To control and organize the data coming from the different WSNs, the pilots will use specific software developed in the frame of the project.
Traceability operations to be deployed in the pilots are complex and involve always more than one reading point, several locations, and several business events and dispositions. All the pilots will define more than one transaction during the processes.
All pilots will develop an information model based on a EPCIS repository for traceability information, plus additional databases for wireless sensor networks data collection and for specific data required by the business processes and regulations of the companies involved in the pilots.
For the management of the EPCIS repository, Fosstrack will be used by all pilots and the Aspire middleware will be adopted to manage all reading points, business events and dispositions.
The EPCnetwork protocols adopted by EPCglobal are the standard for the current cryptographic techniques used within the enterprise and a multi-layered security built into the RFID middleware layer will be used to prevent unauthorized access. The Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is used to authenticate the handshake between the tag and the reader, and RFID middleware is used to authenticate the handshake between the reader and the network.

The Electronic Product Code (EPC) is the unique number encoded in the RFID tag. The EPC Network captures and makes available (via Internet and for authorized requests) other information pertaining to a given item.

The RFID middleware processes the streams of tag or sensor data (event data) coming from one or more reader devices.
It performs the filtering, aggregation, and counting of tag data, reducing the volume of data prior to sending it to enterprise applications, which are intended to address the unique computational requirements presented by EPC applications.
It is defined in terms of “Processing Modules,” or “Services,” each with a specific set of features that can be combined to meet the application needs, avoiding the creation of a single monolithic specification that attempts to satisfy all needs for everybody.

The EPC Information Service (EPCIS) makes EPC Network-related data available in Physical Mark-Up Language (PML) format to any requesting service. The data available through the EPC Information Service includes tag read data collected from RFID middleware (e.g., to assist with object tracking and tracing serial number granularity); instance-level data such as the date of manufacture, the expiry date, and so on; and object class-level data such as product catalog information. When responding to requests, the EPC Information Service draws on a variety of data sources that exist within an enterprise, translating that data into PML format. When the EPC Information Service data is distributed across the supply chain, any industry can create an EPC Access Registry to act as a repository for EPC Information Service interface descriptions.

The Object Name Service (ONS) provides a global lookup service for translating an EPC into one or more Internet Uniform Reference Locators (URLs). These URLs identify with EPC Information Service; however, ONS may also be used to associate EPCs with Web sites and other Internet resources relevant to an object.
ONS provides both static and dynamic services. Static ONS typically provides URLs for information maintained by an object’s manufacturer. Dynamic ONS records a sequence of custodians as an object moves through a supply chain.

 

Farm2Fork RESTful webservices
REST (Representational State Transfer) is a simple webservice architecture leveraging on existing features of the HTTP protocol and accessible by a standard web browser.

Within Farm2Fork two RESTful webservices will be defined:

• Sensor Service – this allows sensors to upload samples (temperature, GPS position, etc.) to a database in a consistent way and a client to easily retrieve this data. This service manage sensors' event based on their timestamp and sensors' URIs – allowing to link sensors readings (for example the temperature in a fridge) with RFID events (a food product placed or retrieved from the fridge at a particular time). This allows compatible sensors reading (for example temperature in a storage warehouse and temperature in a delivery van) to be concatenated to provide information such as “temperature along the supply chain”.
• Identity Service – this allows the management of EPC URIs'data (locations, manufacturers, products, items, assets, etc); the structure is compatible with the EPCGlobal specification, fully hierarchical, and it is organised as a multi-root tree. Definitions can be associated with every node in the tree (not just with leaves) like the product name (e.g.:“blue fin tuna”), an image or other complex data like a delivery address.  The identity service supports localisation, so that all the values can be uploaded with a language tag attached.

The base URL for these services will be http://farmtofork.eu for all pilots.