Research Article An RFID-Based Tracing and Tracking System for the Fresh Vegetables Supply Chain

Transcription

1 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion Volume 2013, Article ID , 15 pges Reserch Article An RFID-Bsed Trcing nd Trcking System for the Fresh Vegetbles Supply Chin Luc Minetti, Frncesc Mele, Luigi Ptrono, Frncesco Simone, Mri Lur Stefnizzi, nd Roberto Vergllo Deprtment of Innovtion Engineering, University of Slento, Lecce, Itly Correspondence should be ddressed to Luigi Ptrono; Received 3 April 2013; Revised 21 My 2013; Accepted 22 My 2013 Acdemic Editor: Iñigo Cuiñs Copyright 2013 Luc Minetti et l. This is n open ccess rticle distributed under the Cretive Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, nd reproduction in ny medium, provided the originl work is properly cited. The pper presents n innovtive gpless trcebility system ble to improve the min business processes of the fresh vegetbles supply chin. The performed nlysis highlighted some criticl spects in the mngement of the whole supply chin, from the lnd to the tble of the end consumer, nd llowed us to reengineer the most importnt processes. In prticulr, the first steps of the supply chin, which include cultivtion in greenhouses nd mnufcturing of pckged vegetbles, were nlyzed. The reengineered model ws designed by exploiting the potentilities derived from the combined use of innovtive Rdio Frequency technologies, such s RFID nd NFC, nd importnt interntionl stndrds, such s EPCglobl. The proposed trcing nd trcking system llows the end consumer to know the complete history of the purchsed product. Furthermore, in order to evlute the potentil benefits of the reengineered processes in rel supply chin, pilot project ws implemented in n Itlin food compny, which produces redy-to-et vegetbles, known s IV gmm products.finlly,someimportnt metrics hve been chosen tocrry out the nlysis of the potentil benefits derived from the use of the re-engineered model. 1. Introduction The bility to trck nd trce complete informtion t item levelinnefficientndtrustworthymnnerisbecoming more nd more importnt for compnies, minly due to the incresedconsumerconcernoverthesfetyndthequlityof the purchsed products. This is even more true for compnies involved in the fresh vegetbles supply chin, becuse the deliccy of fresh-cut products requires ll stkeholders to orgnize their business processes s efficiently s possible to gurntee the end customers the highest qulity products. The shift from quntity-oriented griculture to new emphsis on products qulity nd people s sfety hs plced new demnds for the development nd doption of trceble supply chins. Trcebility represents the bility to cpture, collect, nd store informtion relted to ll processes in the supply chin in mnner tht provides gurntee to the consumer nd other stkeholders on the origin, loction ndlifehistoryofproduct.inprticulr,thedoption of n effective gpless trcebility system, in the fresh vegetbles supply chin, could enble compnies to (i) detect wrnings ssocited with product contmintions quickly nd ccurtely, nd (ii) optimize their min production processes in order to reduce cultivtion costs nd to ensure, t the sme time, production optimiztion. Furthermore, n efficient trcebility system represents fundmentl tool for people with specil needs, such s ptients ffected by multiple intolernces [1],whostruggleeverydytoperform elementry ctions, such s the choice of food, becuse of the dverse rections tht prticulr components could cuse if tken. The development of n efficient trcebility system requires the introduction in the supply chin of the technologicl innovtions needed for product identifiction, process chrcteriztion, informtion cpture, nlysis, storge, nd trnsmission, s well s the overll systems integrtion. These technologies include hrdwre (such s identifiction tgs nd lbels) nd softwre (computer progrms nd informtion systems) solutions. In prticulr, two of the most importnt uto-identifiction technologies ble to optimize the criticl processes in supply chin re Rdio Frequency IDentifiction (RFID) [2] nd Ner Field Communiction

2 2 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion (NFC) [3]. They promise to replce the trditionl opticl uto-identifiction solutions in ner future. Among the different types (i.e., pssive, semipssive, nd ctive) of RFID trnsponders, often clled tgs, the pssive ones re used in most trcing systems, becuse they re chrcterized by very low cost nd smll dimensions, since they do not require bttery to operte. Pssive RFID tgs cn lso be clssified ccordingtothefrequencybndused(e.g.,lf,hf,uhf,etc.) nd the type of coupling (i.e., mgnetic or electromgnetic) between tg ntenn nd reder ntenn. The UHF tgs could occsionlly encounter problems, cusing performnce degrdtion, in the presence of mterils, such s liquids nd metls, which bsorb Rdio Frequency (RF) energy. However, some recent works [4 7] hve demonstrted tht thedesignofprticulruhftgsisbletoresolvesuch issues, thus demonstrting tht they represent the best solution for item-level trcing systems in the whole supply chin. NFC is short-rnge wireless (HF MHz) technology derived from the RFID fmily. NFC entities cn shre power nd dt over distnce of few centimeters (less thn 5 cm). They inherit the bsic fetures of RFID technology (i.e., working in reder/writer mode with pssive tgs) but theyrelsochrcterizedbythepossibilitytoshredt cross ctive (powered) devices [8]. The diffusion of these RF technologies hs been significntly incresed by the ssertingofinterntionlstndrdssuchsepcglobl[9 12] nd Globl Stndrd 1 (GS1). In prticulr, the EPCglobl stndrd provides promising open rchitecture for trcking nd trcing objects over the Internet. It defines full protocol stck ble to gurntee item-level dt shring relted to products tht move in the whole supply chin. The combined use of different RF technologies nd stndrds in order to improve the supply chin mngement hs been strongly investigted in literture [13, 14]. They were lso successfully pplied to the gro-food sector [15, 16]. However, the development of complete gpless trcebility system, from the lnd to the tble of the end consumer, is still t the erly stges nd mny issues re still open. Most works propose solutions too invsive nd, therefore, not ccepted by the opertors. A typicl exmple concerns the use of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) in greenhouses in order to chieve precision griculture [17 19]. Although the use of this technology promises mny benefits, its doption is very limited, since expert gronomists, tht rgue no sensor node cn ever replce their skills, do not ccept its use. Therefore, very criticl spect in reengineering procedure is tht theproposedsolutionmustbethoroughlyunderstoodbythe opertors, before to be ccepted, nd pplied. Furthermore, costs relted to the introduction of new technologies re relevnt nd block their wide doption. Indeed, lthough most of the solutions presented in literture re exclusively bsedontheuseofrfidtgs,thecostoftgisstilltoohigh to justify its doption in the pckging of low cost products, such s fresh-cut products, whose price in Itly is bout 1-2 euro per pck. Prticulr ttention must be lso pid to the choice of the type of tg to be used, since such tgs must be used in criticl conditions nd, in prticulr, in humid environments, which bsorb RF energy. Another importnt issue still open in the design of n effective trcebility system in the fresh vegetbles supply chin is relted to the integrtion of mngement systems of ll involved ctors. Vegetbles producers re generlly smll locl frms without proper informtion system, nd therefore, ctors interct through trditionl chnnels (i.e., phone, fx). However, since the mnufcturer cn be considered the min ctor of the fresh vegetbles supply chin, complete integrtion of the production compny systems could represent n importnt strting point. ThisworkproposesnEPC-bsedgplesstrcebility system for the fresh vegetbles supply chin ble to exploit the combined use of different uto-identifiction technologies, such s RFID, NFC, nd the less expensive DtMtrix. Prticulr ttention ws focused on the producer, nd, therefore, on the erly stges of the supply chin, which include frming in greenhouses nd mnufcturing of pckged vegetbles. The proposed item-level trcking nd trcing system is chrcterized by perfect integrtion mong the dopted hrdwre nd softwre subsystems in both the greenhouses nd the trnsformtion fctory, preserving the role of gronomists nd reducing the costs for the doption of new technologies. Specificlly, n innovtive nd low-cost hybrid system, in which the gpless trcebility is ensured by the combined use of EPCglobl, pssive UHF RFID solution, Android NFC smrtphones, NFC tgs (i.e., pssive HF tgs), nd the less expensive DtMtrix technologies, is proposed. Furthermore, n Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) [20] is dopted to deploy both trditionl nd innovtive mngement services in the greenhouses. A cler seprtion between the logicl EPC-bsed trcebility rchitecture, nd the physicl infrstructure is key fctor in the proposed system, s it ensures smooth, gpless, nd flexible product trcebility both in the greenhouse nd in the trnsformtion fctory. To vlidte the proposed reengineered model, pilot project ws implemented in big Itlin producer compny. Mesurements of the min Key Performnce Indictors (KPIs) [13] demonstrted the benefits derived by the use of implemented trcebility system in rel scenrio. The rest of the pper is orgnized s follows. Section 2 introduces the reference scenrio, highlighting min problems. The proposed reengineered model nd its implementtion in rel pilot project re reported in Section 3. Min detils relted to the softwre system rchitecture re summrized in Section 4. In Section 5, description of the hrdwre dopted in our work is reported. A system vlidtion is discussed in Section6. Finlly,Section7 summrizes the conclusions nd sketches future works. 2. Min Requirements nd Open Issues in the Fresh Vegetbles Supply Chin The quick perishbility of the IV gmm products, typiclly chrcterizedbyshelflifeoffewdys,mkesthefresh vegetbles supply chin, shown in Figure 1, very interesting scenrio.

3 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion 3 Frmer Mnufcturing compny Figure 1: The fresh food supply chin. Fresh food retiler Thethreeminctorsinvolvedinthissupplychinres follows. (1) The frm, which produces in frmlnd nd greenhouses the rw mterils (e.g., sld, lettuce, rocket, etc.). (2) The trnsformtion compny, whichpurchsesnd hndles lrge mounts of rw mterils in order to produce pckged vegetbles. (3) The retiler, which, in generl, sells finished products to the end consumer. In order to study the min open issues of the nlyzed scenrio, one of the biggest fresh vegetbles producers in the South of Itly, Jentu S. Agr. r. l. [21], ws investigted. It includes two production centers locted in different sites but is chrcterized by the sme product flows. In the following, the two phses of vegetbles cultivtion nd products trnsformtion re seprtely nlyzed in order to better identify the min points where the use of innovtive technologies, such s RFID, NFC, nd EPCglobl, could improve the production cpcity of the compny. Let us observe tht the conducted nlysis did not involve the trnsporttion process of the hrvested vegetbles, from greenhouses to the trnsformtion fctory, becuse it is not interesting from reengineering point of view, since it does not ffect on the products qulity. In the considered compny, in fct, greenhouses re locted very close to the trnsformtion fctory Vegetbles Cultivtion. The cultivtion phse ffects the whole life cycle of vegetbles, nd it includes the ctivities of seeding, growing, hrvesting, nd so forth. All these ctivities re usully coordinted by n gronomist. In prticulr, the Jentu compny hs severl greenhouses, where portion of the rw mterils used in the trnsformtion phse is cultivted. The gronomist, during her/his usul check visit, mnully performs the ctivities of ground sensing nd vegetbles evlution. In this step, she/he stores on pper notes ll qulittive informtion detected. The gronomist uses the cptured prmeters to decide ctions to pply on plnts nd grounds nd she/he nnottes ll performed opertions (i.e., irrigtion, sowing, tretments with plnt protection products) on pper form. Periodiclly, thesedtresvedintodigitlsystemclled FieldLog. It is mngement softwre tool tht llows the frm to crefully store very importnt informtion bout the opertions crried out on plnts, the dopted cultivtion methods, nd the use of pproved clening products. Some ctivities, such s irrigtion nd temperture control, re executed in utomted mnner through remote terminl units nd n dvnced computerized control system. Pllets, composed of bins, re used to move crops from the greenhouses to the trnsformtion fctory. The prtition of crop in different bins is needed in order to llow its prtil use during the production steps, depending on retilers orders. Before being processed, the crop is weighted, clssified ndmdeidentifiblebythettchedform. Let us observe tht the ctivities performed by the gronomists re highly exposed to humn errors nd imprecision, minly due to the mnul execution of the opertions nd the synchronous storing of the gthered dt Products Trnsformtion. The products trnsformtion phsestrtswhenoneormoreplletsofrwmterils,coming from the greenhouses, re moved into the trnsformtion cycle. A first check of the incoming products is performed. In prticulr, the qulity control mnger identifies the correct greenhouse of origin, by reding mnully (i.e., without the use of n electronic device) the lot number plced on ech pllet, nd crries out the weighing process. The obtined dt re compred nd checked with the informtion reported on the delivery note. Furthermore, before being ccepted, the incoming rw mterils must pss rigorous qulity control process. In this cse, the opertor stores ll dt bout the received products in the compny Informtion System (IS), nd prints the rw mterils identifiction tg ssocited with the ccepted pllet. This lbel contins, in ddition to informtion bout the qulity of the ccepted mterils,theincomingdtendlotnumberssocitedwith the prticulr bin of received products. This correltion is mintined in the goods weights registry entry document. Moreover, the identifiction lbel includes liner brcode encoded in Code-128 formt. The ccepted pllets re temporrily stocked in storge wrehouse, where they re rrnged ccording to the rrivl order, so s to be picked up more esily. Here, the temperture is lwys mintined between 0 Cnd+4 Ctovoidthe deteriortion of the fresh products. The pllets re moved into the trnsformtion process ccording to the First In First Out (FIFO) discipline. More in detil, the opertors, by reding the informtion written on the lbel ssocited with ech pllet, choose those with the erliest incoming dte. Let us observethtthisprocesscnesilyledtotheselectionof wrong pllets, thus incresing the mount of product to be discrded in the next steps (e.g., husking). The trnsformtion process is essentilly composed of different ctivities, such s husking, cutting, sorting, wshing, nd drying, which trnsform the rw mterils in finished redy-to-et (RTE) products. It strts when the opertors pick up the pllets from the storge wrehouse nd move them into the husking re. In this step, the opertor hs to fill the line loding register, which contins importnt dt for the producttrcebility,suchsthelotnumberndthenumber of bins involved in the trnsformtion process, the signture

4 4 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion of the opertor crrying out the registrtion, nd the strt nd end times of the trnsformtion process. The semifinished productsrestoredincoldroomwheretheyreminwiting to be picked up for the next phse of pckging. The finished product is pckged nd lbeled mnully or utomticlly. The pckging is done in controlled tmosphere. The lbel on ech pckge reports the ingredients of the product itself, informtion bout the producer compny (nme nd ddress), the method of conservtion (in the refrigertor from +2 Cto+8 C), the expirtion dte (clculted summing 7 dys to the production dte), liner br code encoded by EAN 13, nd n lphnumeric string, which identifies the lot. Finlly, the pckged products re plced in plstic boxes nd rrnged on pllets, ccording to the orders received from customers. It is importnt to observe tht, in this step, thelbelsttchedonsomepckges,choseninrndom wy, re checked. If not complint lbel is identified, the product is discrded nd the entire pllet is checked. The prepred pllets re then moved into the outgoing wrehouse, wheretheyreminwitingtobeshippedtothepointofsle. Unfortuntely, most of the ctivities of the trnsformtion cycle re performed in mnul mode nd, therefore, they cn represent criticl issues of the considered supply chin, especilly in terms of timeliness (time spent on the ctivity) nd correctness Requirements for n Efficient Trcebility System. The conducted nlysis llowed us to identify the min requirements tht n efficient gpless trcebility system, from the lnd to the tble of the end consumer, should stisfy s follows. (i) Minimize the error probbility in the procedure of dt gthering nd trnscribing into the informtion system of the compny. (ii) Allow the compny to collect utomticlly high mountofdt,whichcnbeusedtoprovidetothe end consumer complete pedigree of the purchsed products, from the lnd to the tble of the consumer. (iii) Allow correct nd efficient flow of criticl informtion through the whole supply chin, s the product is cultivted, trnsformed, trnsported, stored, nd sold. (iv) Allow the compny to improve recll procedures, reduce contmintions, nd minimize risk in the supply chin. (v) Optimize the logistic process in terms of humn resources nd time. 3. Reengineered Model The nlysis of the open issues in the fresh vegetbles supply chin llowed us to propose n efficient re-engineering of the min criticl processes, exploiting the combined use of innovtive RF technologies nd the EPCglobl stndrd. In prticulr, the reengineered model ws defined considering the doption of pssive RFID technologies in UHF bnd, such s trnsponders, reders, nd ntenns. Furthermore, softwre infrstructure on top of the Fosstrk frmework [22] ws developed. In order to better pprecite the min benefits tht the proposed model is ble to provide, pilot project ws implemented nd vlidted in the Jentu compny Vegetbles Cultivtion. In the cultivtion phse, the use of NFC tgs is proposed to identify both the opertors nd the fields where vegetbles re cultivted. In prticulr, greenhouses nd fields re prtitioned into smll portions, where only one type of product is cultivted. Ech of these plots of lnd is uniquely identified by NFC tg plced on wooden pole. In such NFC tg n EPC code, encoded with the SGLN (Globl Loction Number) schem, is stored. The gronomist is provided with bdge contining n NFC tg,ndshe/heusesnandroidsmrtphoneequippedwith NFCtechnologytostorellinformtionboutctivities performed on crops into the Field Log, voiding the use of pper notes. More in detil, t the end of tretment on specific plot of lnd, the gronomist identifies herself/himself nd the treted plot of lnd, bringing the NFC reder integrted in her/his smrtphone to the tg plced on the bdge nd on the pole, respectively, nd utomticlly stores lldtbouttheperformedopertionsinthemobilefield Log ppliction. These dt re immeditely sent to the informtion system of the producer compny, thnks to wireless connection (i.e., 3G). It is noteworthy tht the use of smll plots of lnd llows considerble reduction of the mount of resources used, such s fertilizers nd wter (i.e., these re used only where needed), while ensuring the production optimiztion (i.e., it cn be slowed or ccelerted on the bse of the requests of the compny). Furthermore, during the hrvesting phse, the use of bins nd pllets tgged with pssive UHF RFID tgs is suggested. In this step, the gronomist, fter identifying herself/himself s previously described, uses portble UHF RFID reder, connected vi Bluetooth with the smrtphone, to scn the EPC code pplied on ech bin of rw mterils. Finlly, this ssocition is sent to EPCglobl-bsed trcebility system nd stored in the EPC Informtion Service (EPCIS) repository. This solution ims t enbling complete trcebility, which strted from field Products Trnsformtion. As previously described, bins nd pllets of rw mterils, which re moved into the trnsformtion cycle, re tgged with pssive UHF RFID tgs. Thistypeoftgisconsideredminlybecuseitisbleto gurntee high performnce in presence of multiple redings. Furthermore, thnks to ntive feture of the EPCglobl stndrd, trcebility system in the whole supply chin cn esily trce informtion t different lyers (i.e., pllet, bin nd product). In prticulr, EPC Globl Returnble Asset Identifier (GRAI) [23] encoding scheme is used to tg pllets; EPC Globl Individul Asset Identifier (GIAI) [23]encoding scheme is used to tg bins. According to the reengineered model, the incoming wrehouse of the compny is equipped withrfidgtecomposedofoneuhfrfidredernd four Fr Field ntenns in UHF bnd. This configurtion, in fct, is ble to gurntee high performnce in terms of

5 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion 5 successful reding rte of bins. A worker, fter performing the weighing process, moves the pllets through the gte, enbling the utomtic identifiction nd vlidtion of ll incoming bins. The retrieved dt re immeditely compred with the informtion contined in n electronic version of thedeliverynotendsvedintheinformtionsystemofthe producer. In such wy, the qulity control mnger hs only to store dt bout the weigh nd the qulity control check executed on the ccepted mterils. All informtion not necessry for products trcebility, but importnt for the compny, re stored in n Enterprise Resource Plnning (ERP)dtbse.Forthispurpose,ndhocWebservicehs been developed. This solution ims t removing efficiency problems, due to the mnul execution of control nd registrtion opertions, currently performed s described in Section 2.2. In the reengineered model, pllets nd bins of rw mterils stocked in the storge wrehouse re tgged with pssive UHF RFID tgs nd, therefore, n opertor, by using portble UHF RFID reder, cn esily identify the pproprite pllets or bins to move into the mnufcturing process. Two snpshots of the ppliction used by the opertor in this phse re shown in Figure 2. Let us observe tht, lso in this cse, the combined use of RFID nd EPC is ble to overcome the efficiency limits previously described. An UHF RFID gte, plced t the entrnce of the husking re, detects the bins of rw mterils moved into the trnsformtion process nd utomticlly updtes the informtion system of the producer. Let us observe tht the use of RFID technology llows to substntilly mitigte correctness nd timeliness problems, since ll the informtion previously recorded mnully by the workers re now detected by the gte nd mnged by the informtion system. The low cost of fresh redy-to-et products does not justify the use of RFID tgs to identify ech item; therefore, the doption of the DtMtrix technology is proposed to implement n efficient item-level trcebility system. Ech finished RTE product is lbeled using two-dimensionl brcode contining the Serilized Globl Trde Number (SGTIN) EPC code in ECC 200 encoding scheme. By this wy, 2D code reder cn be usedtotrcedtonechfinishedproduct. Finished products, before being plced in reclosble boxes equipped with UHF RFID tgs, re red by Dt- Mtrix reder. Furthermore, the use of n UHF RFID reder enbles the ssocition between the pckged products nd the boxes tht contin them. By this wy the system cn esily trce ll products included in well-defined box. Subsequently, the boxes re rrnged on pllets tgged with UHF RFID tgs nd moved to the outgoing wrehouse, equipped with UHF RFID gte ble to utomticlly detect this trnsfer nd store the ssocited informtion in the informtion system of the compny. The combined use of RFID nd EPC technologies substntilly improves these ctivities, removing efficiency problems, due to the mnul execution of the control opertions described. Finlly, the use of n item-level trcing system bsed on the EPCglobl stndrd optimizes the min ctivities relted to the return flow mngement process. For exmple, it enbles the utomtic identifiction nd trcking of ll Figure 2: Snpshots of the ppliction used by the opertor in the storge wrehouse. products returned from retiler. Furthermore, by using complete trcebility system, the producer compny cn exctly know which other products were sold to the sme retiler, substntilly improving the recll procedure of noncomplint products Overview of the Pilot Project. In order to better clrify the reengineered model previously described, grphicl summry of the pilot project implemented in the Jentu compny is presented in this section. In prticulr, Figure 3 nd Tble 1 summrize the min RF devices introduced in both greenhouses nd trnsformtion fctory. 4. Hrdwre Description In this section, the min fetures of the uto-identifiction systems selected to relize the pilot project re presented. In prticulr, summry of the min devices provided by the reengineered model in ech re of the considered compny is reported in Tble 2, while more detils re described in the following. As noted in the previous tble, in the cultivtion phse, the following devices re used. (i) NFC tgs: identifiction of frmers nd field res in the greenhouse is crucil in the gpless trcebility system; we used two different types of NFC tgs for frmers nd plots of lnd. In prticulr, for the frmer identifiction, we used Mifre Ultrlight NFC crd by NXP Semiconductors (Figure 4()(1)). FortheplotsoflndweusedMifreClssicNFC tg by NXP Semiconductors (Figure 4()(2)). (ii) Portble NFC/RFID scnner: smrtphonesmsung i9023 Nexus S (Figure 4(b)(1)) connected to the UHF RFID reder BlueBerry of TERTIUM Technology (Figure 4(b)(2)) ws used s portble scnner. In prticulr, the Smsung Nexus S is n Android smrtphone equipped with NFC technology, while the BlueBerry reder is smll nd esy-to-use device ble to trnsmit the dt to mobile phone or smrtphone through the Bluetooth interfce. All highlevel opertions, such s processing of the redings,

6 6 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion Tble1:MppingbetweenRFdevicesndworkingresintheJentucompny. Greenhouses Incoming wrehouse Storge wrehouse Production Lbeling re Order composition re NFC tgs UHF RFID tgs NFC Smrtphone Portble RFID reder UHF RFID gte DtMtrix printer Portble DtMtrix/RFID reder Tble 2: Devices used in the pilot project. NFC Tgs UHF RFID Tgs Portble DtMtrix/RFID Reder RFID UHF Gte DtMtrix/RFID Printer Vegetbles cultivtion Greenhouses (i) NXP Semiconductors Mifre Ultrlight NFC crd (ii) NXP Semiconductors Mifre Clssic NFC tg LABID INSKYL3 wet inly SAMSUNG i9023 Nexus S smrtphone + TERTIUM Technology BlueBerry UHF Incoming wrehouse LABID INSKYL3 wet inly IMPINJ Speedwy Revolution R KATHREIN wide rnge ntenns Storge wrehouse LABID INSKYL3 wet inly METEOR BIP-6000 Industril PDA Products trnsformtion Production LABID INSKYL3 wet inly IMPINJ Speedwy Revolution R KATHREIN wide rnge ntenns Lbeling re Zebr RZ400 RFID Desktop Printer Order composition re LABID INSKYL3 wet inly METEOR BIP-6000 Industril PDA IMPINJ Speedwy Revolution R KATHREIN wide rnge ntenns Trnsformtion fctory Greenhouses Incoming wrehouse Storge wrehouse Production Lbeling re Orders composition re Outgoing wrehouse Figure 3: Min RF devices introduced by the reengineered model.

7 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion 7 (1) (2) () (1) (b) (2) (c) (2) (1) (d) (e) (f) Figure 4: Min devices used in the pilot Project: () NFC tgs: (1) Mifre Ultrlight nd (2) Mifre Clssic; (b) portble NFC/RFID scnner composed of (1) Smsung i9023 Nexus S nd (2) BlueBerry reder; (c) INSKYL3 pssive UHF RFID tg; (d) RFID UHF gte composed of (1) Impinj Speedwy Revolution R420 reder nd (2) Wide Rnge UHF Kthrein ntenn; (e) BIP-6000 of Meteor scnner; (f) Zebr RZ400 printer. forwrding them vi text messge, e-mil, or GPRS, re delegted to the device the BlueBerry reder is interfced with. Ultimtely, it represents n esy wy to integrte the RFID communiction system to ny device equipped with Bluetooth interfce (PDA, Netbook, Notebook, PC, etc.). (iii) Pssive UHF RFID tgs: in order to choose the most suitble pssive UHF tgs to be used for our business scenrio, preliminry technologicl scouting hs been performed. It is importnt to observe tht the choice of the type of RFID tg is ffected by different requirements s size of the tg itself, comptibility with EPCglobl stndrd, high scnning speed, high performnce in presence of liquids nd metls, low cost, nd high stress of tg lbel during product life cycle. Therefore, fter preliminry tests crried out in lbortory, we chose the pssive UHF RFID tg wet inly INSKYL3 of LABID (Figure 4(c)), whose size is 54 mm 18 mm, equipped with the Impinj Monz 4 chip. Multiple nd heterogeneous devices hve been chosen for the implementtion of the reengineered mnufcturing phse. More in detil, s shown in Tble 2,thedevicesused in the pilot project re s follows. (i) RFID UHF Gte: AnRFIDUHFgte,composed of reder Impinj Speedwy Revolution R420 (Figure 4(d)(1)) connected to 4 ntenns Wide Rnge UHF Kthrein (Figure 4(d)(2)) thoughcoxil cbles LMR-195 with weight ttenution in the rnge db per 100 m, ws used in the pilot. The reder supports EPCglobl UHF Gen 2 nd ISO C protocols. It is chrcterized by mximum receive sensitivity nd mximum return loss equl to 82 dbm nd 10 db, respectively. The Wide Rnge ntenns provide frequency rnge of MHz nd they re chrcterized by circulr polriztion. (ii) Portble DtMtrix/RFID scnner: inthiscse,the choice hs been the hndheld BIP-6000 of Meteor (Figure 4(e)). It is n industril PDA designed to withstnd the hrshest working environments, certificte IP65 nd equipped with 2D brcode reder nd RFID reder. It lso hs integrted GPS, GSM, HSDPA, nd WLAN, nd 3.0 megpixel cmer with flsh. In prticulr, this reder is equipped with the Android OS, which enbles simple integrtion with the connected system. (iii) DtMtrix/RFID printer: the printer Zebr RZ400 (Figure 4(f)) ws selected to print 2D code nd write

8 8 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion informtion in the RFID tg. It is equipped with USB 2.0 interfce nd supports currently vilble protocols, including EPC Gen 2/ISO C. 5. Overll System Architecture The need to preserve nd dpt the functionlities offered by the existing trcebility nd mngement systems leds us to give specil ttention to the technologies integrtion procedure in the Jentu compny. The min services of the greenhouse mngement, such s the Field Log, must continue to be provided, beside the newer ones. Moreover, the Field Log ppliction must become prt of the new trcebility system; tht is, the dt logged through it must be shred or reused in n EPCIS style. Furthermore, the innovtive hrdwre nd softwre systems, introduced in the trnsformtion fctory, must work on top of the existing rchitecture. In order to stisfy the systems integrtion requirements, softwre rchitecture bsed on the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) [17]wsdefined.AnESBisnrchitecturemodelused for designing nd implementing the interction nd communiction mong mutully intercting softwre pplictions in Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). It promotes gility nd flexibility with regrds to communiction nd interction mong pplictions. In the next sections, more detils bout the different subsystems composing the whole rchitecture re given Greenhouse Mngement System. The combined use of Android smrtphone, NFC, nd RFID technologies is fundmentl for the integrtion between the dt producer (the gronomist working in the greenhouse) nd the dt consumer (the trcebility system). Moreover, the use of smrtphone enbles n esily integrtion of the trcebility system with ny externl device equipped with Bluetooth interfce (e.g., hndheld UHF RFID communiction system). The ltter spect is strongly importnt, s it llowed us to integrte the UHF RFID technology in device tht is not ntively provided of it. An gronomist Android pp hs been designed nd prototyped; it cn be seen s write-only interfce towrds the trcebility system. The gronomist uses the pp for trcing the following min ctivities typicl of crop lifecycle: (1) LAND ctivity: instntite new cultivtion in specific re of the greenhouse; (2) FIELD LOG ctivity: record new crop observtion event or intervention; (3) HARVESTING ctivity: mrk the cultivtion s cropped when it reches the mturtion dte. Ech ctivity involves the recording of the gthered informtion both in the EPCIS nd in the Field Log system, sothtthenewndthelegcysystemsrebridged. The UML sequence digrm, shown in Figure 5, isused to model the full interction between the gronomist nd the trcebilitysystem rchitectureforthefield LOG ctivity. The gronomist identifies herself/himself nd the plot of lnd in the greenhouse; fter filling the requested fields, she/he clicks the Sve button nd request is built nd forwrded to the ESB. Notice tht single click is needed to register the event both in the Field Log ppliction nd in the EPCIS, exploiting the high configurbility of the ESB. The eventisstoredintheepcissnobjecteventwiththeepcis property ACTION set to OBSERVE. In Figure 6, screenshot of the gronomist mobile ppliction for thefield LOG ctivity is shown. The gronomist fills the following fields. (i) Agronomist. It is the full nme of frmer tht is encoded by the unique 7 hex digits ID stored in the frmer s Mifre NFC bdge. Every NFC tg contins red-only fctory-ssigned worldwide-unique seril numberthtcnbeusedskeyintodtbse. The gronomist is needed becuse every detection is mpped with the responsible frmer in the EPCIS; the frmer pp utomticlly fills this field when frmer NFC crd is in rnge. (ii) Greenhouse. When the frmer wnts to operte on portion of lnd, she/he identifies it through the ssigned NFC tg; so the field in the ppliction is uto-filled. (iii) Dte nd Strt/End Time. The frmer stores the tretment durtion by filling the fields representing the beginning nd the end of the tretment. (iv) Agriculturl Phse. Ech griculturl phse identifies one of the possible sttuses of the considered portion of lnd. The frmer selects from list the current sttusofthelnd(i.e.,sowing,growing,etc.). (v) Tretment. It represents the prticulr opertion performed by the frmer on the considered portion of lnd. This vlue is selected from preloded list. (vi) Commercil Product. In this field the frmer inserts the commercil product tht she/he uses to fcilitte ndimprovethechievementofspecificeffectsonthe ground nd/or the plnts. (vii) Mchine. The frmer selects from list the equipment she/he uses during the tretment. Let us observe tht, in order to ensure gpless trcebility,onlyinformtionboutthedtendthetimereltedtothe execution of tretment must be stored. It is utomticlly sved in the EPCIS repository when the ObjectEvent is generted. However, the Field Log system requires lso the storge of the durtion of ech performed tretment. To meet this requirement, in n efficient but simple wy, the Dte nd Strt/End Time fields hve been introduced in the mobile ppliction Hybrid Trcing System. The proposed trcing system is n innovtive nd low-cost hybrid system, in which the gpless trcebility is ensured by using n EPC-style trcing nd trcking system in the greenhouses, performed by the gronomist using Android NFC smrtphones nd NFC tgs,

9 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion 9 Device ESB Field log EPCIS Agronomist NFC bdge Get Frmer() Soil portion NFC tg Agriculturl phse, tretment, mchine, commercil product, ction = OBSERVE Get soil portion() Frmer, soil portion, griculturl phse, tretment, mchine, commercil product, ction = OBSERVE Frmer, soil portion, griculturl phse, tretment, mchine, commercil product, ction = OBSERVE Figure 5: Sequence of interctions between the gronomist nd the trcebility system when new observtion or tretment is performed in the greenhouse. Figure 6: The gronomist s Android pp interfce.

10 10 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion nd clssic EPCglobl rchitecture in the trnsformtion fctory, implemented using both UHF RFID nd the less expensive DtMtrix technologies. A cler seprtion between the logicl EPC-bsed trcebility rchitecture, nd the physicl infrstructure, bsed on UHF RFID, NFC, nd DtMtrix technologies, is key fctor in the proposed system, s it ensures smooth, gpless nd flexible product trcebility both in the greenhouse nd in the trnsformtion fctory. We used the Fosstrk pltform [22] s open-source EPCglobl implementtion. It is Jv-bsed nd provides supporting components for the development nd integrtion of trcking nd trcing pplictions. The Fosstrk EPCIS component runs on Apche Tomct servlet continer nd exposes two SOAP services: the Cpture interfce, for storing EPC events into the EPCIS repository, nd Query interfce, for extrcting EPC event dt. The Fosstrk ALE Middlewre implements EPCglobl s ALE 1.1 specifiction [24]. To communicte with reders, the Fosstrk ALE Middlewre uses the Low Level Reder Protocol (LLRP). For reders tht do not support LLRP, the ALE Middlewre uses the Fosstrk Hrdwre Abstrction Lyer(HAL).TheHALAdptorisJvclssinterfce,which we implemented in three clsses: (i) the LLRPAdptor clss, lredy implemented in the Fosstrk frmework, in order to get redings from the EPC UHF RFID reders; (ii) the NFCAdptor clss, which is synchronously clled by Jv servlet listening on specific URL for POST requests incoming from NFC smrtphones; (iii) the DtMtrixAdptor clss, implementing the communiction with DtMtrix IP Cmer connected to the compny s network. In Figure 7, high level UML clss digrm showing how the different technologies re cbled inside the Fosstrk ALE Middlewre is reported. The LogiclReder clss is logicl representtion of differentphysiclsensors,forechofthesenadptorws implemented. Being the NFC reding performed mnully (volunteered) by the gronomist, the only wy to model the interction with the LogiclReder clss is to expose Jv Servlet running in Fosstrk. When the servlet is clled, the EPCBuffer is filled with EPCs; so the NFCHTTPController cn synchronously get the EPC list from the buffer. In the next section, deep look on how to publish the servlet URL onto the Enterprise Service Bus will be given Informtion Systems Integrtion. Mny ESB vendors, lso open source, exist. In this work, the WSO2 (Oxygenting the Web Service pltform) [25] vendor ws used, since it ws identified s one of the most robust solution by Grtner nd Forrester [26]. The WSO2 ESB engine is Apche Synpse [27], which plys role of broker in the softwre rchitecture nd supports mny open stndrds (e.g., XML, XSLT, XPth, SOAP, JMS, WS-Security, WS-RelibleMessging, WS-Addressing, SMTP). In Figure 8, the overll system rchitecture is shown. The rchitecture is split into four mcro-res. (i) Delivery Chnnel Architecture. It includes ll the services interfces, both legcy nd innovtive. The informtion generted nd requested by the clients flow within unique logicl link towrd the informtion system nd it is conveyed by using mpping configured in the WSO2 ESB. (ii) Shred Service Infrstructure.ItisthecoreWSO2ESB implementtion, s it llows delivering the services requested by the pplictions by totlly hiding the service implementtion detils. The different subsystems comprised in this lyer ws properly configured to mp the requests incoming from the delivery chnnel rchitecture lyer; we configured different protocols t different ISO/OSI levels, for exmple, REST for mobile ppliction, SOAP for the trcebility interfces, TCP/IP sockets for UHF RFID reders, nd connections with the DBMS instntited by legcy pplictions. (iii) Service Enbled Applictions. This lyer includes the SOA-redy services. Communiction flow is depicted s bidirectionl lso for delivering service composition nd for tlking with nonservice-enbled ssets. The EPCIS resides here. A Field Log dptor hs been introduced, in order to let the gronomist mobile pp lso sve dt into the field log s well s into the EPCIS (service composition). (iv) Nonservice-Enbled Assets. Non-SOA-redy services such s legcy systems nd ISO/OSI trnsport lyer services (e.g., socket bsed) find plce in this lyer. Existing bundled systems (i.e., Irrigtion Control System, Enterprise Resource Plnning, Outsourcing Inventory Mngement) fll into the Pckged softwre ctegory. Fosstrk s Appliction Level Event (ALE)middlewreisdeployedonnApcheTomct servlet continer. It estblishes LLRP protocol links with the UHF RFID reder plced in the Delivery Chnnel Architecture, nd clssicl TCP/IP socket with the Cpturing Appliction, which push event to the Fosstrk EPCIS subsystem. Dtbse Mngement Systems re lso included in this lyer. In the WSO2 proxy configurtion file, Fosstrk s EPCIS repository query endpoint nd the web services needed by the gronomist Android pp re mpped by specific proxy services. A proxy services define virtul services hosted on the ESB tht cn ccept requests, medite them, nd deliver them to n ctul service. Proxy services could perform trnsport or interfce switching nd expose different semntics thn the ctul service, tht is, WSDL, policies, nd QoS spects like WS-RM, WS-Security, nd so forth. Through the use of endpoints, it is possible to define specific destintion for messge. Once the endpoints re defined, it is possible to cll the configured Web services by invoking URL following this schem: ip>:<esb port>/services/<proxy nme>/ <service> where:

11 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion 11 LogiclReder extends extends Bse Reder Hrdwre Abstrction extends extends implements NFCHTTPControIIer use LLRPAdptor DtMtrixAdptor EPCBuffer +sttic Vector <String> list use NFCListenerServlet +doget( ) +dopost( ) Figure 7: The integrtion of different physicl sensing technologies in Fosstrk. Delivery chnnel lyer Finestr di dilogo Finestr di dilogo Finestr di dilogo Finestr di dilogo Menu Cmpo di Menu testo Riempime nto Menu Cmpo di Menu testo Riempime nto Menu Cmpo di Menu testo Riempime nto Menu Cmpo di Menu testo Riempime nto Ann ull ok Ann ull ok Ann ull ok Ann ull ok Android + UHF + DtMtrix Android + NFC UHF RFID reders Cpturing App Field Log Trck nd Trce web interfce Outsourcing inventory interfce WSO2 enterprise service bus Pckged Dtbse Irrigtion control system Enterprise resource plnning Outsourcing inventory mngement EPCIS, ERP, Field Log Fosstrk ALE middlewre Fosstrk EPCIS Field Log dptor Nonservice-enbled ssets Service-enbled pplictions Figure 8: The overll system rchitecture.

12 12 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion (i) the <esb ip> is the IP ddress of the server on which WSO2 runs; notice tht this IP ddress is unique for ech service; (ii) the <esb port> is the TCP port on which WSO2 is listening; (iii) the <proxy nme> is the nme of the proxy service configure into the ESB configurtion file; (iv) the <service> identifies precise service retrievble from the specified proxy. Using proxy services, the implementtion of existing ndinnovtivewebservicesontothecompnyrchitecture is lmost immedite nd requires few lines of codes. We deployed both SOAP nd REST Web services. In prticulr, we deployed some REST Web services involved in the communiction between the Android pp of the gronomist nd the trcing system. For instnce, two Web services CultivtionPhses nd Formultion re used by the Android pp to populte the sttic field views in the pp interfce by retrieving these from well-defined vocbulry of terms. A FieldLogserviceisusedtosvethegtheredinformtionto the legcy Field Log ppliction. 6. System Vlidtion The system vlidtion phse ws crried out by using both Living Lbortory pproch nd pilot project. In prticulr, the first method llowed us to obtin initil experimentl results, in controlled test environment, demonstrting tht n ccurte choice of pssive UHF RFID solutions is fundmentl to gurntee high performnce of the proposed trcing system in ech step of the supply chin. On the other hnd, the development of the pilot project enbled us to vlidte the complete trcebility system (i.e., hrdwre nd softwre), nd to pprecite the potentil benefits derived by the use of RF technologies nd EPCglobl stndrd in rel scenrio. In prticulr, mesurements of the min Key Performnce Indictors (KPIs) demonstrted how the proposed reengineered process is ble to mitigte the timeliness nd correctness problems previously described. Therefore, different preliminry tests, crried out in our lbortory environment, llowed us to identify the most suitble RFID tg to be used in the considered scenrio. The experimentl cmpigns were designed to mesure the successful reding rte of different tgs during two of the most criticl steps of the supply chin: (i) the movement of pllet composed of tgged bins of rw mterils, nd (ii) the identifiction of tgged bins during the hrvesting procedure, through the use of portble RFID reder connected, vi Bluetooth, to n Android smrtphone. Seven different types of commercil pssive UHF RFID tgs, equipped with n Impinj chip, were used. (i) DOGBONE, whose size is 86 mm 24 mm, equipped with the Impinj Monz 4 chip; (ii) WEB, whose size is 30 mm 49 mm, equipped with the Impinj Monz 4 chip; (iii) UH423, whose size is 30 mm 50 mm, equipped with the Impinj Monz 5 chip; (iv) UH3D40, whose size is 40 mm 40 mm, equipped with the Impinj Monz 4 chip; (v) INSKYL3, whose size is 54 mm 18 mm, equipped with the Impinj Monz 4 chip; (vi) SKL4020, whose size is 40 mm 20 mm, equipped with the Impinj Monz 5 chip; (vii) XC-TF8024-C06, whose size is 50 mm 30 mm, equipped with the Impinj MonzTM 4 QT chip. More in detil, in the first experimentl cmpign (Figure 9), pllet with 28 plstic boxes contining finished products, orgnized on seven lyers nd tgged on their short side, ble to cross the UHF RFID gte, ws used. In order to simulte relistic conditions, severl pllet compositions were nlyzed. (i) Configurtion I: the pllet ws prepred plcing the boxes with their tg ntenn oriented towrd the outside nd voiding the overlpping of tg ntenns. (ii) Configurtion II: the pllet ws prepred plcing the boxes with their tg ntenn oriented towrd the center of pllet itself nd trying to obtin the overlpping of tg ntenns. (iii) Configurtion III: the pllet ws prepred plcing the 50% of the boxes with their tg ntenn oriented towrd the outside nd the remining boxes oriented towrd the center of pllet. Ech of the previous configurtions were evluted ccording to two different movement modes of the pllet s follows. (i) Trnsltion: it simultes the crossing of the pllet through the gte in direct direction; in such cse the tgs on the boxes re prllel to the ntenns of the gte during the movement. (ii) Rottion: it simultes rottion of the pllet when it crosses the gte; in such cse the tgs on the boxes re perpendiculr to the ntenns of the gte for much of the time. With regrd to the first experimentl cmpign, 100% of successful reding rte hs been mesured in ll tests confirming tht the physicl, chemicl, nd biologicl properties of the vegetble products do not ffect the performnce of the RFID tgs. The second test cmpign ims to evlute the tgs performnce when the portble RFID reder is used considering different reding distnces (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, up to 90 cm) nd different reding ngles (e.g., 30,0,+30 ) between rederndtgntenn.inthistest,singleboxwsused,nd, for ech tg, from 20 to 60 reding ttempts were performed. This test demonstrted tht ll preselected UHF tgs show optiml (i.e., 100% of successful reding) performnce for distnces in the rnge from 5 cm to 25 cm. Furthermore, the INSKYL3 tg obtined the 100% of reding rte lso for

13 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion 13 Boxes of finl products tgged with UHF RFID tgs vlue of 0 second; the verge time to identify n ccepted pllet psses from 120 seconds to 15 seconds. Similrly, the percentge of error in the dt entry procedure nd the percentge of wrong pllets moved into the trnsformtion process, which re equl to 15 nd 30 in the current model, re reduced to zero in the reengineered model. 7. Discussion nd Conclusions Figure 9: Pllet configurtion during the first experimentl cmpign. longer reding distnces, up to 80 cm. The performed tests demonstrted tht tgs performnces re not substntilly ffected by the reding ngles (ngles in the rnge from +30 to 30 did not show substntil chnges). This preliminry nlysis led us to identify the INSKYL3 RFIDtgsthetgtobeusedinthepilottest. As previously declred, the pilot project llowed us to vlidtetheproposedreengineeredmodel.todemonstrte the proper opertion of the proposed system, screenshot of the trcebility interfce, evidencing the history (epedigree) of the product from the sowing up its entry in the plnt s rw mteril, is shown in Figure 10. Inthe GRAIgenerl informtion tble, ll red events relted to pllet used to crry the rw mterils from greenhouse to compny re reported. The box EPCs children list shows the ggregtion mong pllet nd rw mteril bins. The supplier informtion isshownintheboxclled Detiledinformtion.Finlly, in the Field log tble, ll tretments performed on the soil portion by opertors re listed. Furthermore, KPI comprison between the current model nd the reengineered model ws performed considering the two min nlyzed phses seprtely: (i) vegetbles cultivtion nd (ii) products trnsformtion. This nlysis is summrizedintble 3. Considering the first phse, the reengineered model substntilly reduces the timeliness metric of verge time to write report, which psses from vlue of 90 seconds,inthecurrentmodel,tovlueof25seconds,thus ensuring reduction of bout 70 percent. Similr results cn be pprecited for metrics relted to the correctness, such s percentge of reports with errors, percentge of lost reports, nd percentge of error in the dt entry ctivity, whose vlues, which re equl to 17, 10, nd 15 in the current model, re reduced to zero in the reengineered model. The combined use of RF technologies hs highlighted similr benefits lso in the trnsformtion phse. As exmple, the timeliness KPIs regrding the processes of incoming nd storge of rw mterils re substntilly improved. In prticulr, the verge time to receive pllet is reduced from vlue of 195 seconds, in the current model, to vlue of 55 seconds, in the reengineered model; the verge time to store informtion bout rw mterils nd print the identifiction tg is reduced from vlue of 90 seconds to In this pper, gpless trcebility system, bsed on the use of innovtive RF technologies nd EPCglobl stndrd both in the compny s greenhouses nd in the trnsformtion fctory, ws proposed. According to the reengineered model, the gronomist uses n NFC Android smrtphone to mp the performed interventions nd the sensed vribles to specificplotoflnd.thistechniqueledstoovercomethe pper-bsed clssifiction of crops in the greenhouses, nd to improve the efficiency of the subsequent phses of the trnsformtion process. In such wy, ech phse of the cultivtion nd trnsformtion processes is trced nd it becomes vilble for the trcebility service. The use of DtMtrix insted of RFID tgs to tg the finl products ensures low costs nd esy ccess to the trcebility service for the end consumer. Furthermore, n ESB-bsed rchitecture hs been introduced in order to integrte the compny s legcy systems with the innovtive technologies. It gurntees lowimpctinreltionwiththeprocessescurrentlyheldboth in the cultivtion nd trnsformtion processes, nd, t the sme time, gret flexibility nd sclbility towrds future extensions. In order to evlute the benefits of the proposed reengineered model, pilot project ws implemented in n importntcompnyofthesouthofitly.theconductednlysis llowed us to demonstrte the potentil benefits introduced by the combined use of the innovtive RF technologies in the fresh vegetbles supply chin. Nevertheless, business benefits re not the only ones obtinble by using the innovtive trcebility system presented in this work. It enbles lso importnt dvntges for the consumers, s it copes with the consumers concerns over the sfety nd the qulity of the purchsed food. This is n importnt spect for (t lest) two resons: (i) the spred of public consciousness mong people bout the need for more vluble diet is leding the consumers to prefer products whose origins cn be clerly stted nd certified; (ii) people suffering of food intolernces need to void dverse rections derived by the ssumption of some kinds of food [1]. Such people must fight every dy lso in performing regulr humn ctivities, s hving mels; in this cse, the drstic solution of removing prticulr food (e.g., tomtoes) from ptient s diet is not the right choice, s the sme product would not led to ny dverse rections if cropped in different soils (e.g., fr from industril plnts) or with different tretments (e.g., excluding chemicl products). Also the opposite is true: product definitely stted s sfe for the ptient s helth sttus my not be secure if the sme vegetble is produced by different compny with different tretments in different geogrphicl re.

14 14 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion Figure 10: The epedigree for specific product. Tble 3: Min KPI used to compre current nd re-engineered models. Phse KPI Current model Reengineered model (i) Cultivtion (ii) Trnsformtion Averge time to write report 90 sec per report 25 sec Percentge of reports with errors 17% 0% Percentge of lost reports 10% 0% Percentge of error in the dt entry ctivity 15% 0% Averge time to receive pllet 195 sec 55 sec Averge time to store informtion bout rw mterils nd print the identifiction tg 90 sec 0 sec Percentge of error in the dt entry procedure 15% 0% Averge time to identify n ccepted pllet 120sec 15sec Percentge of wrong pllets moved into the trnsformtion process 30% 0% However, severl problems hve been encountered during the design nd development of the presented trcebility solution. First of ll, the implementtion of the ESB hs highlightedsomedifficultiesminlyreltedwiththeintegrtionof pckged legcy systems like the Field Log. The ppliction in useinjentudidnotprovidenysortofsoftwreinterfceslike Web services; tht is, it ws not SOA-redy. Anywy the ESB enginewso2wsflexibleenoughtoforwrdndinwrddt directly deling with the ppliction s dtbse. Obviously this led us to crefully check the integrity of the informtion in the Field Log ppliction. Secondly, the need of mking the Android pp suitble for gronomists contrsted with the high complexity of the EPCglobl industril stndrd. For exmple, RFID reders usully trnsmit strict event dt like the EPC code nd few other technicl prmeters. Business dt like the informtion on the crops nd the performed opertions shll be dded lter in the cpturing ppliction, runningonseprtepc.weesedthisstepbyleverging the concept of the EPC ECreport custom fields, by which the Android pp cn generte rich events including custom business informtion s well s the EPC IDs, sending them to the trcebility server in single tp onto the smrtphone screen. Finlly, let us observe tht the improvement of the proposed trcebility system, considering, s n exmple, the tgging of mchines nd boxes of products used during the tretments in the greenhouses to further utomte the

15 Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion 15 introduction of their ssocited dt in the system, will chrcterize future works. Acknowledgments The uthors wish to thnk Eng. Gimpietro Boschiroli nd Dr. Sergio Serr of the compny Jentu S. Agr. r. l. for their prcticl dvice, which hs been fundmentl for obtining the experimentl results shown. Furthermore, the uthors thnk Dr. Dniele D Aprile who hs collborted with the IDA Lb group of the University of Slento, Lecce, Itly, for his support in the rchitecture implementtion. References [1] L. Minetti, L. Ptrono, nd R. Vergllo, Combining EPCglobl nd HL7 to deploy innovtive e-helth services for ptients ffected by multiple intolernces, in Proceedings of the 4th Interntionl Symposium on Applied Sciences in Biomedicl nd Communiction Technologies (ISABEL 11), rticle86,pp.1 6, ACM, Brcelon, Spin, October [2] K. Finkenzeller, RFID Hndbook, Fundmentls nd Applictions in Contct-Less Smrt Crds nd Identifiction,JohnWiley & Sons, New York, NY, USA, [3] NFC Forum, The Ner Field Communiction (NFC) Forum, 2004, [4]L.Ctrinucci,R.Colell,M.DeBlsi,L.Ptrono,ndL. Trricone, Experimentl performnce evlution of pssive UHF RFID tgs in electromgneticlly criticl supply chins, Journl of Communictions Softwre nd Systems, vol.7,no.2, pp.59 70,2011. [5]L.Ctrinucci,R.Colell,M.DeBlsi,L.Ptrono,ndL. Trricone, Enhnced UHF RFID tgs for drug trcing, Journl of Medicl Systems,vol.36,no.6,pp ,2012. [6] K.V.S.Ro,P.V.Nikitin,ndS.F.Lm, Antenndesignfor UHF RFID tgs: review nd prcticl ppliction, IEEE Trnsctions on Antenns nd Propgtion, vol.53,no.12,pp , [7] M. E. de Cos nd F. Ls-Hers, Dul-bnd ntenn/amc combintion for RFID, Interntionl Journl of Antenns nd Propgtion,vol.2012,ArticleID804536,7pges,2012. [8] L. Minetti, L. Ptrono, nd R. Vergllo, IDA-Py: secure nd efficient micro-pyment system bsed on Peer-to-Peer NFC technology for Android mobile devices, Journl of Communiction Softwre nd Systems,vol.8,no.4,2012. [9] U. Brci, A. Bucciero, M. De Blsi, L. Minetti, nd L. Ptrono, Implementtion nd testing of n EPCglobl-wre discovery service for item-level trcebility, in Proceedings of the Interntionl Conference on Ultr Modern Telecommunictions nd Workshops, IEEE, Ed., pp. 1 8, Institute of Electricl nd Electronics Engineers (IEEE), St. Petersburg, Russi, October [10] EPCGlobl, The EPCglobl NetworkTM: overview of design, benefits nd security, 2004, [11] F. Thiesse, C. Floerkemeier, M. Hrrison, F. Michhelles, nd C. Roduner, Technology, stndrds, nd rel-world deployments of the EPC network, IEEE Internet Computing,vol.13,no.2,pp , [12] F. Pgnelli nd D. A. Prlnti, DHT-bsed discovery service for the internet of things, Journl of Computer Networks nd Communictions, vol. 2012, Article ID , 11 pges, [13] A. Guido, L. Minetti, nd P. Ptrono, Evluting potentil benefits of the use of RFID, EPCglobl, nd ebxml in the phrmceuticl supply chin, Interntionl Journl of Helthcre Technology nd Mngement,vol.13,no.4,pp ,2012. [14] E. Bottni, R. Montnri, nd A. Rizzi, The impct of RFID technology nd EPC system on stock-out of promotionl items, Interntionl Journl of RF Technologies, vol.1,no.1,pp.6 22, [15] M. Trebr, A. Grh,Á. Melcón, nd A. Prreno, Towrds RFID trcebility systems of frmed fish supply chin softwre, in Proceedings of the 19th Interntionl Conference on Softwre, Telecommunictions nd Computer Networks (SoftCOM 11),pp. 6 11, September [16] L. Ctrinucci, I. Cuiñs, I. Expósito, R. Colell, J. A. G. Fernández, nd L. Trricone, RFID nd WSNs for trcebility of griculturl goods from Frm to Fork: electromgnetic nd deployment spects on wine test-cses, in Proceedings of the 19th Interntionl Conference on Softwre, Telecommunictions nd Computer Networks (SoftCOM 11), pp.12 15,September [17] M. Keshtgri nd A. Deljoo, A wireless sensor network solution for precision griculture bsed on zigbee technology, Wireless Sensor Network,vol.4,pp.25 30,2012. [18] A. D. Siuli Roy nd S. Bndyopdhyy, Agro-sense: precision griculture using sensor-bsed wireless mesh networks, in Proceedings of the 1st ITU-T Kleidoscope Acdemic Conference, InnovtionsinNGN:FutureNetworkndServices(K-INGN 08), pp , My [19] L. Xio nd L. Guo, The reliztion of precision griculture monitoring system bsed on wireless sensor network, in Proceedings of the Interntionl Conference on Computer nd Communiction Technologies in Agriculture Engineering (CCTAE 10),vol.3,pp.89 92,June2010. [20] D. A. Chppell, Enterprise Service Bus,O RellyMedi,2009. [21] Jentu S. Agr. r. l., [22] Fosstrk, Open source RFID pltform, [23] EPC Tg Dt Stndrd (TDS), EPCglobl Stndrds nd Technology, 2007, tds stndrd pdf. [24] The Appliction Level Events (ALE) Specifiction, Version 1.1.1, stndrdcore pdf. [25] WSO2 len, enterprise, middlewre, [26] L.Fulton,J.R.Rymer,M.An,ndM.Czrnecki,The Forrester Wve: Enterprise Service Buses, Forrester Reserch, [27] Apche Synpse,

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