IoT Technology for Perishable Freight Management

Aviation integrator Sitaonair announced a partnership with AirBridgeCargo and CargoLogicAir to implement IoT technology for perishable freight management. The two cargo airlines will use IoT sensors to monitor and report in real-time the condition of sensitive and perishable cargo.

The companies have chosen to monitor pharmaceuticals as one of the first cargos using this management. A high-value cargo that often requires special environmental conditions, pharmaceuticals provide an ideal use case for IoT technology.

Sensors can provide immediate feedback on temperature or humidity anomalies or other environmental conditions so shippers can quickly take corrective action.

The sensors also allow shippers to monitor freight movement to reduce theft or loss and reset or adjust cargo hold conditions in mid-flight.

See also: Qantas takes off with real-time supply chain

Sensors aggregate and transmit collected data using existing satellite connectivity or the ACARS system. Because transmissions require limited bandwidth and have low battery draw, platforms don’t require upgrades.

“With AirBridgeCargo, we are putting in place sensors and an IoT gateway to collect information from cargo: humidity, temperature, and so on, during the flight — realtime,” says Sitaonair Portfolio Head for e-Aircraft Pierre-Yves Benain.

“What we do in addition is provide a dashboard and an application to provide AirBridgeCargo real-time visibility on containers. What we are measuring,” Benain says, “is a change of status. We provide a picture at the beginning of the flight, and then when there is a change of status we update during the flight every five minutes the change of status. If the container is becoming too hot, we’ll update the application. If there is nothing, then we don’t send anything.”