We’re excited today to reveal the hardware and a bit of software magic behind Track & Trust and announce a milestone achievement on our way to commercializing the product! Track & Trust is a logistics tracking and communication suite toolset. This post dives into basics of the hardware and the software that drives it as well as some of the unique capabilities of the system. We’ll be following up with a series of posts on the tech and also on the pilot in the field!
We’ve just passed our “Site Acceptance Test” with the European Space Agency. This test evaluates the entire technical range of functionalities expected for the Track & Trust system. Consequently, we’re proud to announce that we passed all the tests in the three-day site acceptance test inspection. We tested all thirty-four formal technical requirements of the system. Although the testing took place in June, we had to keep quiet about it for operational reasons. Meanwhile, our team has been working hard to prepare for the next phase.
We’re building the ultimate communications system with our partners at Weaver Labs and Ororatech. Specifically, Track & Trust relies on “magical” black boxes that make logistics tracking and communication possible in the worst conditions. These boxes can withstand internet outages, power outages, and wet conditions. You can plug them into a truck and they’ll keep working. In addition, they’re designed to be user-friendly and easy to integrate with existing systems.
What’s in the black box?
Our partners at Weaver Labs built hardware with a Swiss Army knife of multi-bearer communications capabilities. It doesn’t need the internet to load the software. The boxes pack 4G radios, two WiFi radios, and Weaver Labs clever cellmesh software capabilities. These capabilities enable them to talk to each other offline, exchange information, and post when possible. They can post using traditional 4G or the included satcom uplink from Ororatech. Furthermore, this technology allows for seamless communication between devices, even in areas with limited connectivity.
We at Datarella have built a suite of interfaces into Track & Trust that any user can leverage to contribute cryptographically signed inputs about logistics events. Our system has real-time monitoring and CI/CD capabilities that enable us to fix issues on the fly. This is a plug-and-play solution for gathering more information about shipments. We can funnel this information directly into logistics service providers’ databases using our APIs. As a result, our customers can enjoy greater visibility and control over their supply chains.
Value for Logistics Tracking Organizations
Track & Trust generates secure, validated events with every user interaction. These events are geolocated with GNSS and timestamped. We anchor them to the fetch.ai blockchain via a hashing mechanism, resulting in a powerful combination of privacy and immutability. Moreover, this ensures that all data is tamper-proof and transparent.
We delayed posting about it publicly because we needed to move quickly and get the devices into our planned piloting environment in Lebanon. This required sensitive handling. Now we’re making progress on the pilot operations in the field, despite difficult conditions. Finally, we’re excited to share more details from the summer and look forward to continuing our work on this groundbreaking project.