4.5 Scenario 3: Explosives/Hazardous Materials

4.5.1 Technologies Tested

The following technologies were tested in this scenario:

UTT System

• Terrestrial UTT terminal
• Electronic door sensor
• Trailer cargo sensor
• Cellular and GPS stealth-mounted antennas
• Tractor power connection

Tractor Mobile Communications System

• Satellite mobile communications terminal

Host

• Tractor system host application
• UTT system host application with geo-fencing capabilities associated with the trailer

4.5.2 Functionality Tested

The following functions were tested in this scenario:

Trailer Location and Status

• Find empty versus loaded trailers
• Find a specific trailer or all trailers at a specific customer site
• Monitor door sensor activity
• Monitor "unauthorized" usage of trailer by customer

Tractor Assignment

• Assign tractor to empty/full trailer
• Send a message to driver with trailer pickup location
• Verify trailer is authorized for shipping
• Monitor the load status of the trailer to verify it is consistent with the participant's manifest

Connection and Disconnection Monitoring

• Verify that the driver connects the correct tractor to the correct trailer (empty or loaded)
• Verify that drops are at an authorized location
• Monitor for unauthorized drops

Tracking of Trailer

• Monitor the route of the trip through the tractor position every 15 minutes
• Monitor route deviations through host-based route monitoring and mapping
• Monitor risk areas with geo-fencing

4.5.3 Configuration

The configuration suggested for Scenario 3 is shown in Table 6. For this scenario, the UTT system sent a status report every 24 hours. The status report included three key pieces of information: the trailer's current location, and the status for the cargo and door sensors.

There are two types of configurable intervals: wakeup and validation. Wakeup intervals are defined as an interval that the UTT system wakes up and checks for a variety of events:

• Preset Wakeup. The UTT system wakes up to check whether there are any new incoming messages to process. For this scenario, the interval was set to every 6 hours.
• Cargo Check. The UTT system wakes up to check if the cargo status has changed. For this scenario, the interval was set to every 30 minutes.
• Geo-fence Check. The UTT system wakes up to check whether a geo-fence has been breached. For this scenario, the interval was set to every hour.

Validation intervals are defined as an interval that the UTT system uses to ensure that a state change has actually occurred.

• Cargo Validation Interval. If a cargo reading indicates that a state is not the same as the previous state, the UTT system will perform a recheck after waiting the pre-defined interval. This is done to minimize false positive state changes. For this scenario, the pre-defined interval was set to 10 minutes.
• Cargo Validation Rechecks. If a cargo reading indicates that a state is not the same as the previous state, the recheck may configured to repeat a number of times before sending a message about the state change. For this scenario, the recheck was set to three times.
• Door Validation Open/Close. If the door sensor indicates that a door has opened or closed, the UTT system will wait for a pre-defined interval to ensure that the state has really changed. For this scenario, the open validation time was set to 5 seconds and the close validation time was set to 1 minute.

For this scenario, the UTT system checked on the cargo status every 30 minutes with three validation rechecks every 10 minutes following the initial status check. The rechecks only occurred when the initial status check indicated that a change of state had occurred. If the door was closed, a cargo check was initiated after a 1-minute validation recheck of the door state. A cargo status message was sent only if there was a change in cargo status. A "door open" message was only immediately sent (after a 5-second validation check) if the cargo status was "not empty." If the door was opened and the trailer was "not empty," an alert was sent that the door was open with a "not empty" cargo status.

The UTT system also provides an on-board geo-fence with event-driven exception reporting. In this scenario, exception-driven reporting allows the UTT system to monitor trailer position and check for geo-fence breaks every hour, but send a message only if a geo-fence break is detected. Frequent checking for geo-fence breaks without sending frequent messages lowers messaging costs and increases battery life.

When the tractor-based mobile communications system detects that a trailer has a connection or disconnection, via the 7-way, it sends a message to the NOC. The NOC then forwards the event to the UTT system's TrailerTRACS Web application, immediately alerting the dispatcher of the connection or disconnection. For disconnections, an alert will be generated. The dispatcher uses the TrailerTRACS Web application to determine if the disconnection was at a valid location, as well as to determine if the cargo status is "not empty" for the applicable trailer.

4.5.4 Logical Architecture and Operational Flow

The architecture and operation flow of data across all technologies used in Scenario 3 are presented in Figure 17.

4.5.5 Daily Operations

This section describes the daily operational procedures that the participants were asked to perform as part of the pilot test.

Daily Operational Procedures

The dispatcher logs on to the trailer-tracking host application to prepare for dispatching drivers to pick up trailers and loads.

Finding Trailer(s)

1. The dispatcher clicks on the "Find Trailer" tab to search for desired data:
   1. Specific trailer location
   2. Trailers based on cargo status (empty/full)
   3. Trailers near a specific landmark
   4. All trailers

Assigning Trailer(s)

The dispatcher assigns a driver to a trailer pickup:

1. The dispatcher creates a load assignment/pickup macro instructing the driver where to pick up the next trailer and load.
2. The satellite-based mobile communications messaging system is used to send the message to the driver.

Connecting Trailer(s)

The driver arrives at trailer pickup location and attaches the tractor to the assigned trailer:

1. The satellite-based mobile communications terminal detects via the 7-way connector interface that there is an UTT terminal connected to the tractor.
2. The satellite-based mobile communications terminal sends a connect message to the NOC.
3. The NOC forwards the event to the trailer-tracking host application, alerting the dispatcher of the trailer connection event.
4. The dispatcher verifies that the trailer is connected to the assigned tractor.

Monitoring Trailer Doors

Upon completing the trailer loading, the trailer door is closed:

1. The door sensor automatically engages when the doors are closed.

Monitoring Trailer(s) En Route

When ready to depart for the destination, the driver sends a "departing macro" to the dispatcher via the satellite-based mobile communications system.

Two mechanisms exist for monitoring the trailer while it is en route:

1. Trailer positioning (default position interval is one position per day):
   1. If the trailer is pulled by a tractor not equipped with a satellite-based mobile communications terminal or the satellite-based mobile communications terminal is not functioning, the dispatcher monitors the trailer's location using the UTT system via the trailer-tracking host application.
   2. The dispatcher modifies the trailer terminal's positioning frequency to be more frequent than the default, once per hour or once per every 6 hours, while en route.
      1. The dispatcher enters the setup configuration for a specific trailer to select the positioning frequency parameter.
      2. The trailer-tracking host application creates a message and sends it to the trailer terminal via the NOC and terrestrial network.
2. Tractor positioning:
   1. If a tractor is equipped with a functioning satellite-based communications terminal pulls the trailer, the dispatcher monitors the trailer's location using the satellite-based mobile communications system via the host application.
   2. The default positioning frequency is once per hour. If the dispatcher requires more frequent positioning, the MIPR parameter is modified on the tractor terminal.

Detecting and Disconnecting Trailer(s)

The driver arrives at the destination and disconnects the trailer at the designated location:

1. The satellite-based mobile communications terminal detects that the UTT terminal is no longer connected and sends a disconnection message to the NOC.
2. The NOC forwards the event to the trailer-tracking host application, alerting the dispatcher of the trailer disconnections.
3. The dispatcher verifies that the trailer is disconnected in an authorized drop location.

Geo-fencing Disconnected Trailer(s)

When the dispatcher receives an alert that a non-empty trailer has been dropped at an authorized location, the dispatcher creates a geo-fence surrounding this disconnected trailer:

1. The dispatcher uses the trailer-tracking host application to create or edit a geo-fence.
2. The dispatcher selects the center point for the geo-fence (self-centered, landmark, or latitude/longitude), the east/west and north/south lengths, the geo-fence start/stop time, the enable geo-fence flag, the geo-fence wakeup interval, and the type of geo-fence (exit/enter).
3. The UTT system host application generates a message with the updated information and sends it to the trailer terminal via the NOC terrestrial network to the trailer terminal.
4. An "electronic fence" is set around the trailer, which is monitored by the trailer terminal, based on its configuration.
5. Using the UTT system host, the dispatcher has the option to view the geo-fence on a map.

4.5.6 Alerts

The following security alerts were featured in this scenario:

• Untethered trailer leaves or enters a geo-fenced area
• Trailer disconnection with a "not empty" load
• Trailer door opening event with a "not empty" load

Untethered Trailer Geo-fence Alert

1. The driver disconnects the trailer in the consignee's yard and sets a valid geo-fence.
2. The trailer terminal wakes up based on the customer configurable setting every hour in order to determine if a geo-fence violation has occurred.
3. If the trailer has left the geo-fenced area, the trailer terminal sends a geo-fence violation alert to the dispatcher.

Disconnection with a "Not Empty" Load Alert

The driver disconnects the trailer in the consignee's yard with a load that is awaiting offload:

1. The tractor terminal sends a disconnection message.
2. The UTT system host application receives a disconnection message and generates an alert to the dispatcher.
3. The dispatcher uses the UTT system host to determine if the cargo status is "not empty" on the applicable trailer.

Door Opening Event with a "Not Empty" Load

The trailer door is opened:

1. The trailer terminal recognizes that the door has been opened.
2. The trailer terminal determines, based on the trailer configuration, if an alert is required.
3. The trailer terminal generates an alert and sends it OTA to the UTT system host application.
4. The UTT system host application forwards this alert to the dispatcher.

4.5.7 Physical Architecture

The physical architecture and message flow is shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18: Scenario 3 — Physical Architecture

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