MED.I.T.A.
The Port of Livorno and the Guasticce region of Tuscany have launched an experimental “Cargo Community System” which, using low-cost technologies such as “passive R-FID UHF” can speed up the process of access control and acquisition of cargo data. The aforementioned project focuses on the transfer of technology from the “iTPass” system, already tested and verified by Interporto Toscano: thanks to this system it is possible to know the flow of goods with specific details about the origin/destination of each vehicle, the typology and the quantities transported by individual operators. The “iTPass” system provides a valuable tool for automatic access control (passenger and freight) and is able to monitor goods and vehicles passing through Interporto Toscano. This data is hosted on a web portal.
The project aims to implement, through technology transfer, a “Cargo Community System” that will be able to overcome territorial limitations by creating a single system and common procedures. Using low-cost “passive R-FID UHF tags” will ensure security and data exchange for all means of transport along the network.

The aim of the MED.I.T.A. project is to.
Taking into account the previous assumptions, the objectives of the MED.I.T.A. project are the following:
- expanding and strengthening the communication network in the Mediterranean region
- guaranteeing the performance of the network by developing a monitoring system for land and maritime traffic using innovative technologies and automated control procedures. Such a system will make it possible to improve the links between the various stakeholders and ensure, through the tracking of goods, a better level of security
- the use of low-cost technologies to ensure maximum diffusion of the system
- the development of an ad hoc data acquisition process enables the management and control of the large amount of data that can be generated by such a transmission system
The “detection technologies” will be selected according to the “environmental context”:
- R-FID UHF systems for urban areas, ports and inland terminals
- an online platform for the exchange of information between MED.I.T.A. project members.
To control the process, the “central” action will be represented by a Certification Authority (hereafter C.A.) in charge of validating the R-FID label.
Advantages
The carriers
Thanks to the automatic gates and the R-FID UHF identification system, carriers will, for example, reduce access time and generally reduce all load control operations.
Terminal operators
The R-FID UHF system allows the origin and destination of each vehicle to be known. This information will be useful for the terminal operator in order to:
- optimise the scheduling of goods
- improve the control system
The diffuse presence of gates on the electronic platform (each operator can have a variable number of gates depending on the number of entry/exit points) will allow the position of operators within the system itself to be monitored in terms of macro-areas. Procedures will also be provided for updating travel time (for example) between different ports or land terminals or for the time needed for specific operations at a single hub (port or land terminal).
The C.A. will upload the characteristics of the vehicles and goods being transported into the system. This information will be repeated for each server. With this approach each partner will be able to upload or download data on traffic flow and then be able to know the status of the system at different time horizons.
Thus, an important result will be a large database containing a lot of useful information to organise a better management of the project: this data is often unknown or difficult to estimate. The system will then be able to support users in the fields of finance and transport.

