Field tests
The first stage of field tests of the scope container / bananas takes place between December 2011 and February 2012.
The tests are carried out at the banana ripening facility in Stelle near Hamburg. Our modified test container is filled with 16 tons of bananas and up to 180 sensors. Each test run lasts for five days.
The objective of the experiments is to test the reliability of communications, computing unit, and several sensor systems under conditions similar to those found along the typical supply chain of bananas.
The applied sensor systems from diverse manufacturers use different protocols and either 2.4 GHz wireless communication or RFID based standards.
At the same time a spatial temperature profile of the container should be captured in order to analyze the effects of packing mistakes and gaps between the pallets. This task is supported by additional measurements of air flow.
After completion of the experiments in Hamburg the system will be permanently installed in the container and related experiments during maritime transport are expected to start in summer 2012.