D R A F T Concept of Operations for Universal Identification: Identify Every Commercial Vehicle on t

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D R A F T Concept of Operations forUniversal
IdentificationIdentify Every Commercial Vehicle
on the Road
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
Last updated 2008-11-26

Conventions used Blue text or lines highlight
what is most important. Gray text shows less
important ideas or ideas that are not preferred.
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Outline

• Overview of the concept
• Current situation
• Motivation for improvement
• Key aspects of the proposed approach (e.g., key
  data, major uses of the data, etc.)
• Summary of the proposed system
• Operational policies and constraints
• Major interfaces
• Operational scenarios
• Issues
• Proposed research
• Summary of impacts

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Identify entities

• Vehicles
• Carriers
• Drivers
• Shipments
• Others

Note The focus of the remainder of these slides
is on identifying vehicles and carriers. The goal
is to implement an interim solution as quickly as
possible to identify every vehicle (and its
associated carrier). The approach chosen does not
need to provide the capability to eventually
identify all the entities listed above.
Overview of the concept
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Concept for Identifying Entities Automatically

• On the road or on the ramp, identify
  electronically every commercial vehicle.
• Technology options
• Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC)
• Other radio frequency identification (RFID)
  (e.g., on windshield, license plate, or
  door-mounted placard)
• Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS)
• Optical readers

Preferred
Note the remainder of these slides assume the
preferred approach is selected.
Overview of the concept
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Current Situation

• For many years, we have recognized the need to
  identify commercial vehicles at the roadside.
  This has resulted in numerous requirements over
  the years, such as
• License plates
• USDOT numbers, ICC numbers,
• company names, etc.
• Special plates
• Placards
• Decals
• All of these identifiers were designed to be read
  by a human observer.

Current situation
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Motivation for Improvement

• Trying to screen trucks based on manual,
  human-readable identifiers is difficult,
  expensive, and largely ineffective.
• As a result, most trucks pass through enforcement
  sites with anonymity.
• Trucks who want to avoid enforcement contact can
  generally do so
• By taking alternate routes
• By choosing to travel when enforcement is not
  present
• So, there is little success in focusing on the
  non-compliant or high-risk carriers and vehicles.
• Additionally, truck traffic volume is increasing.
  The problem will only get worse.

Motivation for improvement
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In the 21st Century, We Want Sensors,Not People,
To Read the Identifiers

• Read in this context means to observe or
  capture information electronically, without human
  involvement.
• A radio frequency identifier (RFID) is read by
  a reader when the reader and RFID device
  communicate. The reader winds up with the
  information contained on the RFID device as a
  result of the reading activity.
• A license plate is read by a license plate
  reader (LPR) when the LPR captures one or more
  images of the license plate and interprets the
  characters observed.
• The reading process is successful when the
  information sought is accurately retrieved.

Key aspects of proposed approach
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Key Aspects of Proposed Approach

• Keep the approach as simple as possible.
• Attach a unique RFID device to the vehicle. There
  is no inherent meaning in the identifier value.
• Roadside equipment reads the RFID as the vehicle
  approaches.
• Note Roadside equipment includes equipment
  on-board a mobile enforcement vehicle.
• Via a database, correlate the unique ID captured
  from the RFID device on the vehicle with the
  standard identifiers for the vehicle and the
  carrier responsible for that vehicles safety.
• Provide those standard identifiers to authorized
  users.

Note A more complex option would be to attach
two RFID devices to every vehicle. One device
would identify the carrier, the other the
vehicle. In this draft approach, we choose the
single RFID device option.
Key aspects of proposed approach
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Key Aspects of Proposed Approach (page 2)

• Key data involved Standard identifier(s) for
• Vehicle Jurisdiction and license plate ID, VIN,
  unit number
• Carrier USDOT number, name
• Driver Jurisdiction and drivers license ID,
  Name, DOB
• Shipment Shipping document ID
• Equipment Trailer unit number

Key aspects of proposed approach
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How Will Identifiers Be Used?

• Use the identifiers collected electronically in
  the same ways as those collected manually are
  used today.
• Typical uses for identifiers
• By industry
• Monitor trip
• Track shipments
• Track equipment
• By enforcement
• Check against a hot list
• Check other information about that entity

Key aspects of proposed approach
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Summary of the Proposed Universal ID System
Roadside Weigh / Inspection System
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VIN, unit number, jurisdiction and license plate
ID USDOT number, carrier name
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Unique RFID
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Attach RFID device to vehicle. Associate the
unique RFID with that vehicle and with the
carrier responsible for safety of the vehicle.
Store in SAFER. Capture RFID from vehicle. Look
up RFID in database (SAFER or local copy) to
determine standard vehicle and carrier IDs. Make
standard IDs available to authorized systems and
people.
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Summary of proposed system
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Operational Policies and Constraints

• Proposed New Operational Policy
• All CMVs will be equipped to support universal
  identification.
• Proposed Operational Constraints
• Designers and planners should ensure that the
  costs to operate and maintain the universal
  identifier system components (for both the
  private and public sectors) are justified by the
  benefits to be realized.
• The identifiers must be unique across North
  America.
• Both the CMV and a mobile enforcement vehicle
  identifying the CMV should be able to operate at
  normal speeds.
• The public and private sector elements should use
  open standards for interfaces to exchange
  information and communicate with each other.

Operational policies and constraints
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Operational Constraints (page 2)

• Business processes and standards should assure
  interoperability among and across jurisdictions
  and stakeholder groups.
• All involved should operate and maintain the
  system in accordance with data privacy, security,
  and quality requirements.
• Universal identifiers should be supported with
  commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) roadside
  equipment.
• The read range for the devices selected should be
  compatible with reasonable options for deploying
  the readers.
• The system should operate in typical weather
  conditions.
• The system should not interfere with other
  roadside or on-board systems.
• The system should accommodate incremental
  deployment within the public sector.

Operational policies and constraints
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Operational Constraints (page 3)

• The system should accommodate commercial motor
  vehicle traffic in multiple lanes.
• The system should include the capability to
  validate the accuracy of the identifiers
  collected. This may include comparing human
  observations to electronic records, checking
  reported identifiers and conditions using other
  automated sensor systems, or other means. It is
  not necessary that every set of identifiers be
  validated. However, it is necessary that a means
  for validation be available upon demand.
• The system should accommodate the expanding
  number of commercial motor vehicles on the
  nations highways and increases in vehicle miles
  traveled.
• The system should be highly reliable so that both
  industry and government stakeholders view the
  system as beneficial, trust the information
  shared, and are willing to deploy the supporting
  technology and applications.

Operational policies and constraints
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Operational Constraints (page 4)

• Communications and functions for the CMV and the
  mobile enforcement vehicle should not distract
  the drivers/troopers nor pose a safety hazard to
  controlling the vehicles.

Operational policies and constraints
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Major Interfaces and Options

• Single RFID device on vehicle
• Single unique ID with no inherent meaning -or-
• VIN programmed into RFID device -or-
• Jurisdiction and license plate ID programmed into
  RFID device -or-
• VIN, jurisdiction and license plate ID, and USDOT
  number programmed into RFID device.
• Database (probably SAFER) that maps the RFID
  uniquely to a vehicle and its associated carrier
• Query function to look up standard identifiers
  (for the vehicle and designated safety carrier)
  associated with a given RFID

Major interfaces
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Operational Scenarios

• Assign RFID device to a vehicle.
• Update database to show association of RFID to
  VIN, jurisdiction and plate, unit number, and
  safety carrier USDOT number.
• Identify entities on the road.

Operational scenarios
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Issues

• What technology is most reliable and affordable?
  Where should the RFID device be mounted?
• What standards are available and applicable?
• Are VIN, jurisdiction and license plate ID, and
  unit number necessary as the standard vehicle
  IDs?
• Should USDOT number and carrier name be the
  standard carrier IDs?
• If necessary, can multiple RFID devices be read
  reliably from a single vehicle?
• What security issues must be addressed?

Issues
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Issues (page 2)

• Can SAFER be the central repository that
  correlates the RFID with VIN, jurisdiction and
  license plate ID, unit number, and USDOT number?
  Can states agree to make the unit number and
  USDOT number for the safety carrier required
  fields for vehicle registration records? Will one
  or more new fields of information be required?
• Can DMVs issue RFID devices and keep track of
  each ones assignment to a particular vehicle? Is
  there a role for the carriers to help maintain
  the association of RFID to a vehicle? What costs
  will be incurred? What funding sources are
  available?
• What regulatory changes are required?

Issues
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Proposed Research

• Researchers work with industry, enforcement, and
  motor vehicle administrators.
• Identify and explore operational, security,
  performance, and standards issues and options.
• Test technology alternatives and make
  recommendations about potential deployment.
• As practical, investigate solutions that
  integrate with and build on tested and deployed
  technologies and existing databases. Assess
  technical and operational impacts if multiple
  devices are installed on a single vehicle and/or
  at a single site.
• Determine how to specify the RFID device,
  probably in 49 CFR 390.21 (marking regulation).

Proposed research
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Proposed Research (page 2)

• Determine how to issue RFID devices.
• Prototype changes to and interfaces with SAFER.
• Analyze costs and benefits.
• Plan for deployment. Assess potential migration
  paths and deployment choices.
• Describe standardized solutions, to reduce costs.
• Identify regulatory changes required, if any.

Proposed research
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Summary of Impacts

• If implemented, Universal Identification will
  mean
• Every vehicle is equipped with a device that
  enables automatic, electronic identification.
• Enforcement agencies can consider enhancing their
  enforcement and compliance systems to handle more
  sophisticated and frequent assessments using
  reliable identification of every carrier and
  vehicle on the road. May also require adjustment
  of enforcement resources.
• Improved efficiency and effectiveness of
  enforcement operations.
• A more level playing field for motor carriers.

Summary of impacts
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Comments and Questions?

• Feedback is welcome. Please provide to
  Valerie.Barnes_at_jhuapl.edu or 717-352-0131 and/or
• Joe Crabtree crabtree_at_engr.uky.edu or
  859-257-4508.