System and method for intermodal facility management
An intermodal facility management system for facilitating delivery, pickup, facility access, and cargo management is presented. The system can receive data from clients within proximity of one or more wireless beacons. The system can capture data from clients that ingress or egress into or out of a facility, respectively, and validate received data with the captured data. The system can enable cargo transfer optimization by forecasting client arrival times to particular destination locations, and the forecasting can account for access point delays, such as can be due to an authentication process. The system can provide a measure of redundancy in ensuring that particular cargo is being sent to proper locations, and the system can further prompt facility personnel to ensure that cargo is accessible and ready for dispatch upon arrival of any given client.
1 . A system for managing cargo in a facility, comprising:
a plurality of wireless beacons disposed proximate an intermodal facility, the wireless beacons configured to facilitate communication between a client and the system, wherein the plurality of wireless beacons can triangulate locations of clients or other components;
a memory having machine-readable instructions to perform program steps; and
a networked computer processor operably coupled to the memory and capable of executing the machine-readable instructions to perform program steps, the program steps including:
detecting a client via at least one wireless beacon disposed proximate an access point;
receiving, via the at least one wireless beacon, positional data;
receiving identification information;
determining an expected time of arrival of the client;
transmitting the expected time of arrival;
determining a cargo allocated to the client;
identifying a cargo location;
if the cargo is not accessible:
determining an alternate zone; and
generating, via the networked computer processor, and transmitting a prompt to a client associated with a cargo handling apparatus to initiate a physical relocation of the cargo to the alternate zone;
if the cargo is physically relocated, updating the cargo location and transmitting the cargo location;
if the client satisfies a proximity threshold, authenticating, by the networked computer processor, the client, the identification information, or both; and
if the client, the identification information, or both are authenticated, automatically operate, by the networked computer processor, at least one access control barrier to de-obstruct the access point of the intermodal facility to allow the client to enter the intermodal facility.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the program steps further include:
determining at least one path to the cargo location;
receiving positional data points of the client as the client moves; and
comparing the positional data points to the at least one path.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the program steps further include:
if the positional data points do not conform to the at least one path:
generating a directional prompt.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the program steps further include:
receiving motion data of the client;
calculating, via the processor, an expected time until approach using the positional data and the motion data; and
using the expected time until approach, the average access point delay, and the location of the client in determining the expected time of arrival.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the program steps further include:
if the client, the identification information, or both are not authenticated, generating, by the networked computer processor, an alert to notify one or more of personnel, clients, a facility, and other components of the system for managing cargo in a facility that the client, the identification information, or both are not authenticated.
6 . The system of claim 2 , wherein at least one wireless beacon is used in generating the positional data points.
7 . A method of managing cargo in a facility, comprising:
detecting a client via at least one of a plurality of wireless beacons disposed proximate an intermodal facility access point, the wireless beacons configured to provide communication between the client and a processor, wherein the plurality of wireless beacons can triangulate locations of clients or other components;
receiving, via the at least one wireless beacon, positional data;
receiving identification information;
determining an expected time of arrival of the client;
transmitting the expected time of arrival;
determining a cargo allocated to the client;
identifying a cargo location;
if the cargo is not accessible:
determining an alternate zone; and
generating, via the processor, and transmitting a prompt to a client associated with a cargo handling apparatus to initiate a physical relocation of the cargo to the alternate zone;
if the cargo is physically relocated, updating the cargo location and transmitting the cargo location;
if the client satisfies a proximity threshold, authenticating, by the networked computer processor, the client, the identification information, or both; and
if the client, the identification information, or both are authenticated, automatically operate, by the networked computer processor, at least one access control barrier to de-obstruct the access point of the intermodal facility to allow the client to enter the intermodal facility.
8 . The system of claim 7 , further comprising:
determining at least one path to the cargo location;
receiving positional data points of the client as the client moves; and
comparing the positional data points to the at least one path.
9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
if the positional data points do not conform to the at least one path:
generating a directional prompt.
10 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
receiving motion data of the client;
calculating, via the processor, an expected time until approach using the positional data and the motion data; and
using the expected time until approach, the average access point delay, and the location of the client in determining the expected time of arrival.
11 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
if the client, the identification information, or both are not authenticated, generating, by the networked computer processor, an alert to notify one or more of personnel, clients, a facility, and other components of the system for managing cargo in a facility that the client, the identification information, or both are not authenticated.
12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein at least one wireless beacon is used in generating the positional data points.