reduce the work required for reinspections. Until now, every freight item has to be individually reinspected or even opened whenever there is suspicion of tampering. Poenicke explains what might happen in the worst case: "Deliveries are often made overland. When the cargo is already considered to be secure, the truck is sealed before shipment. If someone at the airport determines that the seal has been broken, then the entire contents have to be reinspected." ESecLog systems would make it possible in such a case to check quickly whether individual packages have been tampered with.

It will be a while, though, until the system is put to use: Now that the consortium has designed the individual systems, the technologies are in the development stage and should be operational by the end of the year. A test environment is supposed to be built in the coming year to optimize the interaction of the systems. The researchers from the Fraunhofer IFF will be presenting this project at the International Supply Chain Conference in Berlin from October 22 to 24. ESecLog is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Related posts:
*  *  *  *  *
Story Source:  Materials provided by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. "Fingerprints for freight items." ScienceDaily, 3 September 2014.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Workout supplements: An emerging eating disorder in men?

Image
therewontbeanydoves.wordpress.com When developing a fictional character, you may not think about the character using large amounts of over-the-counter dietary supplements.  Especially a man who uses large amounts of workout supplements. While there has been widespread publicity on the dangers of the non-prescribed use of anabolic steroids, not much is said about legal, over-the-counter supplements.  Are there risks?  And if so, what are they?  There are several things the writer should consider. Supplement use is becoming an eating disorder with many men who use them to prepare for and recover from a workout. There is growing evidence of a link between muscle-building supplements and testicular cancer. There is evidence that over-the counter medications and supplements are the most common causes of drug-induced liver failure (a rare event, but still a risk.)  There is even evidence that, “certain popular herbal and dietary supplements can also ...
Read more

Remember faces but not names? You got it wrong.

Image
Source:   Daily Excelsior So, you think you're good at remembering faces, but terrible with names? New research has revealed we are actually better at remembering names than faces The cringe-worthy experience of not being able to remember an acquaintance's name leads many of us to believe we are terrible with names. However, new research has revealed this intuition is misleading; we are actually better at remembering names than faces. With the Christmas party season fast approaching, there will be plenty of opportunity to re-live the familiar, and excruciatingly-awkward, social situation of not being able to remember an acquaintance's name. This cringe-worthy experience leads many of us to believe we are terrible at remembering names. However, new research has revealed this intuition is misleading; we are actually better at remembering names than faces. The authors of the study, from the University of York, suggest that when we castigate ourselves f...
Read more

Children's drawings during abuse investigations

Image
Source:  rutherfordcountytn.gov I llustrations by children can be a critical tool in forensic investigations of child abuse. A recent study compared the results when child abuse victims were offered the opportunity to draw during questioning with results when victims were not offered this opportunity. "The act of drawing was not only an empowering experience for these children," said Dr. Katz. "We also found it to be forensically more effective in eliciting richer testimonies in child abuse cases. We had no idea the gap would be so great between those who drew and those who weren't given this option." A chance to express themselves Some 125 alleged child victims of sexual abuse were randomly selected for the field study. The children, aged 5-14, were questioned by nine well-trained forensic interviewers about a single occurrence of alleged sexual abuse. The children were divided into two sets -- a control group, questioned and allowed to rest during t...
Read more

M.I.T. Research Explains How Will Rogers Observation Works

Image
Finally it appears that MIT has gotten involved in proving Will's syllogism, "There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves." Read his statement carefully.   ONE learns by reading.   A FEW who learn by observation. Then there's the rest of us. The reason for this, it turns out, is a special circuit in the brain that you or I need to have a functioning version of to actually learn by observing others.  Based on how we all behave, it is a circuit most of us must be missing.   Or perhaps it shorted out the first time we peed on an electric fence and it has yet to grow back.   *  *  *  *  * Brain circuit helps us learn by watching others Scientists pinpoint neural interactions that are necessary for observational learning Researchers have identified a brain circuit requir...
Read more

Unhappy in a relationship? Why do you stay?

Image
Source:   Power of Positivity A story that may effect the development of your romantic comedies.  Why do people stay in unhappy relationships?  Simply put, it's concern for the partner of the unhappy person. This research doesn't offer solutions to this situation, but does help our understanding of why people behave the way they do. NOTE:  Within five minutes this post had 16 hits, the fastest hit rate of any story I've posted.  Might say something of how people feel. Here's the story: *  *  *  *  * When you are unhappy in a relationship, why do you stay?  The answer may surprise you. Study that finds it's not just the investment of time, resources and emotion Why do people stay in unsatisfying romantic relationships? A new study suggests it may be because they view leaving as bad for their partner. The study, being published in the November 2018 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, e...
Read more