Objectives of the service
Coordination and management of logistics tasks in a global and dynamic context can be highly challenging. Logistics processes can often be extremely time-critical, fragmented, and opaque. Full-tracking coverage in remote areas with limited internet connection or unreliable telecommunications infrastructure (last mile) is still not provided by existing logistics systems, but often required.
Track & Trust is a modular system suitable for many supply chain use cases, with the humanitarian sector as one good example. Humanitarian aid organizations use the data provided by Track & Trust to enhance their management of disaster relief in intractable areas. At the same time, logistics firms can integrate the Track & Trust API to receive shipment data from such remote areas and augment their supply chain services.
Logistics firms who adopt Track & Trust take advantage of a combination of scalable satellite and IoT mesh-based technologies. The generic mesh nodes, which act as a multiplier for satellite uplinks and additionally for traditional 4/5G networks, reduce low line-of-sight constraints, and provide seamless global coverage. They also ensure high uptime and minimal maintenance of the network nodes.
Users and their needs
Track & Trust serves a number of user groups. The product is ideal for humanitarian aid organizations and logistics companies supporting them.
The main user group of Track and Trust is humanitarian aid organizations which must coordinate and monitor their aid deliveries. Generally, they are obliged to provide up-to-date information to their funders. With Track & Trust, they create trust by transparency.
A second user group includes logistics companies and their IT departments who need as much information as possible about the delivery processes for coordination and development of their provided services. In this context, data from remote areas are highly valuable. These data can be integrated directly into the services of the IT departments resulting in a higher value tracking system.
Service/ system concept
Track & Trust offers four beneficial functionalities, which enable last-mile-tracking in remote areas:
-
Highly usable user interface: The mobile application is easy to use, and mesh nodes are plug & play.
-
Immutable blockchain-based transactions: The system increases user trust with a transparent tamper-resilient system for recording any shipment updates.
-
Efficient satellite data uplink: The system lowers operational costs through an efficient use of satellite data transmissions.
-
Highly reliable IoT Mesh Network: The Mesh Network requires zero configuration and allows for ad-hoc and offline communications to be deployed by last mile logistics service providers easily alongside their deliveries.
The system is designed to be upgraded in a modular fashion, advancing from Proof-of-Concept to Pilot and on to Production. At each point along the journey toward production, stakeholders are interviewed to guide development and ensure usability, so that an intuitive user experience can be offered.
Space Added Value
With the help of space technologies, the underlying blockchain transactions of Track & Trust can be deployed in remote areas with less developed network infrastructure. This is relevant for humanitarian aid logistics. A remote IoT-Mesh-Node transports securely authenticated shipment information to one of the IoT-Mesh-Nodes connected to satellite uplinks. The shipment updates are then uploaded via a satellite terminal along with GNSS metadata. Once data is successfully posted via the assistance of satellite communications, the information is immutably recorded in the blockchain and made available to all the relevant stakeholders through the Track & Trust solution.
Current Status
The Demonstration Project officially started in July 2021 and is led by Datarella as consortium lead. Datarella is supported by two technology companies including Weaver Labs and OroraTech. Requirement analyses were finalized with potential future stakeholders, who include logistics experts and major humanitarian actors. Now, based on these requirements as well as, the system and service architecture of Track & Trust, the consortium has developed a system ready for the on-Site Acceptance Tests for real shipments. A piloting agreement has been signed with an innovative humanitarian aid organization initiating aid supplies around the world and pilot shipments are being prepared.
At present, the on-Site Acceptance Tests milestone review has been successfully accomplished while the Pilot Phase trials are initiated. The Business Plan demonstrated clearly commercial viability while interest for the proposed service is being expressed by adjacent markets.
Prime Contractor(s)
