SAVI, PAR JOIN DOT, DOD IN CARGO SECURITY PILOT

SAVI, PAR JOIN DOT, DOD IN CARGO SECURITY PILOT    Savi Technology and PAR Technology Corp. have launched a joint pilot project with the U.S. Transportation and Defense departments to test the companies' cargo security technology on containers transported between the United States and Europe.
   The six-month pilot project will assess real-time communication between Savi's electronic bolt seal hardware (E-Seals) and software system and PAR's wireless systems for tracking the security status of intermodal cargo containers from their point of inspection, along trade corridors to their point of clearance.
   The project links Savi's radio frequency identification technology (RFID) products with PAR's cellular and global-positioning-system-based tracking system, Cargo*Mate.
   Commercial chassis will be outfitted with PAR's Cargo-Mate Chassis DataGate, a hardware module that monitors status and location data of the chassis and includes global positioning system and cellular antenna, sensors and communications electronics. The data is transmitted in real time to Cargo*Mate Operations Center at PAR's headquarters in Yorkville, N.Y.
   The chassis will also be outfitted with the Savi Mobile Reader board, a microprocessor with radio antennas that communicate with Savi's EchoPoint SmartSeal, which will be electronically sealed and bolted onto the hasp of the intermodal cargo containers transported on the chassis. The SmartSeal tag sends automated alerts over a radio frequency band about the container's contents, location and status, including notification if the bolt lock has been tampered with or violated.
   PAR will also develop an interface for the data from the Cargo*Mate GPS, cellular and RFID systems.
   Lykes Lines will manage the physical transport of intermodal containers on chassis by truck, rail and ship from the point of loading at a Defense Logistics Agency supply facility in Cumberland, Va. to final destination at a DLA distribution center in Germersheim, Germany.
   Besides the security ramifications, Savi and PAR say E-seal technology can facilitate better boarder clearance and commercial vehicle enforcement and offer benefits to freight carriers including greater accuracy in manifest information, reduced paperwork, improved port and Customs clearance and shipment tracking.