Seamless Tracking of Cargo from Supplier to Customer Reduces Risks and Increases Customer Satisfaction

Overcoming Challenges in Indoor Cargo Tracking

Currently, there are significant challenges in tracking containers and cargo across ports, roads, and rails. Various fragmented systems are in use, each with different instructions and practices. Moreover, the information produced by fragmented systems is not easily available to suppliers or customers. Sometimes not even to major logistics companies.

To address this issue, Bittium partnered with location technology specialist Exafore to innovate a unified solution which allows stakeholders to track the entire journey of their cargo in real-time, from seaports to the warehouse, significantly better. This novel approach will integrate GPS/GNSS and ultra-wideband (UWB) indoor positioning with a reliable data connection. In this article we summarize the benefits of combining indoor positioning with GNSS.

From Satellite Limitations to Advanced IoT Solutions

Outdoor tracking solutions rely mostly on satellite positioning systems such as GNSS and accuracy of few meters is sufficient, especially as the tracked objects are typically large. Even when the positioning information can be patched with other technologies, the resulting accuracy remains within meters. In most cases this is sufficient for outdoors tracking. However, indoor cargo tracking challenges this setup as satellite signals are too weak and indoors positioning scales down the object size. This means there will be a higher density of tracked objects indoors compared to outdoors, placing greater demands on both 2D and 3D positioning accuracy.

As objects become smaller and more numerous, tracking solutions must also evolve, often shrinking into compact, embedded IoT products. Advanced solutions are essential for efficiently tracking an increasing number of objects in 3D, meeting the demands of modern indoor environments. Bittium and Exafore are well-positioned to deliver a scalable, accurate, next-generation indoor positioning solution tailored to meet any customers’ needs.

“Together with Bittium, we can develop, produce and deploy innovative devices for cargo tracking with positioning capabilities in dynamic environments.”
Ilkka Saastamoinen
Director of Business Development, at Exafore

The Solution

GNSS has been traditionally used to track containers due to its global availability. However, it works properly only outdoors and can face challenges in environments like seaports, which have limited visibility to sky. By combining a GNSS receiver with a UWB positioning solution these challenges can be avoided. Such an advanced technology allows customer to enable UWB positioning at critical points (e.g. warehouses) along the cargo’s route.

Combining two positioning devices will reduce manufacturing costs due to shared components and materials. Lower manufacturing costs will convert to lower overall price level.
When several solutions are integrated, they offer a more seamless and cohesive user experience compared to a situation where two devices are installed next to each other.
Only one device is needed to install and maintain which simplifies the routines and reduces the personnel costs.
Shared device resources, such as a single memory and processing unit, reduce overall power consumption compared to several separate devices, leading to longer battery life.
Managing one device simplifies troubleshooting and maintenance.
Fewer devices mean less electronic waste, contributing long-term to more sustainable use of resources and less environmental impact.

Overall, integrating several battery-powered electronic devices to single cargo tracker will lead to a cheaper, more streamlined, efficient, and user-friendly experience.

For customers, increased tracking capability provides more information, offering a sense of security and assurance that their cargo is being handled properly. Improved real-time tracking also allows customers to see where their cargo is at any given moment, providing valuable information for planning and business decisions.

Bittium and Exafore are well-positioned to deliver a scalable, accurate, next-generation indoor positioning solution tailored to meet any customers’ needs.

Turnkey Product Development Services for Secure Wireless Devices

Bittium, with a strong background in engineering services, provides reliable and secure solutions for connectivity, tactical communications and biosignal measuring and monitoring. Our designs range from satellite communications and military radios to small products in different IoT categories. Whether it’s a handheld radio for tactical communication, a medical monitoring device, or a sports tracker for a runner, our team of 500+ engineering experts and advanced in-house laboratories deliver comprehensive end-to-end product development services to our customers.

Modern embedded systems are often demanding from product design perspective. They combine small size, battery powered operation and rich features with long operation time, ease of use and efficient communication – usually over multiple radio technologies. These combinations of requirements frequently present different challenges – for example:

battery life versus communications efficiency,
mechanical design versus PCB design and antennas,
embedded software versus ease of use and power design,
static versus dynamic usage environments,
room temperature versus cold and humid outdoors.

Be it Bluetooth, 5G networks, LoRa, GNSS and UWB positioning technologies, or special communications Bittium has the required expertise to design your new, state of the art system. Wireless is in our DNA.

Our priority is to ensure the success of our customers’ products by delivering high-quality design work throughout the product life cycle. Our expertise covers:

Production testing, production (through EMS partners).
Product concepting and system design.
Power analysis and design for especially battery powered systems.
Product hardware engineering / PCB design.
Antenna design and RF engineering in general.
Antenna + RF = Over-the-Air (OTA) performance optimization.
Integration, verification and validation, including conformance testing.
Agile methods for software design, testing and analytics.
Continuous Integration/DevOps, test automation.

Better Availability and Accuracy to Cargo Tracking

Exafore is a Finnish technology company having deep expertise in various Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) systems including, but not limited to, GNSS, UWB and inertial sensors. Exafore’s UWB based positioning and tracking solution – Exafore Horizon – has several functionality and performance characteristics which significantly complement GNSS positioning when those two technologies are integrated.

UWB works also indoors where GNSS is not usable.
The UWB technology provides even decimeter level positioning accuracy at critical points of supply chain, using hybrid UWB + inertial positioning for best accuracy and fix availability.
The system supports not only 2D position, but has also 3D operation with X, Y and Z coordinate output.
Exafore Horizon can also be used for proximity detection in key locations when 2D or 3D position is not needed.
UWB positioning can be easily scaled to cover large areas to accommodate physical changes in warehouses and other critical points, securing the required tracking coverage.

In tracking containers and cargo across ports, roads, and rails, wireless devices combined with accurate location information streamline the tracking process, enhance efficiency and accuracy, and benefit everybody involved in the supply chain. “Together with Bittium, we can develop, produce and deploy innovative devices for cargo tracking with positioning capabilities in dynamic environments”, concludes Ilkka Saastamoinen, Director of Business Development, at Exafore.