China’s inland and maritime rivers and canals are now part of the Internet of Things. The Chinese maritime authority has outfitted cargo and passenger ships with RFID chips and has placed RFID readers at strategic locations.
Now, keeping track of the identify of ships, their speed and what they carry is automated, at least for a segment of the populous country’s water traffic. Almost all waterways Grade IV and higher have been equipped, according to the People’s Daily.
The Maritime Safety Administration of China made this announcement recently, explaining that the tags use the Automatic Identification System, a maritime Internet of Things platform designed to track waterborne traffic.
The Maritime Safety Administration asserts that China will have 134,000 ships carrying the Automatic Identification System by July of next year.
Li River photo by Misquitos | other sources A Smarter Planet