Each of them is composed by different modules: Fleet administration module, Map viewer, POI management module etc. as shown in the following figure 2. It is clear that such approach can give the maximum flexibility in the definition of new services.
The principal services, described in the following paragraphs, are:
- Efleet Management
- Base Pathfinding
- Advanced Pathfinding
- Corridor Monitoring
- Geofencing
- Integrated Logistics Support
- Dangerous Transport Management
This basic services can be mixed together to create “products” that can be provided by the SWATHE service platform; a first classification has been made as follows:
- Base Distribution
- Advanced Distribution
- Distribution with Logistic Support
- Dangerous Transport
A. Efleet Management
The application refers to the fleet management related services like tracking and tracing of cars, trucks, the management of goods transports (that might require real time and detailed information about the current position).
The service supports the fleet management and the search of messages on database with the purpose of finding information concerning a specific terminal or a set of more terminals ( the last position, the last ten, the last in an interval of 12 hours).
The implemented services are:
- mobile terminals management;
- fleet management and their list;
- management of the position requests per terminal or fleet;
- visualization of the terminal position on the map;
- management of the terminal lists of a specific fleet.
Fig. 2 A screenshot of the fleet management application (autoroute Palermo-Messina)
B. Path finding
There are two types of services:
The base service provides the user with basic functionalities of routing. The target is to find the route linking given waypoints, depending on the particular optimisation function.
For example, the optimization can be based on the shortest path, or the fastest path; moreover the type of vehicle can influence the cost function to be minimised (a truck or a car can give different results).
One can exclude particular areas depending on the type of transport (the passage through a natural resource area should be avoided by dangerous transport).
The Advanced service can integrate other data in the search algorithm, for example using travel time estimations, meteo or traffic informations etc. that can influence the availability of a route.
C. Corridor monitoring
Corridor monitoring service provides to the user basic functionalities to monitor a transport unit with relation to the route. When the unit is assigned to the service, a policy is activated in order to receive and process position messages; a database is updated and if there are deviations from the predicted route, an alarm is raised.
The deviations could consist in the delay with reference to the predicted time of the delivery, or the distance from the predicted position.
D. Geofencing
Geofencing is the ability to impose topological restrictions on geometric features.
Position points may be fenced not to cross certain polygons representing urban or administrative districts.
In particular the introduction of EGNOS in the Location based Service could help the geofencing functionality in minimizing the false alarms with a quick detection of alarm conditions.
With the information provided by EGNOS the distance from the expected trajectory could be compared with the real time HPL which is used as dynamic threshold taking into account the present positioning error.
E. Dangerous Transport Management Service
Hazardous goods transportation involves safety aspects both of the road vehicle passengers and surrounding area in which the mobile is moving.
Moving hazardous wastes requires an effective, reliable and secure tracking and information infrastructure system, in order to guarantee citizens, workers (driving the loaded vehicle) and the environment the highest possible level of safety.
The application take into account on one side inherent factors (e.g. tunnels, rail bridges, slope, characteristics of neighborhood, etc.) on the other side factors correlated to the traffic conditions (e.g. dangerous goods trucks, etc.).
The selection of the best route for transport is formulated as a “minimum cost flow problem”, which consists of determining, for a specific hazardous substance, the cheapest flow distribution, honoring the arc capacities, from the origin to the destination nodes.
This can only be retained by means of a continuous monitoring and guiding of dangerous goods in transit, e.g. preventing trucks transporting hazardous goods from passing through restricted zones (e.g. natural resource areas, housing areas, etc.). The principal modules that compose this service are common to the corridormonitoring-base-service, the geofencing-base-service, the pathfinding-base-service and the intermodality service. The position can be augmented using the Navigation Gateway capabilities.
F. Intermodality modules
As mentioned the SWATHE project manages the change of transport mean (intermodality) as a separate set of modules that can be easily integrated in the particular service as in the the case of Dangerous Transport Management service.
It will thus be possible to know in real-time the localization of the goods and eventually the exact point in which the shipment has had delays or stops.
G. Integrated Logistics Support service
The target is the integrated management of the transport orders from the planning phase to the delivery event.
In particular the platform can manage the complete planning and monitoring of the different transport phases (search of the route, notification events of loading or unloading of freight, signaling of an offer to dispatch) and the interaction between the operator, that is in charge of the freight transport, and the IT platform
With a more detailed description, this service is providing users with:
- Integrated management of transport orders;
- Planning and monitoring of transport phases;
- Interaction of the driver through the mobile terminals.
The service is composed by the following different modules:
- Logistic Management
- Cargo Management
- Transport Monitor
- Despatch Management
Each module manages different entities like Commodities (elementary unit of freight) Tranport (that is composed by Driver and Commodities) and POI (point of interest, characterizing a point of freight load/unload or an intermodal node).
The users that can have access to that service are defined as follows:
Logistic Manager in charge of managing Logistics for the Transport enterprise. He can create the Transport, produce report, manage dispatches, display active transports etc.
Driver of the Transport mean; he can send and receive messages through the user terminal
Logistic User: the client of the Transport enterprise, the freight owner; he can request informations and display them on a map or on a text report (Figure 3).
Fig. 3 An example of text report
IV. DEMONSTRATIONS STATUS
During the first months of 2006, demonstrations based on the SWATHE platform have been carried out in the Italy region of Sicily.
The aim is to verify the performances of the applications through the use of the system in a real transport environment, integrating it in the real logistic chain.
The platform is developed, hosted and operated in the Telespazio Scanzano Space Centre sited in the district of Palermo (Figure 4).
In particular the Space centre is operating the backup NLES (Navigation Land Earth Station) of EGNOS serving Artemis satellite and it hosts one of the EGNOS RIMS.
In order to better identify the different subjects that can have access to the system, three user groups have been identified:
- Customer group, that is the Service Center Client, Consisting of Service Center Client workers. People belonging to this group can modify settings in the applications
- User group, the “transport service” users; people working with the Service Center client firm, or who use the transport services, belong to this group. They have a restricted access to the system (e.g. overview of fleet positions etc.).
- SWATHE group, Telespazio Service Centre people belong to this group and they have the complete control of the system.
Thanks to the collaboration of AIAS (the association of local transportation enterprises), that is to say the Customer group as the previous definition, a number of trucks have been equipped with the SWATHE user terminals (black box).
Local transport enterprises provide services in the Sicily region supporting distribution networks spread on the entire Italy territory.
The monitoring applications are particularly useful in this context because the problems of the road infrastructures in the south of Italy: any optimization of the transportation operation is of paramount importance in order to give rise to a development of intermodality and to speed up the creation of new intermodal nodes.
Different transport scenarios have been monitored, especially the transport route involving the use of ships from Palermo to Genova or Livorno.
Fig. 4 Palermo harbour sorroundings
In the next phase of the demonstration a new generation of user terminals will be tested on board of trucks with enhanced EGNOS capabilities.
During the last part of the project the demonstrations will be extended to all the Italian territory, in order to test more complex transportation scenarios.
V. CONCLUSIONS
In the context of the SWATHE project, this platform, since the first middle of 2006, is providing pre-operative services from the Scanzano Space Center (near Palermo), that will became the operative center.
It is in Telespazio plans to supply such services not only in national market but also in the international context, according to the foreseen evolution of the infomobility sector, thanks to EGNOS and Galileo new business opportunities.
REFERENCES
- White Paper – European transport policy for 2010: time to decide.
- EGNOS TRAN Application Analysis Report, D1.1.
- EGNOS TRAN Dangerous Goods Requirement Specification, D2.2
- GIFTS User Needs Identification and Analysis, D03