Something is afoot in the brave new IoT world of smart labels; DB Schenker, the logistics division of German rail firm Deutsche Bahn, has announced a smart-label solution to track small freight consignments globally. Israeli startup Sensos, the company behind the solution, is a spin-off or sub-division of chip firm Sony Semiconductor Israel, which is behind the original smart label pilot with German pharma firm Bayer, but which appears to have taken a temporary vow of silence on the matter. The DB Schenker deal looks to have broken the silence one way or another.
This is because its news either outs Sony Semiconductor’s secret-squirrel smart-label project, being talked about excitedly in IoT circles as a developing service proposition, or else that a noisy splinter group has stolen its idea, and a march as well, and landed a serious-looking commercial smart-label contract with a major logistics firm. It seems likely the former hypothesis is the correct one, and that Sensos is the name of Sony Semiconductor’s new smart-label division – and that it will explain and expand on the news in due course.
Clearly, there is some fairly loose detective work going on here; and we should clarify the notion of theft is wrong, on the grounds the smart-label concept is anyone’s – being commercialised by a number of firms. But the clues do suggest that this is a Sony Semiconductor product. The company’s own boilerplate says the firm “was spun off from Sony to deliver a cutting edge zero-touch IoT supply- chain visibility solution”. Aviv Castro, chief executive at Sensos since last summer, remains vice president of business development at Sony Semiconductor in Israel.
But the DB Schenker press note on the solution says very little about its makeup, and it appears there is no Sensos website to speak of at all. So what do we know? DB Schenker describes its smart-label solutions as an “ultra-thin high-tech label for shipment tracking” which is “applicable for single cartons and small consignments”. Curiously, and we think differently from the original Bayer prototype, it takes the form of a printable adhesive label which the tracking hardware and battery fit into.
“Tracking technology as a sticker”, it says, but it sounds more like the tracking technology has to be fitted into the label, possibly by the customer, to make it smart. Either way, the hook is that it opens up the same use case for the IoT market, and DB Schenker is the “first logistics provider from Europe” to offer the Sensos version. No word on the precise IoT connectivity tech, itself, except that it attaches to a ‘mobile network”; it seems likely it is based on the same global iSIM-based NB-IoT solution that Bayer innovated with Sony Semiconductor, plus Kigen and Vodafone.
The hardware features sensors for temperature, humidity, and movement (tilt, vibration, shock), plus a lithium-free battery offering low CO2 emissions (versus “conventional batteries”) and a (max) six-month runtime. The label is disposable, apparently; it is unclear if there is a recycle/reuse scheme offered by Sensos. The solution leverages DB Schenker’s existing Connect2Track IoT management platform, for customers to monitor the location and condition of goods, and get an ETA based on real-time data, plus alerts if products are opened or tampered with.
DB Schenker said its “ultra-thin” design, fitting into a regular packing slip, “does not draw attention” so “tracking remains undetected”.
David Pollender, product owner for IoT business development at DB Schenker, commented: “Tracking technology now fits into a millimetre-thin sticker. The label is so small and lightweight it can be used for freight of any size… [and] offers optimal visibility and condition monitoring of consignments. This significantly improves the existing offering for our customers and makes tracking even more flexible and secure.”
Castro, in charge at Sensos, and in charge of business development at Sony Semiconductor, stated: “We took on the mission to disrupt the world of supply chain by delivering infinite end-to-end parcel level visibility. Our solution enables data-driven execution, optimising logistics for various use cases. We are grateful to have DB Schenker as a design partner from the early days, and for their contribution in achieving the product market fit.”
