Wireless communication, identification and sensing technologies enabling integrated logistics: a study in the harbor environment

In the last decade, integrated logistics has become an important challenge in the development of wireless communication, identification and sensing technology, due to the growing complexity of logistics processes and the increasing demand for adapting systems to new requirements. The advancement of wireless technology provides a wide range of options for the maritime container terminals. Electronic devices employed in container terminals reduce the manual effort, facilitating timely information flow and enhancing control and quality of service and decision made. In this paper, we examine the technology that can be used to support integration in harbor's logistics. In the literature, most systems have been developed to address specific needs of particular harbors, but a systematic study is missing. The purpose is to provide an overview to the reader about which technology of integrated logistics can be implemented and what remains to be addressed in the future

UAV-Empowered Disaster-Resilient Edge Architecture for Delay-Sensitive Communication

The fifth-generation (5G) communication systems will enable enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-reliable low latency, and massive connectivity services. The broadband and low-latency services are indispensable to public safety (PS) communication during natural or man-made disasters. Recently, the third generation partnership project long term evolution (3GPPLTE) has emerged as a promising candidate to enable broadband PS communications. In this article, first we present six major PS-LTE enabling services and the current status of PS-LTE in 3GPP releases. Then, we discuss the spectrum bands allocated for PS-LTE in major countries by international telecommunication union (ITU). Finally, we propose a disaster resilient three-layered architecture for PS-LTE (DR-PSLTE). This architecture consists of a software-defined network (SDN) layer to provide centralized control, an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) cloudlet layer to facilitate edge computing or to enable emergency communication link, and a radio access layer. The proposed architecture is flexible and combines the benefits of SDNs and edge computing to efficiently meet the delay requirements of various PS-LTE services. Numerical results verified that under the proposed DR-PSLTE architecture, delay is reduced by 20% as compared with the conventional centralized computing architecture.Comment: 9,

Wireless Communication Systems for Urban Transport

This chapter describes the main features of the wireless communication systems of urban rail and related applications. The perspective will be complete: application, network and physical layers will be discussed. Moreover, to properly address some of the challenges that these systems face, we will provide a deep insight into propagation issues related to tunnels and urban areas. Finally, a detailed survey on the directions of research on all these topics will be provided

Evaluation of Secondary Packages for Tetra Top on the Italian Market ? supportive tools for decision-making

Title Evaluation of secondary packages for Tetra Top on the Italian market? supportive tools for decision-making. Authors Viktor Eriksson and Monica Towman. Supervisors Annika Olsson, Department of Design Sciences, Division of Packaging Logistics, Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University. Armando Francione, Technical Director, Tetra Pak Italiana S.p.A. Problem Setting ? What requirements do the actors in the supply chain have on the secondary packages? ? What are the values and benefits of different secondary packages for the actors in the supply chain? ? What are the pros and cons of the secondary packages currently on the market in Italy? ? Is there a ?best choice? among the different secondary packages? Objective To evaluate different secondary packages at three dairies in Italy. Provide Tetra Pak and future customers with key requirements and supportive tools for decision-making regarding suitable secondary package(s) to implement together with the Tetra Top primary package. Method This master's thesis is based on a descriptive case study. Observations and interviews form the qualitative base whereas quantitative data has been collected with questionnaires. Conclusions The big variety of demands and requirements from different customers preclude the possibility of finding one universal secondary package suitable for all supply chains. Often, it is also unsuitable to use the same packaging system for different distribution channels with different properties. Three evaluation tools have been developed to facilitate choice of suitable secondary package(s) to implement according to the individual requirements from future customers. Packaging Function Analysis ? analyses values and benefits, but also failings of existing packaging systems for different actors in the supply chains. Strengths and Weaknesses Tables ? comprehensive collections of pros and cons regarding packaging systems currently on the Italian market. Conclusive Packaging Evaluation Matrix ? objectively grades a variety of key properties of different secondary packages. Can be used with two different methods of application. Other thesis conclusions: ? Activities related to the secondary packages are clearly dominated by logistical aspects on the observed market. Marketing aspects are of no great concern as secondary packages are rarely displayed to end-consumers; also, environmental aspects play a minor, but growing, role. ? It is hard to optimize a packaging solution for the whole supply chain. Reducing the complexity at one actor can increase complexity at another actor in the supply chain. ? It is not sufficient for a packaging supplier to objectively evaluate different packaging systems and expect the customer to be satisfied according to this evaluation. ? It seems like the packaging suppliers could market and inform about its distribution equipment more extensively to customers

Easy Wireless: broadband ad-hoc networking for emergency services

Wireless ad-hoc networks will enable emergency services to continuously overview and act upon the actual status of the situation by retrieving and exchanging detailed up-to-date information between the rescue workers. Deployment of high-bandwidth, robust, self-organising ad-hoc networks will enable quicker response to typical what/where/when questions, than the more vulnerable low-bandwidth communication networks currently in use. This paper addresses a number of results of the Easy Wireless project that enable high bandwidth robust ad-hoc networking. Most of the concepts presented here have been experimentally verified and/or prototyped