EUREKA PROJECT > 5427 PalletFlow
AUSTRIA
Development of an intelligent and innovative intermodal cargo transport system based on pallet- and unit-load volumes
To develop an intelligent and innovative intermodal cargo transport system on the basis of pallet- and unit-load volumes, supported by modern technologies of identification, communication and transport planning.
Status > FINISHED - 23-Jun-2011 Technological Area Market Area Start Date > 30-Sep-2008 Duration > 32 Months Participating countries > GERMANY, AUSTRIA | Main contactLogistikum Prof. (FH) Dr. Friedrich Starkl > Head of department http://www.logistikum.at / www.fh-ooe.at Organisation type > Research Institute |
Project Description
Within the field of cargo transport the intermodal rail-road version has so far contributed rather insignificantly to reduce the total of cargo on the road. This is the result of limited capacities concerning terminals, the necessity of special reloading devices entailed by high investment costs and time losses handling the cargo, as well as wide-spread scepticism regarding adherence to delivery dates, traceability of consignments and flexibility of intermodal transport. In current economy pallet goods or palletizable cargo are representing a substantial contingent of industrial cargo volumes. Therefore the industry based on division of labour has a constantly growing requirement of transporting these goods. By taking advantage of the innovative multimodal PalletFlow-process the initially mentioned problems can be eliminated and the requirements of the industry successfully fulfilled. Pallets and corresponding “unit load” volumes can be reloaded quickly, safely and economically on ground level as well as on platform level by fork-lifts trucks. In this context reloading from “curtainsider” road vehicles to/from train trucks is also possible. Road- as well as rail-side reloading types of palletized goods which are both realized on basis of the same principle (sidewise loading and unloading by fork-lift trucks) offer the possibility of implementing PalletFlow-loading junctions within the intermodal road-rail cargo transport. Contrary to other types of intermodal transport like containers, the PalletFlow-system does not need any kind of backfitting of road- or rail side truck material; in fact no adaptation with regard to the loading junctions respectively reloading is necessary. The basic characteristics of the PalletFlow-system are: • The identification of the pallet/unit-load volumes carried out by automatic systems of identification (i.e. barcode- and/or RFID-based). Thus, the data acquired is directly stored in the system without further manual operating expense. • A system-service centre is set up on the tracking- and tracing system and provides the linking of the information to the route of transport: the current position of the pallets, the calculated time of arrival and the information about potential delays. Thus a pro-active information service is provided. • A “tracking- and tracing system” allows all institutions concerned with the consignments trace the pallets. This includes information retrieval of current pallet positions at any time (tracking) and the ex post back-tracing of the exact course of the consignment as well as all important incidents (tracing). In Austria the research project is divided in two main phases: the preliminary study and the pilot study. Within the framework of this phases the main steps are (1) examination of technical feasibility, (2) evidence of business application respectively analysis of marketplace potential (preliminary study) as well as (3) implementation of reloading test runs and shuttle transports and the (4) appraisal of the results of demonstration (pilot study).
Technological Development Envisaged
At Fraunhofer IIS (Institute for Integrated Circuits), several technologies for radio location have been developed and are in use ever since. The state of the art system employs a combination of a wideband, frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radio signals for round trip time (RTT) estimation and an attached narrowband signal for estimating the direction of arrival (DoA). For determining the RTT, the signal propagation time between the infrastructure node and a tag is measured in order to conclude on the distance between the both. Investigating both travelling times – the one from the node to the tag and the returning answer from the tag – prevents from an elaborate temporal synchronisation. Since multipath propagation often complicates the detection of the first incoming signal component, FMCW signals are used. They mitigate the deteriorative effect of the multipath environment. The DoA algorithm estimates the direction of the incoming signal, i.e. the direction where the tag is located relatively to the regarded hardware node. This can be achieved by employing antenna arrays and by implicitly triangulating based on the microscopic delays of the incoming electromagnetic wave at the antennas of this array. The implementation of the DoA estimate then uses either the ESPRIT or the MUSIC algorithm. Based on the known position of multiple infrastructure nodes, the obtained information on the distances and the directions are combined to conclude on the tag position. In order to track moving tags, this data fusion is extended in the temporal dimension considering a sequence of successive measurements. Kalman filters represent the theoretical framework of the applied data fusion. The system will be referred to as Goniometer system.
Main contactLogistikum Prof. (FH) Dr. Friedrich Starkl > Head of department http://www.logistikum.at / www.fh-ooe.at Organisation type > Research Institute |
Contribution to project
The part of the Austrian consortium covers the operational aspects of the turnover process. By several test runs the functionality of reloading from “curtainsider” road vehicles to/from train trucks is reviewed. A so-called demonstrator additionally has to verify the frictionless operation in practice. As a result a catalog of specifications and requirements and a survey of the collected experienced data will be developed. The catalog contains a wide range of data, for example technical specifications regarding the fork-lift trucks and the goods wagon, information about obligate distances and dimensions as well as a comprehensive data-set for the appropriate chronological workflow. The catalog represents the basis for the implementation and combination of the hard- and software components, realized by Fraunhofer.
Expertise
The Logistikum is diveded in four fields of research: Logistics, Supply Chain Management, Enterprise Networks and Traffic Logistics. The field of research “Traffic Logistics” deals primarily with the question, how the transportation of freight can be managed by an intelligent combination of the transport modes and the regarding problems can be solved by innovations to ensure a sustainable future. In this context the research work includes: – co-modality, the modal-shift and the interoperability of the carriers; – rail freight solutions; – the infrastructure (railways, roads, water); – the intelligent appropriation of the capacities; – the efficient use of the different carriers via (IT-)technologies; – energy efficient mobility as well as – environmental aspects and future scenarios. The Logistikum provides notable experts and experience in the research areas traffic control, the implementation of planning software / tools, information retrieval systems and net optimizations for rail freight services, innovative reloading processes and technologies particularly between the carriers rail and road, cross-carrier modeling and traffic forecasting, knowledge management for multimodality.
Main contactFRAUNHOFER - SCS DR. NORBERT SCHMIDT > Head of Depart Processes Organisation type > Research Institute |
Contribution to project
The Fraunhofer IIS locates the fork-lifters in the area by using a set of different technologies like radio location and inertial sensors. Thus, it is possible to track the pallets carried by the forks and, with it, the goods on the pallet. In this way, it is ensured that the envisaged pallets are picked up at the right place and are taken to the position that has been targeted. When identifying the pallets and the respective goods, the locating system recalls their destination from the database, and this position is presented on a display in the fork-lifter to the driver. In the case of releasing the pallets at the wrong location or in the case of picking up the wrong pallet, a warning message is diplayed for the driver.
Expertise
At Fraunhofer IIS, we are able to provide positioning solutions, which are adapted to the specific needs of our partners from the most diverse industrial sectors. We offer the following services: – overall system development – licensing of software and know-how – evaluation of components and systems – provision of dedicated prototypes – transfer to production – consultancy and feasibility studies – consolidation of partners The objective of the research, development and application-oriented project group of the Fraunhofer SCS is to combine scientific business logistics with innovations from technical engineering, further develop these and make them usable for logistics in practice. The core competences of the Fraunhofer SCS are currently concentrated in four business fields. »Logistics Market- and Location Research«, »Process Management Logistics and Transport«, »Decision Support Systems in Logistics« and »Smart Objects, Information and Communication Technologies in Logistics« at the newly created Center for Intelligent Objects. As a basis for working on the described task, the SCS can rely on experience, competence, databases, as well as the study ”Top 100 of Logistics” and a vast network of experts from service, industry and trade.