News Release from: Ember Europe
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 2 December 2003

Wireless monitoring system aids homeland security

Ember Corp and RAE Systems have demonstrated a prototype wireless security monitoring system to help cargo carriers comply with pending US homeland security regulations.

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Ember Corp and RAE Systems have demonstrated a prototype wireless security monitoring system to help cargo carriers comply with pending US homeland security regulations designed to prevent terrorists from smuggling nuclear and other catastrophic weapons through American ports in any of the seven million shipping containers that pass through them every year. RAE Systems' hazardous environment sensors enabled with Ember's wireless embedded RF (radio frequency) chips and EmberNet networking software wrap cargo in a mesh network 'web' that detects weapons materials, details when containers have been opened and sealed, and when contents have been removed or added. This information helps port authorities identify containers that have been tampered with and prevent terrorists from smuggling weapons into the country.

The US Department of Homeland Security has said it wants cargo companies that ship to American ports to equip their containers with wireless sensors to guard against terrorist threats.

Although the department does not plan to mandate the sensors, it will give preferential treatment to 'smart' containers and force 'dumb' containers to go through slow, expensive manual inspections to clear customs.

RAE Systems recently demonstrated the container monitoring solution at the US Maritime Security Expo in New York City.

'It's easier to detect potential threats in American ports when we know what's happening inside the container at all times', said RAE Systems CEO Robert Chen.

'For a minimal cost per trip, the RAE Systems and Ember solution lets shippers be inside every container, documenting everything that happens to it from the time it's sealed until it's unloaded'.

RAE Systems' hazardous environment sensors and rapidly deployable ad hoc networks are used by first responders, armed forces, government agencies and private industry in all 50 states and in more than 40 countries around the world.

Ember's embedded radio chips, EmberNet networking software, and network management tools use a flexible mesh routing algorithm, creating extremely resilient, self-organising and self-healing networks, with very low power requirements and no single point of failure.

Ember-enabled devices automatically route traffic around the typical interference found in difficult radio conditions, resulting in increased flexibility in deployment, maintenance and operation.

'The sheer volume of cargo entering our country every day makes it too easy for terrorists to smuggle dangerous cargo'.

'That makes it all the more necessary to monitor each container', said Jeff Grammer, CEO of Ember.

'We couldn't possibly do that manually, but sensor and mesh networking technology give us a tool to protect ourselves without letting the terrorists win by disrupting the flow of cargo between countries'.

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