Case Study | Accelerated refueling of a bus fleet with RFID

Time lost at the biogas filling station

The public transport operator uses methane (LNG and CNG) as fuel for its bus fleet. With this alternative energy, greenhouse emissions can be significantly reduced and climate protection targets achieved more quickly. Until now, drivers have used plastic cards at filling stations to authenticate their vehicles when refueling their buses. However, in the everyday lives of bus drivers, these cards proved to be less stable for identification between the bus and the filling station. The manually triggered process did not always run smoothly and often led to an unexpectedly long wait at the "petrol pump".

Automated fast identification with RFID

The old card system had to be replaced in order to return the vehicles to traffic more quickly. This was because the process, which was manually triggered by the driver, had a significant weakness: It did not provide a fast, automatic connection between the bus and the filling station when the bus pulled in and was also faulty. KATHREIN's partner Maser Italia, which has long and extensive experience in the automation of filling stations, was commissioned to design a complete solution for the automated identification of vehicles at the filling stations.

Challenge: Finding the right RFID tag

When choosing the optimal RFID tag, Maser Italia had to ensure that the identification functioned in the vicinity of the filling station. For this reason, RFID windshield labels attached to the windshield were ruled out. The only option was therefore an RFID tag that could be attached to the side of the bus and was robust enough to function smoothly in all weathers.

The hardware set-up

KATHREIN recommended the KATHREIN Reader ARU 3500 with integrated antenna for easy installation to its partner for this special environment. After a short evaluation phase in the test laboratory at Maser Italia, the implementation could begin. This special KATHREIN reader also offers the option of recording all the required data directly. Using the KATHREIN TagBlower app software, tags can also be read asynchronously and messages can be generated when a tag enters or leaves the reading field. An additional external antenna, the KATHREIN WRA 7070, was also used. A traffic light system controlled by the KATHREIN reader simultaneously informs the driver that his vehicle has been successfully detected at the filling station.

         

Illustrations: The RFID readers were mounted directly above the fuel pump facing downwards, thus enabling precise and automatic vehicle identification. This led to a significant acceleration of the refueling process and provided data on refueling frequency and energy costs for controlling purposes.

Reading Points: Detection of incoming buses

RFID reading points are set up at each filling station to ensure that the vehicle is detected quickly as soon as the buses arrive. The antennas are positioned downwards and aligned in such a way that an optimum detection result is achieved. Maser Italia is working closely with the KATHREIN support team to fine-tune these antennas and during the subsequent go-live phase of the project. The central data acquisition is carried out at Maser Italia in the KATHREIN TagBlower app.

Project success at a glance

The implementation of a complete RFID solution helped to speed up the refueling process considerably. In addition, there is now an exact identification between the bus and the refueling station, i.e. Maser can provide exact data on energy costs, refueling frequency, etc. for controlling purposes. There were also technical advantages to using passive RFID tags, which proved to be more efficient than active tags in this project. They are cheaper to purchase and there is no need to change batteries. As part of the KATHREIN Partner Program, everyone involved was able to benefit from the collaboration. The Italian customer with its fleet of buses was able to communicate its requirements directly and easily to the local system integrator Maser. The German KATHREIN team provided support in the selection of suitable RFID hardware as well as in roll-out and support. In the course of the European energy transition, this project could also be a good and technically interesting role model for other transport companies.

 

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Case Study | Public transport companies - Accelerated refueling process with RFID