Chapter 5 Flashcards
What is the value of Smart Containers?
- Protect the homeland
- make a profit (in terms of the business)
definition of a smart container
- carry on a conversation
- user can communicate with them in real time or near real-time
- can be programmed to do anything from report location and chain of custody
What can be detected and reported besides location?
- theft
- contamination
- container being a host for a WMD
- internal container environment
- breaches, chemical agents
What can a smart container not detect?
-shielded enriched uranium with nonintrusive devices
When does smart start and stop?
- once the container is sealed, an electronic protocol is initiated in the electronic memory of the container
- information can be read at any time via satellite
- someone has to take responsibility at destination
How do smart containers transmit what they detect?
- RFID technology
- Satellite Communication
- Cellular Communication
Problems with RFID
- lack of frequency standard worldwide
- equipment variances
- protocols differ
- RFID from others can interfere
RFID Timeliness
- requires chokepoints
- if something happened between chokepoints, you wouldn’t know until the next chokepoint
RFID features
-can be utilized for light, vibration, temperature
RFID risks
-can be utilized to detonate an explosive device
Two categories of Satellites
- Geostationary (GEO)
- Low earth orbit (LEO)
Geostationary Satellite
- orbit the earth to appear stationary
- 23,000 miles above Earth
Low Earth orbit
- 500 miles above earth
- do not rotate with earth
- allows inexpensive, narrow band frequencies
Weaknesses to using Satellite
- dead spots
- visible antenna (others would be able to communicate with container)
Cellular Communication
- aka GSM (global system for mobile communications)
- different channels used worldwide
Weaknesses to using cellular communication
- government issues with band usage
- not much progress due to issues
What type of seal is the most commonly used?
the bolt seal
What are the steps in the CTPAT Container Inspection
- look for unusual things (little doors)
- look in small nooks and crannies for narcotics (the 5th wheel, under the container, in the tires)
- verifying the locking mechanisms
- the inside of the bolts, paint marks, signs of glue
- inside of the doors, not normal compartments
- tap the walls and the roof, should hear a hollow sound, if gets a thud, might be contrabands
- use a range finder to see the length of the inside of the container to find possible hidden compartments
- verify the bolts of the floor
tools used in inspection
- mirrors with flashlights
- range finder
- density finder
- fiber optics
- rope
- radiation monitor
- rid (what type of radiation)
