Bluetooth-ready sensors are being used to track trucks and planes full of precious COVID-19 vaccines in a massive, online logistics undertaking.
In the U.S., Fedex and UPS are taking leading roles in delivering the vaccines both by planes and trucks.
Fedex announced it is using its patented SenseAware ID, a Bluetooth low-energy sensor, that is affixed to vaccine shipments. Agents can track the location of each shipment in near real-time.
The sensor, which weighs just 7 ounces, can also detect GPS and changes in temperature, humidity, moisture, pressure, shock and light. And if a package with the sensor passes a geofence, an alert can be sent. The package location is transmitted every two seconds via Bluetooth to Wi-Fi access point or established gateways in the FedEx Express network.
That technology is complemented by the FedEx Surround platform which relies on AI and predictive tools to monitor the conditions surrounding packages so that agents can intervene if weather or traffic delays occur in the vaccine shipments.
Such technology is one real-world example of the explosion in recent years of sensors for tracking or communicating conditions, sometimes over a nationwide network.
Increasingly, companies are finding ways to add smarts into sensors, giving them processing power locally. With AI, smart sensors can then decide whether to store data locally for analysis or transport it over a fast network for analysis and action.
The challenge for many emerging applications, including autonomous driving, will be whether a decision needs to be split-second or should rely on network communications that could be transmitted via a cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) scheme where roadside sensors detect conditions that a single car cannot.
Edge processing could help prevent transmission of enormous amounts of data over a network. In one physical security example from Intel, a chipset is being developed to rely on high definition cameras that can sense movement in a parking lot. Instead of forwarding all the data for analysis elsewhere, the chip could be programmed to forward only the video frames when a person is walking between cars.
But how an autonomous vehicle or smart city application uses tons of data will be a major worry. “Streetlamps may talk to you,” said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates. “There’s going to be a lot of data. With immense amounts of data, how do you get meaningful insights?”
Gold predicts “huge growth” in edge applications with the emergence of fast 5G networks with low 10 millisecond latency. With cheap processing power, it will be easy to put small edge boxes inside of industrial equipment, even inside of a cellular site, he said.
“Industrial IoT is going to grow dramatically” in areas including smart cities and health care, Gold said in a presentation at the launch of Fierce Electronics’ AutonomousTech Innovation Week on Dec. 14.
“Healthcare makes a lot of sense [for edge compute] and the payback is really high. With healthcare, if I keep you alive, that’s pretty good return on investment.”
AutonomousTech Innovation Week featured analyst Jack Gold on Monday, Dec. 14, with other experts offering commentary through Dec. 16. The entire program can be streamed for free after registering online.
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