Localization of shipping containers in ports and terminals using wireless sensor networks

The most advanced logistics solutions that are currently adopted in ports and terminals use RFID- and GPS-based technologies to identify and localize shipping containers in the yard. Nevertheless, because of the limits of these tech-niques, the position of containers is still affected by some errors or it cannot be determined in real-time. We propose a non-conventional approach where the position of contain-ers can be continuously determined by means of a wireless sensor network. Each container is equipped with a number of nodes that use wireless communication to detect neigh-bor containers. At the base station, geometrical constraints and proximity data are combined together to determine the relative positions of containers.