Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Innovation in perishable foodstuff track-and-trace is of critical importance to cost and time-sensitive customers such as the food industry where spoilage is of concern, safety and security are paramount, and counterfeit and bio-terrorism prevention are urgent priorities. The proposed research would evaluate the feasibility of a low cost, highly accurate track and trace supply chain technology that would minimize the recall costs of contamination events in the food supply chain, and ensure source authentication. Research will develop and test a novel autonomous track-and-trace system customized for perishable foodstuffs that would be feasible for widespread industry adoption in that it is cost-effective (no portal infrastructure), accurate, and easy-to-use. Research deliverables will include identifying optimal RF labeling and packing manufacturing solutions to support integrated item/pallet- level field-to-fork tracking of North Carolina agricultural products, and optimizing the technology for the controlled temperature/humidity/air circulation environments required for shipment and in-transit storage of food perishables. The mobile device prototype design will undergo rigorous tests of its ability to track, accurately compute, map, and log the location of tagged goods in real time. Bar code integration will allow for the ability to track both at the pallet level and item level. The accuracy of the application of WISER's redundant radio location technology will be evaluated, along with system costs which should be substantially below conventional practice because it requires no physical infrastructure, has low TCO, and can be customized to user technology and coverage density preferences. In addition, the technology will be evaluated as a potential application for governments and regulators interested in mitigating the impact of contamination events and even allowing for the "lock-down" of a problematic supply chain, for example in the event of a bio-terrorism threat to a specific food product. An inexpensive, easy-to-use, and accurate tracking solution would facilitate the ability of regulators to establish manifest tracking mandates acceptable to industry. To the degree that the nation's agriculture and food supply can be electronically certified and closely monitored electronically, protection and safety of the food supply will be enhanced, and contamination event victims and dollar losses minimized.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Our research tests whether our mobile reader combined with WISER redundant radio location technology will address the chief shortcoming of cheap, passive RFID tags (unreliable readings/noise/collisions/ multiple tags in close proximity), while reliably providing real-time locating. The significance of the Phase I effort will be conclusive evidence of a novel, cost effective Wiser track-and-trace approach with the potential to redress some of the most intractable problems that currently plague conventional RFID asset-tracking operations, including the inability to track multiple items, immobility, inaccuracy, and high cost. Our Phase I effort will apply WISER's technical approach to the difficult problem of inexpensive, item-level tracking of critical foodstuffs that require specialized packing and handling techniques and environments (controlled temperature, humidity, and air circulation, for example). Expected outcomes will include successful development and integration of the WISER's redundant radio location system prototype culminating in a successful test of the prototype under real food supply chain conditions. Supporting goals will thus include planning, design, component assembly, development, integration, prototype testing, and then field application and live testing for each of the system components (bar-code/RF integrated reader and two integrated localization technologies). This will require, in addition, sub-goals of securing the cooperation of the NC Cooperative Extension, farmers, and corporate/warehouse partners.
Project Methods
The overall project goal is to assess the commercialization feasibility of the theorized WISER approach for affordably, accurately, and autonomically tracking food cargo along the supply chain in a more granular and cost-effective way than ever before. This will involve four developmental phases: 1) the design and development of a wireless tracking device prototype. 2) Lab-testing of the two theorized approaches and a combined approach for accuracy, reliability, cost, and distance. 3) Bar codes and user interface software integration. 4) Deployment and field testing of the mobile tracking system in supply chain locations including factory/warehouse/retailer settings. We will employ primary on-the-ground data collection from expert informants, will record all test data, and in addition, all tests will be video-taped. Anticipated project deliverable results will include technology performance metrics (locational accuracy, reading accuracy, coverage density, error rates, distances achieved, etc.) for each theorized technical approach, and the variances with each and a combined approach. Tests will be done on a broad sample of foodstuffs and agricultural products in the supply chain to inform the development of device tolerances, for example perishable foods like produce with high dielectric constants vs other foodstuff products. In addition primary data will be collected on customers and industry-specific market conditions and needs (environmental conditions, configuration requirements, cost tolerances (including TCO), ease of use, disruption impacts, and other obstacles to commercialization).