Erudite: UW acoustic technology developed for shipping container security and threat detection

An acoustic technology developed at the UW is soon to be a critical component of a system for tracking and monitoring ship cargo containers and securing them against terrorist threat and loss through pilferage, theft and spoilage.

The ultrasound-based technology was developed in the laboratory of Les Atlas, UW professor of electrical engineering and internationally regarded expert in the development and use of acoustic signal processing technologies. Atlas is partnering with local company Erudite Inc. to incorporate the low-cost security technology into the company's system for tracking and monitoring the security and integrity of ship cargo containers.

Erudite Inc. is testing its innovative acoustic profiling system at the Port of Tacoma, one of two national centers charged with identifying and developing solutions to secure the containerized supply chain. The opportunity to test its system within a marine terminal environment enables the company to develop technologies that accurately detect threat in ways that enhance the flow of commerce.

U.S. ports process approximately 9 million containers a year, only 2 percent of which are inspected. Why? "Inspection hinders speed," said Erudite's founder Paul Willms. "Speed is of supreme value within the global supply chain. The groundbreaking achievement of acoustic profiling is that it makes incredibly accurate threat detection possible within a system that is constantly in motion."

The UW technology employs ultrasound to take an acoustic "shapshot" of the container, mapping the contents and their physical characteristics with sound waves. If the container door is breached or contents are tampered with in any way, or in the case of a mechanical problem such as refrigeration failure, the system analyzes the changes and if necessary, immediately signals authorities.

Erudite plans to integrate the highly sensitive devices into its global wireless tracking system that continuously monitors ship containers, even when they are thousands of miles away at sea. Most current systems scan containers only at checkpoints, such as when the ship is in port.

Current technologies have been either too expensive or ineffective for monitoring containers. A major issue is a high false positive alarm rate. "Conventional sensors don't work well because of ship and container movement, which creates noise," said Atlas. His acoustic technology ignores ship and container movement, ensuring highly accurate readings.

Cost is another issue that has prevented off-the-shelf technologies from being deployed. Most current systems are complicated and prohibitively expensive. But the ultrasound send-and-receive technology has been around for some time, and computer processors are now both faster and cheaper, making the UW technology a low-cost yet accurate solution to the problem of container security.

The Department of Homeland Security has created a Center of Excellence in the Northwest for studying port security issues, and Atlas has proposed his project. If accepted, Atlas and colleagues at UW's Applied Physics Lab will collaborate with the Universities of Alaska and Hawaii on developing and refining security monitoring technologies for use in ports across the U.S. The project would begin this fall and be funded for five years.

"We wanted to let the government know about another, different, technology they may not be aware of," said Atlas. He and his team are currently testing prototype devices in containers at the Port of Tacoma.

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