A novel integrated platform for the monitoring of cold supply chains via IoT, fuzzy logic and adaptive neyro fuzzy inference systems

Abstract

In this paper we deal with the efficient management and life cycle of aquatic products as their cold supply chain is directly affected by their transport under various climate conditions, their consumption and their ad-hoc demand in the domestic predominant market. Our primary concern is the adaptation of necessary procedures in order to guarantee efficient traceability of these products via appropriate tracking and monitoring mechanisms that handle the quality of the products. Furthermore, we are interested in the synergy of the fundamental links in the cold supply chain and how an overlooking wireless web service can manage the just-on-time inventory of wholesale locations which provide at the final destination consumers with fresh and healthy aquatic products. For the aforementioned reasons we propose in this work an integrated online platform equipped by distributed servers which store databases and services, a set of accessible smart devices that help in the monitoring process, a well-defined and responsive Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) that incorporates a variety of sensors via an Arduino platform and a dynamic Product Status RFID system used to uniquely identify every transport package informing for their current status and conditions. The proposed system complies with the EC legislation and bylaws regarding the consumer health, appropriate quality of aquatic products when they are transported and the sustainability of cold supply chain markets. The proposed platform is also equipped with a Decision Support System (DSS) based on soft computing methodologies that is able to predict the quantities of fisheries that need to arrive at certain locations satisfying the temperature conditions which guarantee product freshness. More specifically, the system is based on Fuzzy Logic (FL) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) that try to minimize the waiting time of aquatic products in the intermediate locations of the path from origin to destination.