Experiences from a Transportation Security Sensor Network Field Trial

Cargo shipments are subject to hijack, theft, or tampering. Furthermore, cargo shipments are at risk of being used to transport contraband, potentially resulting in fines to shippers. The Transportation Security Sensor Network (TSSN), which is based on open software systems and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) principles, has been developed to mitigate these risks. Using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, the TSSN is able to detect events and report those relevant to appropriate decision makers. Prior to deploying the TSSN it should be determined if the system can provide timely event notification. A field experiment was conducted to assess the TSSN's suitability for monitoring rail-borne cargo. Log files were collected from this experiment and postprocessed. In this paper we present empirical results on the time taken to report events using the TSSN. These results show that the TSSN can be used to monitor rail-borne cargo.