The interrogators, or readers, are being developed for multiple funded programs addressing military logistics, homeland security and commercial transportation applications.

The readers are designed to track military assets in both hostile and non-hostile environments and to monitor the location and physical integrity of intermodal cargo containers. The programs being supported under this collaborative effort include:

- CFAST: The Collaborative Force-Building Analysis, Sustainment and Transportation (CFAST) system is an advanced military information portal being funded by the US Department of Defense.

This system is intended to enhance military decision making by enabling the sharing and collaborative use of advanced operations, intelligence, logistics and personnel planning information.

Secure active RFID technologies are expected to facilitate the delivery of real-time logistics and personnel planning information for the CFAST system. More information on the CFAST program can be found at www.defensesystemsgroup.com;

- NEMAS: The NGA Emergency Management and Accountability System (NEMAS) is being developed by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) with the objective of monitoring and tracking critical first responders during emergency situations.

Secure active radio frequency identification tags and interrogators will constitute key elements of the NEMAS system.

- MTS: The Marine Transportation System (MTS) is an intermodal asset security monitoring and tracking system being developed by Navigational Sciences in conjunction with ORNL.

The MTS is designed to provide logistics companies with the ability to track the location and physical integrity of marine cargo containers anywhere in the world. The MTS is also expected to support homeland security objectives by ensuring that sealed intermodal containers are not compromised during transport.

The active RFID interrogators being developed with ORNL will incorporate the Software Communications Architecture (SCA) to allow them to interoperate with Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) communications devices.

The readers will support multi-waveform operation including the support of complex waveforms designed to optimize the use of available frequency spectrum and to prevent the jamming and spoofing of security-sensitive RFID signals.

"One of ORNL's main objectives is to enable total asset visibility (TAV) across the US armed forces and emergency first responders through the use of multi-function RFID readers and innovative sensor technologies," stated Mark Buckner, Senior Program Manager at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

"To achieve TAV in as short a timeframe as possible, we are employing advanced, commercially available products and technologies. Spectrum provides us with proven software defined radio solutions along with the SCA know-how critical to ensure that our systems are interoperable with JTRS platforms."

"Our relationship with ORNL originated with the sale of an SDR-3000 system in July of this year," stated James P. Atkins, President of Spectrum Signal Processing (USA).

"Today we are engaged in a comprehensive, co-development effort with ORNL to advance the state-of-the-art in active RFID. Our software defined radio expertise, SCA knowledge and secure waveform experience are proving invaluable in this regard."

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