Smart transport and logistics: A Node-RED implementation

Abstract

A clever and efficient management of transport and logistics are fundamental in manufacturer companies, starting to adopt new methodologies, inspired to the emerging industry 4.0 principles. Such a behavior is influenced by the spreading of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm, helping to automate a lot of features, if not all, of products’ management, from raw materials’ purchase order to the final delivery to customers. Small and medium industries must face design issues and noncustomized solutions may not fit with their habitual data flow. Hence, the need of a tool, able to support designers and developers in defining the network architecture and messages’ exchange, emerges. To this end, the use of Node-RED, a flow-based programming tool for the IoT, is proposed, by providing a comprehensive case study targeted to smart transport and logistics.