Advantages of Sub-GHz Communication in Food Logistics and DASH7 Implementation

Abstract

The benefits of remote monitoring of perishable food items in transport and storage of a cool chain have been established and much talked about in the past decade. In order to convey the measured parametric data over for processing, wireless sensor networks are used, mostly in 2.4 GHz communication range, but it suffers from high signal attenuation in environments with high water content. This paper analyzes the possibility of wireless communication in 433 MHz and its lower sensitivity to water containing environments by means of a case study in an apple storage warehouse. The experiment shows near conformity to a previously implemented theoretical model of signal attenuation, the only error being due to ca. 10 % more water in apples compared to bananas. Second, the papers focuses on practical experiments with the focus on the DASH7 protocol, which is dedicated to sub-GHz communication, the OSS-7 software stack, and a multi-sensor, small-footprint hardware platform.