Acoustical Signature Analysis for Cargo and Freight Security Monitoring Systems

There is increasing concerns regarding national security risks associated with international freight and cargo shipments. The existing container-trailer security monitoring systems for transportation and logistics employ conventional methods and technologies such as video cameras, infrared sensors and ultrasonic proximity sensors (line of sight configuration). Disadvantages include high cost, failures owing to adverse weather conditions, inaccurate detection of cargo condition due to variable material/configurations in freight are some of the reasons for the limited success of conventional monitoring systems. This research applies signal processing techniques to the analysis of acoustical echo responses which leads toward the development of an intermodal container load status and security monitoring system. The drawbacks of the existing methods are reduced by introducing acoustical signature monitoring (ASM). Experimental results are given demonstrating that the concept of ASM is an effective technique for monitoring freight status for intermodal containers and trailers.