A bluetooth-smart insulating container for cold-chain logistics

Abstract

This paper describes an intelligent insulating shipping container (IISC) and the supporting backend for cold-chain logistics. Each IISC can monitor the interior temperature of the container during shipping of temperature-sensitive items and alerts the deliverer wirelessly via a Bluetooth-Smart (also called Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy, BLE) connection on their smartmobile without infrastructure or dongle. The smartmobile also serves as a BLE-tag reader, user interface, and communication uplink for shipment tracking. BLE enables the IISCs to be wakable on demand within a short latency while lasting for six months to a year on each battery charge. When integrated into cold-chain logistics, our IISCs are expected to not only reduce the amount of goods spoiled during shipping but also improve fuel efficiency of fleets by enabling effective use of passive cooling elements. © 2013 IEEE.