Standards Development

Scope

The scope of the project will cover short-range wireless active communication and its application based on equipment and container type (see Chart 1). It will include the following discussions:

- wireless technology choices for wireless communication involving active hardware items, i.e. sensor to device communication

- critical design factors of containers and hardware items

- parameters for open protocol communication

- possible applications (use cases)

Purpose

Short-range wireless technology refers to the technology that can communicate wirelessly within a smaller diameter region. Short-range wireless communication technology has a considerable application prospect in the field of container equipment and management. The common short-region wireless communication modes are NFC, Wi-Fi, IEEE, ZigBee, Bluetooth and more.

The proposed technical specification will describe existing wireless technology on sensor to telematic device communication and define a list of those communication types which could be perceived as “open protocols”- not proprietary license free technology, which could enable diverse wirelessly communicating active hardware items. Therefore, the new working item proposal will specifically focus on wireless short-range communication.

If the NWIP is approved, the project group would be expected to define existing communication protocols, their frequency spectrums, the maximum data rate supported, range variations, power consumption and potential application related to wirelessly communicating active hardware items in the Internet of Things (IoT) segment. The new specification should comply with international standards and include global radio frequency operation spectrum, to avoid regional segmentation and limitation of an IoT hardware distribution.

The proposed project group would also be expected to define a list of available short-range wireless communication technologies and describe use cases, which will illustrate their industrial application. The proposed project includes all three main container groups: refrigerated containers, dry containers and tank containers. The criteria for listing and analysing technology will be based on possible use cases, radio frequency safety and communication security parameters.

Terminology used in the document:

Active Hardware Item- an item with a source of energy for its operation and an output that is a function of input signals. In this document related to sensors and telematic devices.

Sensor-is a hardware item that measures physical input from its environment and converts it into data sent to a telematic device.

Telematic Device- is a hardware item which has a direct independent connectivity. It sends the data directly to the IoT cloud. In this document, the device serves as a gateway to the cloud.

Purpose and justification of the proposal

The use of wireless communication has expanded globally thanks to new wireless standards and very low-cost transceiver chips and modules. However, there is a need to specify the use of open protocols and intended behaviour in diverse use cases, to allow compatibility of hardware from different origins. Wireless communication capability has become an easy and relatively low-cost addition to almost any IoT device in transport and logistics, where a wireless feature can enhance performance, convenience, and/or marketability.

In the machine-to-machine communication space, remote keyless entry (RKE) and remote pairing are the most widespread. A wireless temperature sensor within a cargo container, for instance, can transmit temperature updates to the IoT device, which serves as a gateway to the Internet thus providing a real-time temperature monitoring for sensitive cargo. When choosing a communication technology between the measuring sensor and the IoT device, the operational context is playing a crucial role, i.e. container design, distance from sensor to IoT device, location of both on/in a container and communication protocols that support these hardware items.

Outline:

Step 1. Listing of existing wireless technologies for short-range communication

Step 2. Definition of the application use cases for each of the existing container segments (i.e. dry, reefer and tank).

Step 2.1. containers’ design and its influence on sensor to device communication

Step 2.2. Types of sensors and devices based on their installation location

Step 2.3. use cases based on segmental requirements

Step 3. Definition of the possible wireless technology(-ies) applicable for each use case

Chart 1 (for demonstration purposes only) is in annex.