ODIN Technologies announced a new cargo container tracking solution that combines RFID with satellite tracking to improve cargo security and visibility.

Using technology to make international cargo shipments more secure is an idea supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and a number of technology vendors and security experts, but smart containers have yet to gain traction among shippers and container companies outside of the Department of Defense's Total Asset Visibility (TAV) program.

According to ABI Research the market for active RFID and RTLS cargo container tracking and security solutions will grow at a 19.2% compound annual growth rate to $386.3 million in 2014.

"A key challenge is that there are still too few government security mandates on container tracking," said Mike Liard, ABI Research director, in a report issued last year. "The security aspects of container tracking are the hardest to quantify, but mandates do help drive markets, and they can help provide some guidance around technology selection."

ODIN's SMART Container solution is a "self-inventorying" system that provides detailed visibility of items inside a container using passive UHF RFID, and can transmit that item-level data to any ERP system via satellite, cellular and active RFID communications systems.

Initially developed for the DoD as part of its mandate to suppliers to begin tagging items with passive RFID tags, the system allow users to locate track and assess the status of critical military materials. The container automatically reads the tagged items from suppliers as they are loaded or unloaded from shipping containers of various sizes and configurations. Users can access inventory data from any location via the Web.

According to the company, existing containers can be easily retrofitted with the SMART Container technology. The U.S. Navy is currently using the system.

"The SMART Container is ... the first solution that not only closes the biggest gap in the supply chain, but is deployable and configurable in under a minute," said Patrick Sweeney, founder of ODIN. "Always knowing not only the location, but the contents of military containers down to the unit level at any point in transit is a major breakthrough in supply chain management for military and defense, and other industries that are soon to follow."

Attend the Asset Management Conference, September 9-10 in Orlando, Fla., to hear about Total Asset Visibility -- one of the many sessions offered. For more information on the Conference, visit www.AssetConference.com.