The MERIT Middleware: A Platform for Interoperable RFID-based Systems for Access Control and Monitoring in Marine Transportations

RFID-based access control and monitoring systems are already widely spread, with multiple applications of varying complexity, from asset monitoring gates to stores, to access control gates in premises with multiple security requirements, up to complex interconnected information systems integrating RFID/NFC ticketing and mass e-transportation solutions. Marine transportations, is a domain which appears to pose multiple requirements, leading in turn to the need of exploiting heterogeneous RFID technologies and systems in order to achieve integrated solutions to increase the level of security and safety for passengers, vehicles and unattended luggage or goods. This paper describes the realization of a light-weight middleware platform capable to be integrated in mid and low-end embedded devices, abstracting the complexity of standardized interfaces and protocols of different RFID programmers and readers.