We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Roambee unveils package-level asset tracking tags
newsworthy

Roambee unveils package-level asset tracking tags

October 25, 2017
Ben Ames
No Comments

Logistics technology provider Roambee Corp. today launched a mobile monitoring suite that the company said will provide low-cost visibility over package-level delivery and asset management.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Roambee said its BeeBeacon technology can track sensor data such as temperature, humidity, and light at the package and parcel level, and send real-time updates through the company's Honeycomb internet of things (IoT) platform and its mobile app, whether goods are indoors, outdoors, or in transit.

Roambee has designed the suite for applications such as real-time temperature monitoring of food and pharmaceutical cold chain shipments or theft- and tamper-prevention for high-value e-commerce goods such as smartphones, Roambee CEO Sanjay Sharma said in an interview.

"Looking at the 'now' economy, supply chains are getting redesigned," Sharma said. "Whether you're Procter & Gamble or a small manufacturing unit, you need end-to-end visibility about when the goods come out of the warehouse, when they are in a truck or container, and when they reach their destination."

Roambee first addressed that market in 2016 with an asset-tracking sensor network called the Bee, a hardware block about the size of two Apple iPhones that sends data to cloud storage platforms over cell phone networks as it travels with trucks and containers. In 2017, German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom backed that system with a $3.1 million investment that Roambee said would help it expand the network into new geographies.

The company is now building on that platform by adding BeeBeacons, which are small sensors that are designed to be inexpensive and use short-range, Bluetooth wireless technology to communicate with a central Bee that acts as a data-collection hub and relays the data into the cloud over cell phone networks.

The approach is similar to that used in products such as smartphone pioneer BlackBerry Ltd.'s trailer- and container-tracking system called BlackBerry Radar and Honeywell International Inc.'s Connected Freight shipment-tracking system for high-value and perishable goods. Honeywell's version even uses a comparable sensor-and-gateway approach.

Many logistics industry players are pursuing the goal of granular, package-level visibility, Roambee said. However, most solutions have a fatal flaw, it added. It could be the radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are too expensive, the global positioning system (GPS) network lacks the ability to monitor conditions inside the parcel that could affect the product, or the information technology (IT) is too complex.

Roambee said its Bee solution avoids IT complexity by using the Bluetooth open protocol that easily links data to any major enterprise resource planning (ERP) or warehouse management system (WMS) platform, Sharma said. The system also differs from competitors' in that it doesn't sell the sensors outright, but offers them through a subscription model that rents each Bee tag for $1 per month, including the hardware, software, and data charges, he said.

That flexible pricing model could allow users to apply the technology to smaller units than pallets, containers, and other large assets, he said. "The goal is to get to item-level [tracking]," Sharma said. "But at least now we're at package-level [tracking] and it's inexpensive and scalable."

Also Tuesday the firm announced two additional applications for its combined Bee and BeeBeacon system, include the BeeLock, a digital padlock that sends a real-time signal whenever a given package is opened, and the BeeFleet, an onboard fleet management device that plugs into commercial vehicles to monitor their efficiency and utilization, the company said.

Technology
KEYWORDS BlackBerry Deutsche Telekom Honeywell International Roambee
  • Related Articles

    Roambee lands $2 million investment for asset tracking system

    PCS Software Unveils New Asset Tracking & Management Capabilities

    BlackBerry partners with Fleet Complete for asset tracking

Benames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.

Recent Articles by Ben Ames

Trucking finance platform vendor AtoB gains $155 million backing

Grocery trade group prepares for 2023 launch of stricter food tracing regulations

Postal Service quarterly loss increases due to pandemic trends and price inflation

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • FedEx agrees to buy 10% stake in Berkshire Grey

  • No vacancy at the warehouse

  • Investment group pays $5.2 billion to buy Amazon air freight contractor Atlas Air

  • The key to successful digital transformation? Your people

  • Rakuten Super Logistics acquired by executive of firm it once bought

Now Playing on DCV-TV

Raymond energy youtube thumbnails 01

Power your future with Raymond energy solutions.

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
At The Raymond Corporation, we design energy solutions that take your facility from today’s needs to tomorrow’s goals, with a full portfolio of material handling equipment and power sources that are engineered to work together, sharing data so they can be optimized over time. And from identifying the right solutions...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Choose the Best Auto ID Technology for Tracking RTIs

  • 8 ways your facility can benefit from Hyster Reaction

  • Why Use RFID to Track RTIs

  • THE NEW WAY TO WAREHOUSE: 4 Innovations in Automation & Robotics to Boost Warehouse Productivity

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2022. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing