Next Generation Wireless

Optimization in supply chain facilities requires the collection and analysis of data. In turn, data needs to be accurate and travel on reliable communication networks between sensors and servers. Next-generation wireless technologies support both these requirements and are crucial infrastructure in building optimized logistics facilities of the future.

Local area networks (LANs) are viewed as good candidate solutions in this effort. As many facilities already have Wi-Fi to support mobile workstations, printers, hand scanners, and some machines and sensors, next-generation Wi-Fi 6 will be a natural successor, providing 3 times the speed, 4 times the capacity, and 75% lower latency (or delay before processing) than the more common predecessor. This will enable facilities to connect even more digital devices, including possibly small robotic fleets, as logistics organizations begin their digitalization process.

Meanwhile, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology enables precise indoor localization of people, assets, and shipments. While Wi-Fi and other networks including Bluetooth can detect positions within several meters or yards, UWB offers another level of accuracy, pinpointing assets and workers to within 5 cm (2 in), helping identify the correct location of a product on a picking shelf or align a self-driving forklift precisely with a pallet in a storage area.

Short-range networks further facilitate optimization of operations in supply chain facilities. Although not new, radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology is again finding traction. Many retailers have moved away from barcodes and towards RFID to track inventory in warehouses without the need for visual line of sight. Meanwhile, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a rising alternative. As its name suggests, BLE networks use low energy from beacons, thereby elongating battery life to up to 5 years. Eliminating the need to frequently replace batteries of dozens to hundreds of assets, this makes it suitable technology for measuring different variables like the location and temperature of more permanent assets like forklifts and conveyor belts. Added to this, as most smartphones and tablets in facilities have near-field communication (NFC) capabilities, NFC applications can quickly be rolled out. Battery-less dynamic NFC tags embedded in shipments and assets can be powered by the energy field of a reader and provide short-range wireless transmission of data for quality checks.

Today’s customers and supply chain managers highly value visibility of any shipment in the supply chain at any point in time. However, this visibility is still usually limited to just certain time stamps and infrequent updates, even if sensors are attached.

Next-generation wireless technologies are increasingly filling these visibility gaps along the supply chain. For ground transportation, low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs) such as LoRaWAN, LTE-M, NB-IoT, and Sigfox provide low-cost communication over very large areas, with a range usually up to 40 km (25 mi) in rural zones. As sensors using LPWAN transceivers transmit low amounts of data, their battery life using cheap, conventional batteries often extends past 10 years – an additional benefit. One example of LPWANs in use is at Istanbul International Airport where thousands of LPWAN sensors are deployed to monitor vehicles, including those carrying luggage and cargo. As such, a shipment can be tracked and monitored in real time on the tarmac between an airport freight hub and an aircraft.

For air transportation, the Bluetooth network, while not technologically new, has seen increased industrial use, further extending visibility along the supply chain. It is common for shipments to lose tracking as they are being flown due to stringent aviation regulations that govern wireless communication while in the air. In recent years, Swiss unit load device (ULD) management company Unilode developed and applied aviation-compliant Bluetooth beacons on over 118,000 ULDs across 45 airlines, enabling the first-ever transmission of shipment sensor and tracking data in real time during each flight.

For all transportation modes, global area networks (GANs) have become popular tools to enable end-to-end supply chain visibility. Supported by the growing number of low-Earth orbit satellites (LEOs), GAN providers like Starlink are pursuing the idea of pervasive global internet connectivity. For logistics organizations, this means low-power communication with shipment sensors in the remotest outdoor locations on the planet, including oceans, deserts, mountain ranges, and jungles where connectivity dead zones currently exist and disrupt information flow.

Overall, with the steady application and expansion of newer wireless communication technologies, logistics providers can offer customers complete end-to-end, real-time status updates on their shipments.