Research and Development in Material Handling Engineering and Systems

Air cargo chain security is an integral part of air traffic security. Approximately 70% of air cargo is transported in passenger airliners. Air cargo chain security against tampering may not interfere with logistical operations, though.

Expanded Security in the Air Cargo Chain (ESecLog)

The objective of the project ESecLog is to develop a cargo fingerprint information system that inalterably identifies and verifies air cargo. Systematic verification of cargo features at different points in the air cargo chain makes it possible to detect tampering at an early stage.

The cargo fingerprint information system is intended to eliminate repeated and time-consuming inspection of air cargo by x-ray scanning and manual inspections, as long as the features of inspected cargo have not changed in the air cargo chain. Thus, the ESecLog solution will reduce the labor inspection requires and integrate inspection in logistics operations while simultaneously increasing security in the air cargo chain.

The project will run for three years (5/2013–4/2016) and is being supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Project Reference Number: 13N12640).