Mobile Java Code for Embedded Transport Monitoring Systems

Mobile software agents are the method of choice if embedded system should dynamically adapt to variable tasks. The supervision of fruit transports is an outstanding example for such a system. An intelligent freight container has to adapt to the requirements of different transport goods. Which sensor range has to be supervised, how should deviations be assessed and at which warning levels should an appropriate reaction be triggered? These transport instruction travel together with the real object in form of a mobile freight agent along the supply chain from system to system. Modern runtime environments like Jamaica allow running JAVA on embedded systems without stalls by garbage collection. With some changes it is even feasible to run the Java Agent Development Framework JADE on ARM processors. Further technologies from the fields of RFIDs and wireless sensor networks are integrated into our autonomous monitoring system. 1 Autonomous transport monitoring systems The increased processing power of embedded systems enables new solutions in supply chain management and logistics. Quality supervision along the supply chain can be fully automated by utilising a system that does much more than merely checking threshold values. By using the feature of JAVA to execute mobile code, these autonomous transportmonitoring systems can dynamically adapt to the special needs of each kind of good. As part of a collaborative research centre on autonomous processes in logistics, we are developing such an intelligent sensor system that could be integrated into standard containers or reefers. Goal of our system The system improves the transport facilities for perishable goods. The owner writes a specific transport instruction into an electronic consignment note, which contains information about the impact of different environmental factors on the quality of the goods. The dynamic quality model and the actual quality state are part of this electronic waybill. It can also contain a small program that is activated when a potential risk for the freight is detected. It might, for example, change the route planning or order a replacement delivery. For defining the transport instruction, the owner is supported by a framework API that defines a common base class for user-defined functionality. Additionally, the owner may change general or user-specific parameters. Selecting a programming language The electronic waybill accompanies the freight along the transport route. At each transhipment, the host system could change from a PC based server to an embedded system or vice versa. Platform independence is a major point in selecting the programming language. It cannot be assumed that the owner of the goods has special knowledge on embedded systems. It must be easy for him to edit and complete the waybill on a PC. Furthermore, the transport system will continuously be extended by new kind of goods which 1 Autonomous Cooperating Logistic Processes – A Paradigm Shift and its Limitations, University of Bremen, see www.sfb637.uni-bremen.de