Eleven-X and Adveez partner on IoT-based asset tracking solution for air cargo handling equipment.
A major Canadian airport is apparently set to pilot IoT technology to track cargo, using technology from homegrown low-power network operator Eleven-X, based in Waterloo, Ontario, and French asset tracking hardware vendor Adveez.
The LoRaWAN-based solution will enable GPS tracking of cargo handling assets, providing rapid and easy location of in-motion equipment used to transport cargo and enabling faster loading and unloading times, the companies claim.
While the Canadian airport has not been named, Adveez claims its technology has been deployed at airports across the world, “enabling enhanced location management of in-motion assets.” That said, the technology also lends itself to other kinds of deployments, from construction sites to smart city asset management programmes.
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Boom time for air cargo
Air cargo is experiencing high growth right now. In the nine months to September 2017, world air freight traffic (measured in freight tonne kilometres) increased by 10.1 percent year on year, according to data from IATA [the International Air Transport Association]. The increase for the month of September, meanwhile, was 9.2 percent year on year, and it seems probable that full-year growth for 2017 will exceed IATA’s forecast of 7.5 percent.
Karim Ben Dhia, CEO at Adveez, claimed that deployment of its asset tracking solution on the Eleven-x network “will enable airlines to achieve faster turnaround times resulting in reduced delays, providing cost savings related to many aspects of cargo management.”
The company’s goal now, he added, is to provide the best asset tracking solution for airports and other major industry sectors across Canada.
Eleven-X, meanwhile, claims to operate Canada’s “first and only” coast-to-coast public low-power network and has provided the network infrastructure and coverage for Adveez’s LoRaWAN IoT Asset Tracking Module rollout in Canada.
Other airlines and airports are trying other approaches. Earlier this month, Air New Zealand Cargo announced it was also rolling out tracking technology to keep a check on cargo shipments and equipment worldwide. In partnership with Core Transport Technology, another New Zealand-based company, Air New Zealand is currently installing more than 5,500 Bluetooth tags on its containers, pallets and unit load devices, as well as on more than 100 readers at 29 airports worldwide at which it provides cargo services.
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