by Rebecca Johnson | 14 October 2024 | Blockchain, Track and Trust
This is the third article in a series of technical posts about how Track & Trust works at a component level. The world today is full of fake news and dubious “facts.” Consequently, we face a significant challenge in verifying the accuracy of the data we receive. Moreover, a major part of this challenge is identifying the source of this data. We can’t predict who the end users of the Track & Trust system will be or exactly what they will want to communicate, which makes this task even more difficult. To address this issue, we must ensure that data entering our system are valid. This post explores how the “Trust” part of Track & Trust works. It explains exactly how we maintain the chain of data authenticity.
Quick navigation links to the follow-up articles will be provided at the bottom of each article once the series is complete. For now, let’s jump in.
Establishing a foundation for the data authenticity chain
We designed our system to accommodate key requirements that establish a foundation for data authenticity. Specifically, our goal was to create a flexible system. This system can work with any logistics company, regardless of their internal processes. Notably, we achieved this flexibility, which is a key benefit of Track and Trust. This allows us to collaborate with a wide range of partners. Furthermore, logistics companies can increase the number of data points they receive about their shipments from the field by using Track & Trust.
This, in turn, enables them to achieve probabilistic 360° supply chain tracking. Our team structured the Track & Trust data to integrate easily into any logistics database. In particular, we use a series of linked cryptographic signatures and blockchain transactions to create this data authenticity chain. Finally, this chain of custody has a specific purpose. It ensures that we can authenticate and validate offline events once they reach our servers.
How does the data authenticity chain work?
TLDR: We leverage APIs to take inputs from our customers (Logistics Firms) as well as to give them valuable probabilistic 360° supply chain tracking data back. For demonstration purposes we have built a front-end website to make the system tangible but the magic happens via our swagger API.
The processes surrounding our data authenticity chain are pretty technical. To make it easier to understand we’ve formated the workflow into a sequence diagram that anyone can understand.
In summary, our data authenticity chain is simply a way of validating, recording and making messy data from the field trustworthy. Once that’s accomplished leverage our blockchain toolkit to make those data immutable and highly tamper resistant. It’s a chain of custody for that data that includes built-in proof of origin. This, in turn, enables traceability and trust beyond the current state of the art.
Our next post will cover all of the ways that we can view this information. We’ll also be covering the orchestration systems operating in the background that enable us to do over the air updates to the hardware. There will be dashboards, monitoring and CI/CD galore for your perusal.
<< Previous Post
Next Post >>
by Rebecca Johnson | 1 October 2024 | Blockchain
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.
by Rebecca Johnson | 4 July 2023 | Blockchain, Featured, Track and Trust
Datarella and its partners Weaver Labs and OroraTech are proud to announce: Track & Trust has successfully passed the Factory Acceptance Test of the European Space Agency (ESA)! The development of Track & Trust has been successfully completed, undergoing rigorous testing procedures. Now, it is time for Track & Trust to showcase its capabilities and create value in a real-world deployment.
*** Visit our new Track & Trust website for more information ***
Track & Trust combines modern Web3, communication, and satellite technologies, creating a robust supply chain solution that caters to the actual needs of users. By leveraging these cutting-edge advancements, Track & Trust allows logistics companies and humanitarian organizations to navigate complex scenarios, such as aid supply coordination in regions with compromised or non-existent communications infrastructure. Even in remote and disconnected areas, Track & Trust provides the transparency and authentic data required for efficient operations.
From the very beginning, efforts were made to understand the requirements in the field of logistics precisely. Real logistic processes were examined to identify their weaknesses. We have dedicated ourselves to developing a robust system that ultimately had to meet high stress criteria in the testing procedures required by the ESA, which funded the project with about EUR 1.5 million. We went through a complex development process where partners with three different technologies had to position their core competencies appropriately while integrating them seamlessly to become more than the sum of their parts.
The product – introducing Probabilistic Supply Chain Tracking
Unlike traditional supply chain solutions, Track & Trust offers a probabilistic approach to tracking goods. Any interaction with the shipment, including scanning a Track & Trust QR code, triggers a status update, providing as much information about the shipment as possible! It is ultimately up to the client which information to utilize. Track & Trust’s emphasis on data collection unlocks a world of possibilities for process innovation. By leveraging the data obtained from the operational area, logisticians can complement and expand their services in new and exciting ways. This data-driven approach opens doors to potential future extensions, such as training AI models to predict delivery shrinkage, stock levels, and route recommendations. By harnessing the power of data, Track & Trust generates added value for logistic companies’ customers, offering new competitive advantages in the industry
What lies ahead in the journey of Track & Trust?
We have successfully completed a significant milestone with the Factory Acceptance Test. Concrete processes with our partners are already being planned for the upcoming pilot phase. In the coming weeks, these plans will be further refined, and the delivery of Track & Trust system components will be carried out in the most suitable deployment area where it can achieve the greatest impact and benefit. We will announce the specific deployment scenario in our future blog posts. So, stay tuned!
Our next milestone is the Site Acceptance Test. Here we will conduct another series of tests under real conditions before the system is used for the first time by logisticians and partners.
We are excited to demonstrate the impact and benefits of Track & Trust very soon and to revolutionize the supply chain sector with its technological potential!
by Rebecca Johnson | 16 May 2023 | Blockchain, Featured, SmartAid, Track and Trust, Web3 Company Builder
Track & Trust is ready to launch soon! Here’s what’s new: Unlike many other supply chain solutions, it offers a probabilistic rather than a deterministic approach to tracking goods. In short, this means the solution captures tons of data that logistics firms are currently missing out on, with Track & Trust – Probabilistic 360° Supply Chain Tracking.
Track & Trust combines a set of modern Web3, communication, and satellite technologies and aims to address significant unsolved challenges of today’s supply chains. Combining various communication systems creates a network for the supply chain even in the most remote areas of the world.
Any kind of shipment information from such areas is highly valuable for all actors along the supply chain, such as logistic firms, their clients, the end consumer, and the operating teams on the ground. One of the current challenges is the accessibility of information in fast-changing and remote areas – an issue the Track & Trust team seeks to facilitate. While other supply chain systems deterministically produce output information by requiring a specific input, Track & Trust does not rely on standardized initial input, minimizing hurdles in gaining knowledge. Our probabilistic approach, in contrast, allows maximum flexibility. Any kind of slightest interaction with the shipment, even if it is only the scanning of a T&T QR code with a smartphone, leads to the submission of a status update. And it doesn’t matter whether logistical staff or anyone else has carried out this scan or someone not related to it.
Additionally, users are free to report on the status of the shipment or their own circumstances, meaning they can communicate through a text field and provide any extra information on the shipment on their terms, e.g. “flooded route. Took a different route, delivery delayed by two hours”. It is ultimately at the discretion of the logistics operators to multiply the effectiveness of their tracking tools to decide how and what data they use.
Leveraging Data to Drive Process Innovation
Data from the operational area is the actual raw material – logisticians can use them to complement or expand their services in a new way. This leaves room for extensions in the future, for example, on a basis of such a broad database, AI models could be trained to ultimately make predictions about the shrinkage of deliveries, stock levels, and route recommendations. Doing so creates added value for logistic companies’ customers and new competitive advantages for the company itself. Thereby, while increasing efficiency and transparency, Track & Trust holds the potential to change the logistics industry. Lastly, we feel grateful that by investing in this project, the European Space Agency underscores the overall potential of our tracking tool.
As things are beginning to take shape, stay tuned for updates on Track & Trust as it is ready for deployment by 2023!
