A scalable communication middleware for real-time data collection of dangerous goods vehicle activities

Recently, real-time monitoring of Dangerous Goods Transport has drawn a lot of attention, thanks to its capability to provide a better visibility on dynamically moving vehicles, particularly through a Web Mapping application. Yet, one of the challenges to be faced designing such a system is an effective architecture for real-time collection of telemetry and event data conveyed by the vehicle on-board system, such the Global Positioning System coordinates. In this paper, we have focused on optimizing the process for managing a large quantity of data transmitted via network sockets that use the Transmission Control Protocol. Then we prove the process efficiency through performance and scalability tests. The middleware is being implemented as a part of a project that aims to monitor the Italian petrochemical company Eni's oil trucks shipment along Europe and USA territories. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.