German venture studio Next Big Thing AG (NBT) has launched the Prometheus internet of things (IoT) sensor-based development platform designed to simplify prototyping and speed time-to-market for developers of cellular IoT- and cloud-based solutions.
The Prometheus platform is powered by Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF9160 low-power system-in-package (SiP) with integrated LTE-M/NB-IoT modem and GNSS. The platform supports development across a wide range of industrial applications including the manufacturing, pharmaceutical and logistics sectors.
The nRF9160 SiP’s 64-MHz Arm Cortex-M33 dedicated application processor provides sufficient computational power to not only supervise the LTE-M/NB-IoT modem’s cellular connectivity, but also all other product functionality. The SiP’s 1MB Flash and 256kB RAM supports fast response and complex application software.
In addition to the Nordic SiP, the CE-certified development platform features a wide range of sensors and interfaces, a stable embedded software stack, fully encrypted communication, mesh connectivity for short-range communication, automatic switching between NB-IoT and LTE-M cellular IoT connectivity, and advanced provisioning tools. The solution is optimized for low power consumption and provides an industrial temperature range of –40 to +85° C.
NBT’s IoT development platform comprises two main components:
the hardware and embedded software platform (Prometheus)
the cloud-based software platform (NBT software platform).
The standard configuration of Prometheus consists of a range of sensors, for example a temperature sensor (analog and digital), accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope, air quality sensor, ambient light sensor and humidity sensor.
The extended version of Prometheus also includes Nordic’s nRF52832 Bluetooth 5.2/Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) general purpose multiprotocol system-on-chip (SoC) to provide support for Bluetooth LE connectivity, as well as USB, GPS, radar, an adjustable antenna tuner and extended temperature range.
Quectel Wireless Solutions has launched the SG865W-WF, a new generation of flagship Android smart module. The module is equipped with Qualcomm’s QCS8250 system-on-chip (SoC), which offers powerful performance and rich multimedia functions to meet industrial and consumer artificial intelligence IoT (AIoT) scenarios.
Quectel made the announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) taking place this week in Las Vegas.
With various peripheral interfaces such as dual USB, multiple PCIe and UART, the product can seamlessly integrate with cellular and GNSS modules such as Quectel’s EC20 LTE module, and the RG500Q 5G module, allowing customer terminals to be connected flexibly to 4G/5G networks and achieve faster and more accurate positioning.
The SG865W-WF module will accelerate the efficient deployment of high-end AIoT applications such as video conferencing, cloud gaming, digital signage, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), robots and smart retail.
Danalto was visited by Ireland’s Minister Damien English upon the announcement of an ESA contract. (From left) English, Mary Kathryn Midgett (danalto), Tom Kelly (Enterprise Ireland) and David McDonald (danalto). (Photo: danalto)
Dublin-based danalto Ltd., has won a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to demonstrate low-infrastructure indoor location technologies that complement GNSS, particularly Galileo. ESA seeks to improve this European capability in order to enable impactful, societal use cases, thus prompting its call for this investigation, assessment, and demonstration by danalto.
Danalto is a internet of things (IoT) software company specializing in positioning and spatial intelligence technologies. It has extensive experience in positioning intelligence with its FiLo, a LoRa 2.4 GHz-enabled solution known for both its low power and low infrastructure requirements.
During the 18-month contract, danalto will determine the best positioning technology, system algorithms and deployment aspects across a range of location accuracies. This will be done by critically analyzing both classic (observables-based) and disruptive (signal-based) positioning techniques, culminating in a hybrid combination technology solution.
The resulting solution will support use cases across multiple industries — including healthcare, logistics and emergency services — and will accelerate the increased adoption of location positioning solutions within the European market and beyond. The trajectory of this project aligns with danalto’s progression plan for next generation positioning solutions, which will be brought to market for commercial use in 2022.
On Oct. 27, danalto was visited by Minister Damien English and Enterprise Ireland for a briefing on FiLo’s progress to date and plans moving forward aligned with ESA and beyond.
Quectel Wireless Solutions, a supplier of IoT modules and antennas, and Point One Navigation, a provider in precision location technology, have announced the LG69T-AM, the latest addition to the LG69T GNSS Module Series. Point One’s positioning engine powers the LG69T-AM and enables centimeter-level global accuracy by integrating augmented GNSS in a module with open-source API.
The LG69T-AM GNSS module features STMicroelectronics’ Teseo V dual-band L1/L5 positioning receiver platform with 80 tracking and four fast acquisition channels compatible with GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS and NAVIC.
The LG69T-AM leverages Point One’s RTK and SSR technology for centimeter-level accuracy and ultra-fast convergence time. It is designed for easy integration with minimal e-BOM modification and is well-suited for mass market adoption without the need for an expensive external co-processor. Due to its small package size, light weight, and excellent power consumption, it is ideal for applications such as robotics and precision agriculture.
Embedded in the LG69T-AM is Point One’s FusionEngine and its Polaris correction service client. FusionEngine is compatible with standards-based corrections services including those based on RTCM.
Polaris is Point One’s own GNSS correction service that unlocks better than 10cm absolute accuracy with a coast-to-coast footprint in the United States and coverage across Europe. It offers a variety of connectivity options including delivery over cellular and L-band. The network is purpose-built for precision agriculture customers and includes advanced anti-jam, interference mitigation, end to end security and automatic integrity monitoring unmatched by any other provider.
OQ’s dual-mode satellite-cellular IoT terminal can collect data from more than 1,000 sensors, has built-in GPS, and supports 5G NB-IoT, GSM, LTE-M and bi-directional satellite links. (Photo: OQ Technology)
5G satellite operator OQ Technology has successfully completed the in-orbit commissioning (IOC) of its Tiger-2 nanosatellite, and is ready to begin customer demonstrations. The company will start commercial services for “latency-tolerant” low-power devices in 2022.
OQ Technology started the IOC phase on Aug. 15, conducting operations to verify the performance of the satellite’s payload, which worked flawlessly on both uplink and downlink.
OQ also tested and calibrated its terminals in different fixed and mobile environments in the desert and for indoor usage. During tests, OQ was able to send the terminal’s location, as determined by its internal GPS receiver, to the satellite from inside a fast-moving car without having a direct line of sight to the sky.
When buried in desert sand, the terminal still sent signals to the satellite, making it suitable for many agricultural applications.
Over the next few years, OQ Technology is planning to launch a constellation of 72 satellites, providing 5G internet of things (IoT) and machine-to-machine communication. Its “cell-tower inside the satellite” technology is designed to provide real-time global connectivity with reliable low latency communication.
New Inmarsat research reveals a rapid increase in levels of industrial IoT maturity in 2021, with agricultural businesses accelerating IoT adoption in response to COVID-19
Research by Inmarsat, a global mobile satellite communications company, reveals a rapid increase in the maturity level of the industrial internet of things (IoT) across the agricultural sector since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 86% of ag business accelerating or intending to accelerate deployment.
Respondents in the report, “Industrial IoT in the Time of COVID-19,” include crop producers, OEMs, service providers and livestock businesses, who report that COVID-19 demonstrated the importance of IoT to their businesses.
According to the research, adoption has seen huge progress from 2020 to 2021, with automation and cost savings the greatest drivers. Four-fifths (80%) of agricultural respondents have now fully deployed at least one IoT project, with 53% having achieved this in the 12-month period from the second quarter of 2020. Of the remaining 20% of agricultural respondents that have not yet adopted IoT in any form, all of them are either currently trialing it, or plan to deploy or trial at least one IoT project in the next two years.
Chart: Inmarsat
A further 86% of agricultural respondents indicated they have or they intend to accelerate the adoption of IoT in response to challenges related to COVID-19. This figure includes 46% who have already accelerated IoT adoption to respond to COVID-19, versus 29% who will accelerate over the next 12 months and 11% who will accelerate beyond the next 12 months.
The 46% that have already accelerated IoT adoption are less likely to state that COVID-19 has negatively impacted their ability to operate, demonstrating a link between IoT and business continuity during the pandemic. Additionally, more than half (60%) of respondents in the sector indicated that business and operational challenges related to COVID-19 have underlined the importance of IoT.
“We have seen agricultural producers take on more and more solutions that allow them to operate remotely, from autonomous irrigation control to the latest precision farming technologies, demonstrating increased faith in the technology,” said Steven Tompkins, Director of Market Development at Inmarsat.
As part of the research, Inmarsat is offering businesses the opportunity to measure their IoT readiness compared to the respondents in the survey, using their free IoT maturity tool.
Telit has launched the SE150A4 system-on-module series with an embedded multi-constellation GNSS (GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS and Galileo) receiver for high-performance positioning and navigation.
The SE150A4 module is designed for retail and point-of-service (POS) devices, home automation and security, law enforcement and other applications that need high data rates, advanced human-machine interfaces and edge-computing functionality. It features the Android OS and the Qualcomm QCM2150, and is designed to serve internet of things (IoT) device makers and customers.
With LTE Category 4 for maximum data rates of up to 150 Mbps downlink and 50 Mbps uplink, the SE150A4 series is designed for bandwidth-intensive applications such as live, high-definition (1080p/30 fps) video from law enforcement cameras, home security systems and robots. Along with GNSS, Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 4.2 provide additional connection flexibility.
The SE150A4 series provides native support for integrated peripherals such as high-resolution touch displays, advanced cameras, sensors and audio interfaces, as well as SDIO 3.0, USB 2.0, UART, SPI and I2C digital interfaces. Android OS gives device OEMs, systems designers and other users access to a vast developer community and broad selection of tools and ready-to-use software components.
The modules are available in two versions.
The SE150A4-NA for North America supports 13 LTE bands, including Band 14 for AT&T FirstNet Band and Bands 66 and 71 for T-Mobile, as well as 3G fallback.
The SE150A4-EU for Europe and the rest of the world supports Band 28 and nine additional LTE bands, as well as 2G/3G fallback.
At 40.5 x 40.5 mm, the LCC +LGA form factor allows easy integration in portable, wearable and handheld devices, including mobile point-of-sale terminals, medical monitors, industrial PDAs and telematics cameras. The modules are also suitable for fixed applications such as smart-home gateways and alarm systems.
Mowi is an open-source reference design for Septentrio’s highly accurate GNSS module mosaic. It offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth communication, which can easily be programmed for custom applications.
Septentrio, a manufacturer of high-precision GNSS positioning solutions, has added to its open-source resources for GPS/GNSS module receivers with mosaic wireless, which it calls mowi.
Mowi combines the Septentrio mosaic-X5 or mosaic-H module receiver with a dual-mode Bluetooth and integrated Wi-Fi from the well-known ESP32-WROVER programmable module by Espressif Systems. It is an addition to the already existing mosaicHAT board, designed on the Raspberry Pi platform.
“We are excited about the mowi project being part of the GitHub and prototyping community,” said Gustavo Lopez, market access manager at Septentrio. “The project is available as open-source, thus empowering the community to easily fit autonomous or robotic systems with communication and highly accurate and reliable GNSS positioning technology. Mowi empowers the native Ethernet features of the mosaic module, the perfect tool for fast prototyping and developing proof-of-concept projects in a simple and connected way.”
The mowi project facilitates accurate and reliable GNSS positioning for robotic and autonomous devices, on a hardware level. Numerous engineers today use the ESP32 and the multiple libraries available for internet-of-things (IoT) prototyping. The mowi board is an easy way for integrators to get started with Septentrio’s mosaic-X5 or mosaic-H heading module receivers.
The mowi board can be used on its own or plugged into a mobile computer such as Raspberry Pi or Arduino to deliver high-accuracy positioning with high update rates, suitable for machine navigation, monitoring or control. The internet connection via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth enables numerous industrial IoT applications, simplifying the connectivity to mobile data for the delivery of GNSS corrections needed for centimeter-level RTK positioning.
On top of the wireless communication, the 47.5 x 70 mm board can host IoT applications in its internal memory. It has onboard logging and exposes interfaces such as USB, serial communication and general-purpose pins. The schematic’s reference design, PCB layout and documentation are openly available for prototyping or further customization.
Of the hundreds of papers researchers presented at the Institute of Navigation’s annual ION GNSS+ conference, which took place virtually Sept. 21–25, the following four focused on autonomous vehicle positioning for automobiles on city streets. The papers are available at www.ion.org/publications/browse.cfm.
Digital Maps with Tethered Positioning
The authors propose a new method for tight integration of digital map and dead-reckoning (DR) system (inertial measurement unit plus wheel odometer) to provide reliable navigation solutions in challenging GNSS environments for extended periods. Integrated DR and GNSS have been widely used as the backbone of any navigation system for the internet of things (IoT) and vehicle navigation applications. Dollar-level micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) inertial measurement units (IMUs) aided by vehicle-wheel odometers have been recently used as low-cost DR systems to bridge GNSS gaps in harsh environments, such as urban canyons, tunnels and under bridges.
However, DR drift errors rapidly increase over time and cannot satisfy most IoT and land-vehicle navigation requirements. Plus, the GNSS receiver may fail to provide accurate position or even experience a complete outage for more than 15 minutes, causing the tethered positioning error to reach several hundred meters. Because land vehicles are supposed to travel on roads, feedback from a digital map can be used to constrain their position.
The authors used a fuzzy-logic map-matching algorithm to identify the correct road segment on which the vehicle moves. A feedback filter senses a correct map-matched position as well as the road segment as measurement updates to the Kalman filter (KF) of the tethered positioning system. The proposed tight integration of digital maps and a DR system is evaluated using datasets collected by Profound Positioning Inc. in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Results show the proposed method has an average of 0.15% of relative horizontal position error for Calgary datasets — a considerable improvement over the tethered-solution-only with 3.3% of relative horizontal position error. The average azimuth error of the proposed system is 1.3 degrees, while the tethered positioning system shows an average azimuth error of 9.7 degrees.
Citation. Yashar Balazadegan Sarvrood, Haiyu Lan, Aboelmagd Noureldin, Naser El-Sheimy and Profound Positioning Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada. “Tight Integration of Digital Map and Tethered Positioning and Navigation Solution for IoT applications and Land Vehicles.”
5G Signals for Opportunistic Navigation
This paper presents a navigation framework in which 5G signals are used for navigation purposes in an opportunistic fashion. A carrier-aided code-based software-defined receiver (SDR) produces navigation observables from received downlink 5G signals. The SDR produces navigation observables from 5G signals and a navigation filter in which the observables are processed to estimate the user equipment’s position and velocity.
An experiment was conducted on a ground vehicle to assess the navigation performance of 5G signals. In the experiment, the vehicle-mounted receiver navigated using 5G signals from two 5G base stations (also known as gNodeBs, or gNBs) for 1.02 km in 100 seconds. The proposed 5G navigation framework demonstrated a position root-mean-squared error of 14.93 m, while listening to signals from only two gNBs.
Citation. Ali A. Abdallah, Kimia Shamaei and Zaher M. Kassas, “Assessing Real 5G Signals for Opportunistic Navigation.”
Using Low-Cost Onboard Sensors
For autonomous vehicles, accurate positioning must be ubiquitous — reliably available at all times and in all places in which the vehicle is expected to operate. While GNSS commonly provides the basis for absolute positioning, it suffers from the problem of availability whenever a direct view of enough satellites is not possible. To address this failure mode, additional complementary sensors can be added to the overall navigation solution through a technique known as sensor fusion. Sensors such as inertial measurement units (IMUs), cameras, lidars, radar and more can be selected in such a way that the individual shortcomings of each sensor are mitigated, and the overall robustness and reliability are improved.
Although current autonomous-vehicle applications employ sensor-fusion techniques, they tend to rely on high-performance sensors to meet the accuracy requirements. These high-performance sensors tend to induce a much higher cost burden than would be acceptable for commercial production, and therefore make mass autonomy too expensive.
This paper focuses on using the lower cost sensors already available on most modern vehicles. These include low-resolution odometry and consumer-grade IMUs currently used for dynamic stability control and wheel-slip detection. A novel approach for combining vehicle speed, steering angles, transmission settings and multiple odometry inputs is presented along with achievable results while operating under a GNSS-denied environment. The test trajectory mimics a typical parking structure with many corners and short, straight segments. The only a priori information required for the filter is the wheel track and wheelbase (separation distance of the wheels).
A 90% performance improvement compared to the stand-alone GNSS/INS solution was observed during GNSS outages of up to 30 minutes. Furthermore, up to a 50% improvement was observed when comparing the multi-odometry to the single-odometry outages during the same 30-minute outage condition. Beyond GNSS outage performance, this paper shows how the use of the extra input to the filter can improve the positioning system’s protection levels to allow for more frequent engagement of the autonomous navigation system.
Citation. Ryan Dixon, Michael Bobye, Brett Kruger and Jonathan Jacox, “GNSS/INS Sensor Fusion with On-Board Vehicle Sensors.”
Radar and INS/GNSS
An autonomous vehicle requires a ubiquitous, accurate, precise and reliable localization system. Many sensors can be used for positioning and navigation, each with its strengths and weaknesses. Inertial measurement units (IMU) are usually used to build inertial navigation systems (INS). INS can be accurate for short durations; however, an INS accumulates errors and loses its accuracy quickly, especially when using low-cost MEMS-based sensors. GNSS can provide an absolute position and velocity to update the INS over time. A barometer provides absolute elevation information, and an odometer provides a speed update.
An integrated navigation solution consisting of an IMU, a GNSS-RTK receiver and odometer can perform well in open-sky areas and on highways. This system can achieve lane-level accuracy most of the time based on the condition of the sensors and the quality of the measurements. However, in downtown and urban environments, the degradation, multipath and blockage of the GNSS signal leads to poor performance for such an integrated navigation system, which is challenged to maintain lane-level positioning.
This paper presents a version of AUTO (formerly known as Coursa Drive), a real-time integrated navigation system that provides an accurate, reliable, high-rate and continuous navigation solution for autonomous vehicles by integrating INS, RTK GNSS, odometer and radar sensors with TomTom’s HD Maps. AUTO performs a tight nonlinear integration of the radar data and maps with the INS/GNSS/odometer system.
Results demonstrate that radar measurements and HD Maps can be tightly integrated with INS/GNSS in an effective manner, such that the integrated system can provide a high-rate, accurate, reliable and robust navigation solution. This is a crucial requirement for realizing a fully autonomous vehicle that can operate in urban environments under a wide range of conditions, including adverse weather and lighting conditions, even in downtown areas with degraded or denied GNSS signals.
Citation. Abdelrahman Ali, Billy Chan, Amr Shebl Ahmed, Medhat Omr, Dylan Krupity, Qingli Wang, Amr Al-Hamad, Jacques Georgy and Christopher Goodall, “Tight Coupling Between Radar and INS/GNSS with AUTO Software for Accurate and Reliable Positioning for Autonomous Vehicles.”
DDK Positioning solutions use the Iridium satellite constellation to deliver 5-cm GNSS accuracy to industrial users of the internet of things (IoT).
Iridium Communications Inc. has made a strategic investment in DDK Positioning, an Aberdeen, Scotland-based provider of enhanced GNSS accuracy solutions.
DDK uses the Iridium network to provide global precision-positioning services that can augment GNSS constellations, including GPS and Galileo, to significantly enhance their accuracy for critical industrial applications.
DDK is developing similar services for other GNSS constellations, such as GLONASS and Beidou. Terms of the investment are not being disclosed.
Standard positioning accuracy through a system like GPS is typically within 10 meters; however, by using the Iridium network, DDK’s enhanced GPS accuracy service brings incredibly precise positioning of 5 cm or less. This advanced level of accuracy is suitable for autonomous vehicles such as UAVs, precision agriculture applications, offshore infrastructure projects such as wind-farm construction, automotive applications like driverless cars, as well as a host of construction, mining, surveying and IoT use cases.
Historically, there have been limited geostationary satellite provider options for this type of service, but they suffer from line-of-sight blockage issues and coverage limitations in and around Arctic and Antarctic regions.
“We are delighted to have embarked on this journey with such a strong and well-respected company as Iridium,” said Kevin Gaffney, CEO of DDK Positioning. “This partnership is a perfect fit for DDK Positioning. With Iridium’s satellite communications network and our GNSS solution, we are in a position to deliver a truly unique service which is robust, resilient and secure. The investment made by Iridium will also allow us to grow the company even further whilst expanding our service offering globally.”
According to a report published by the European GNSS Agency, augmentation services like those offered by DDK will account for $76.5 billion (€65 billion) in global GNSS market revenue by 2029, while the global GNSS downstream market, including services delivered and hardware devices, is estimated to reach $382 billion (€325 billion).
“We are impressed with the team that DDK has put together and see great potential for this technology and how it takes advantage of the Iridium network,” said Iridium CEO Matt Desch. “DDK’s enhanced positioning is a unique capability that adds a high-value solution on top of our existing portfolio of custom network services. Solutions from Iridium and DDK partners that are focused on precision agriculture, autonomous systems, maritime and infrastructure projects can now experience incredibly precise GNSS accuracy from anywhere on the planet.”
Quectel Wireless Solutions, a global supplier of modules for the internet of things (IoT), has announced the release of two new 5G New Radio (NR) module series, the RG500S and RM500S.
Based on the new Qualcomm 315 5G IoT Modem-RF System, both modules can support customers in building dedicated 5G devices for a variety of verticals including industrial IoT, retail, smart energy, private 5G networks, and many others.
The RG500S and RM500S both integrate a multi-constellation GNSS receiver, which simplifies the product design and provides accurate positioning services for users.
Utilizing the powerful Qualcomm 315 5G IoT modem, the RG500S and RM500S support extended-life software maintenance, helping create long-lasting IoT devices for the duration of their life span. Offering seamless integration, the RM500S is pin-to-pin compatible with Quectel’s LTE Cat 4 module EM05, Cat 6 module EM06, Cat 12 modules EM12-G/EM12xR-GL, Cat 16 module EM160R-GL and 5G module RM500Q, which provides more competitive 5G solutions to the IoT market. These features will help accelerate the 5G IoT market in the industrial and consumer IoT segments with use cases across robotics, automation, intelligent manufacturing, energy distribution, precision agriculture, construction, and mining.
Photo: Quectel
The RG500S and RM500S modules support 5G NR sub-6GHz bands in stand-alone mode offering backward compatibility with LTE networks. With network slicing in stand-alone mode, the two modules are able to offer end-to-end traffic isolation for critical traffic, guaranteed data rates and bandwidth, and lower latency than in non-standalone mode, which meets the demands of ultra-reliability and service-level agreements of typical industrial and enterprise scenarios.
The two modules are embedded with rich interfaces and incorporate high-speed USB 3.0/3.1, PCIe 3.0, U(SIM), RGMII and more, making them suitable for diversified industrial and consumer 5G applications such as industrial routers, robots, automation, intelligent manufacturing, smart cities, energy distribution, precision agriculture, construction and mining.
“Quectel has long been collaborating with Qualcomm Technologies to support the enablement of the 5G market in IoT,” said Patrick Qian, CEO, Quectel. “Based on the latest Qualcomm 315 5G IoT modem, the RG500S and RM500S are able to offer greater possibilities for the industrial and commercial IoT verticals. Features such as high performance and low latency as well as extended life software maintenance address the existing IoT market needs and can power a range of new 5G IoT use cases.”
“The Qualcomm 315 5G IoT modem solution was introduced to stimulate and scale the 5G IoT industry and enable the transitions needed to make 5G for IoT a reality. This solution is pin-to-pin compatible with legacy modules, which can accelerate device development and commercialization and promote growth and expansion in the 5G IoT industry. Integrating Qualcomm Technologies’ purpose-built modem into Quectel’s RG500S and RM500S modules will help deliver 5G to the IoT industry across industrial and enterprise applications,” said Jeffery Torrance, senior vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies.
Acculink Cargo provides a near real-time visibility, global tracking and exception-based monitoring asset tracking to serve the $30B+ global market.
Sierra Wireless has launched Acculink Cargo, a new managed internet of things (IoT) solution that companies can quickly deploy to track the location and condition of high-value and sensitive assets.
Delivered as a service for a single monthly fee, Acculink Cargo leverages Sierra Wireless’ expertise in IoT devices, global connectivity and the cloud to deliver a service companies can use to monitor the near real-time status of assets anywhere in the world, as they move through their supply chains.
Acculink Cargo enables electronics manufacturers, cold-chain carriers, general freight carriers, food and produce shippers and third-party logistics firms to gain the supply-chain visibility they require to avoid shipping delays, minimize dwell time, prevent theft and remediate environmental conditions that can lead to asset damage. In addition to tracking the location of these assets, Acculink Cargo can also alert customers if an asset is exposed to light, changes in temperature, humidity, shock, or other conditions that might spoil or otherwise damage it.
Drawing on more than two decades of experience in the IoT market, Sierra Wireless has designed Acculink Cargo to address the three key needs facing companies as they seek to track high-value and sensitive assets — real-time visibility, product-level tracking and exception-based monitoring.
Acculink Cargo benefits include:
Quick deployment. Acculink Cargo fully integrates edge devices, global network connectivity and a cloud-based application, supporting quick deployment in as little as 30 days with minimal startup costs.
Highly accurate tracking. Use of LTE cellular wireless networks in combination with GPS data enables customers to pinpoint the location of their assets.
Flexibility. The cloud-based application features an intuitive user interface with customizable dashboards and configurable alerts.
Configurable location and status reporting. Users can set up specific geolocation, light, temperature, humidity and shock conditions to monitor for each shipment. Users can also adjust when data on these conditions is updated, allowing them to extend the battery life of their edge devices.
Insights. Users can analyze real-time and historical shipping data to uncover trends that can help them make better business decisions.
“When it comes to high-value and sensitive assets, companies no longer want to just track their location as they travel through their supply chains. Today, they expect to be able to monitor the condition of these assets in near real-time as well,” said Rupal Nanavati, vice president and general manager of IoT applications, Sierra Wireless. “Acculink Cargo addresses these needs, with an easy-to-deploy, fully integrated managed solution from the global leader in IoT.”
Pricing. Acculink Cargo is sold on an as-a-service basis, allowing customers to easily scale the solution up or down as their business needs change. Customers can purchase devices up front, and pay for connectivity and the application on a subscription basis. Or, they can sign up for a complete managed IoT service, with a single monthly fee that covers devices, network and application access.
Acculink Cargo is currently available to customers throughout North America. Sierra Wireless plans to expand availability of the solution to other regions.
