Advancing Bluetooth® tracking for air cargo toward a giant “Internet of Things”
March 8, 2018
GREENVILLE, SC – ACL Airshop LLC of the US and CORE Transport Technologies, Inc. of New Zealand continue rolling out their innovative, Bluetooth® enabled logistics technology to the global air cargo industry. Automated tracking of Unit Load Devices (ULD’s) for air cargo gives carriers and their shipping customers real-time visibility and new efficiencies. The inventively adapted and patented technology replaces manual tracking for ULDs, which move cargo shipments, baggage and mail.
Air carriers are now adopting this technology advancement for better air cargo efficiencies. The two companies concluded field tests with international air carriers and an array of multiple ULDs, with 100% tracking reliability. Regulatory aspects such as compliance with FCC and FAA rules have been addressed, plus rigorous adherence to RTCA-DO-160 (“Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment”). The big data and predictive analytics of this program are managed in The Cloud, to military-equivalent security standards. This patented tracking technology, when combined with ACL Airshop’s international Operations Center and CORE’s Cloud-based analytics, gives a new competitive edge for airlines and their cargo customers.
The cost of Bluetooth real-time tracking is remarkably modest compared to the many benefits it yields, and compared to costlier competing technologies. Continued roll-out is planned to be brisk.
Ultimately, as more airlines adopt this technology innovation, as many thousands of Bluetooth tags are attached to ULDs, and as more and more readers are installed at airport cargo centers and various handling facilities, a giant “Internet of Things” will be linked across the world’s air transport industry, benefitting all. The new tracking system enables cargo carriers to produce electronic Unit Control Receipts (“UCR’s”), an IATA requirement when ULDs are transferred between parties, thus yielding a fully automated solution for shippers’ transactions.
ACL Airshop
ACL Airshop, with main offices in South Carolina and Amsterdam, is a worldwide provider of custom ULD solutions to over 200 air carriers and cargo clients, with services, repairs, and leasing operations at 46 of the world’s Top 50 air cargo hub airports, substantial manufacturing and supply chain capabilities for cargo control products, and 35 years of experience in air cargo. CORE Transport Technologies is an agile software developer, focused for over 10 years on services that provide significant improvement to the transportation process in multiple industries, with offices in New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Orlando FL.
