Mar 08, 2022Three years after developing the first iteration of its power-harvesting Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) products, semiconductor company Wiliot has now released a cloud-based solution, along with a new version of its sensor chip that is half the size of its predecessor, which the company says offers a longer read range. The goal is to bring BLE-based visibility of goods, and in some cases the conditions around those products, to businesses at a low cost and in high volumes.
Previously, Wiliot had been a provider of solutions for a small number of large retailers, brands and pharmaceutical companies seeking visibility into the conditions and locations of their goods (see Wiliot Unveils Passive Bluetooth Sensor). Its power-harvesting BLE sensor tags are being used with returnable containers, as well as with inventory items for applications in which users want to know not only where goods are located but also the temperature to which they've been exposed, or if they are full or empty.
Steve Statler
The company had initially released the BLE tag chip, which can be built into sticker labels attached to goods and containers. The label does not require a battery since the passive Bluetooth sensor harvests its energy from the RF signal. Now, Wiliot says it is expanding its offering to reach a larger audience at a lower cost. Its Universal Automation Platform (UAP) is available now in alpha release. It consists of a cloud-based solution that is easy to use, so that businesses can simply drag and drop automated actions, triggered by sensing events, with a library of existing enterprise applications
The firm has also released version two of its IoT Pixel chips, powering tags the size of a postage stamp that offer a more than two-times longer read range provided by greater sensitivity (see Wiliot Intros New Internet of Things Platform and BLE Companies See Promising Trends for Technology in 2022). The result, according to Steve Statler, Wiliot's senior VP, is an affordable solution for companies in the food, pharmaceutical and apparel industries. Meanwhile, at the recent NRF Big Show retail conference, Wiliot announced the release of a starter kit designed to make the testing process for developers relatively simple and inexpensive (see Wiliot Launches Retail IoT Starter Kit).
The company's goal, Statler says, is to offer technologies that can be reduce waste in the supply chain. That is made possible, he explains, by capturing data regarding where goods are located, when they are delayed and when a supply chain becomes inefficient, which can lead to fuel waste, as well as the loss or expiration of products before they can be sold.
Until now, Statler says, "We were small, so we only engaged with a few dozen of the very largest companies in the world." Those businesses could afford to pay the $50,000 a $100,000 that, on average, was required to get started with the technology. "We used that to grow and validate the technology." As a result, he reports, the company has been able to develop its offerings, including a solutions platform, to bring costs down for adopters. If a developer wants to try the technology, he adds, "The costs have gone from $50,000 to $500 to get a starter kit."
The new sensor device at the center of Wiliot's latest announcement measures approximately 2 millimeter by 1 millimeter (0.0030 inch by 0.0015 inch), while its predecessor was sized at 2 millimeters square (0.003 inch square). That small form factor reduces costs, Statler says, in part because twice as many chips can fit onto a single wafer. Like the first version, the V2 chip can harvest RF energy to power the BLE response to area beacons, as well as transmit sensor measurements such as ambient temperature around the tag, or proximity information. While the V1 tags could transmit at a distance of 1 to 3 meters (3.3 to 9.8 feet), V2 accomplishes the same transmission at a maximum of 5 to 10 meters (16.4 to 32.8 feet).
The software platform is intended to make deployments faster and less expensive, Statler says. Rather than requiring IT specialists to deploy a solution using the technology, the cloud-based system is designed so users do not need an extensive technical background to understand it. They can simply open the software, select their specific use case, and drag and drop the functions they require. Parameters could include temperature thresholds, forms of alerting, and the types of information a user necessary for analytics.
In addition to chips, Wiliot has previously provided software in the form of application programming interfaces. However, the new cloud-based solution includes a codeless version of that early system, with the drag-and-drop functionality added. Companies using Wiliot's technology have included retailers and pharmaceutical providers, Statler says, and the technology has been recently deployed by a large Israeli retailer to track fresh produce from farm to store. That implementation consisted of 300 stores in total at which the goods are being tracked.
For fresh produce management, users could apply small stickers with built-in IoT Pixel chips, including an antenna and an ARM Cortex M0+ core processor, onto plastic crates or cartons in which fresh produce is packed. Those crates would then be tracked and traceable from field to store. The technology is designed not only to identify delays but to enable companies to deploy first-in, first-out (FIFO) methods to be sure fresh goods are used before approaching their expiration dates.
"What we have found," Statler states, "is that even though advanced, progressive retailers have got a lot of science behind trying to speed the time from the field to the store," delays can still occur throughout the supply chain. Without appropriate data, he adds, they do not know if a delay has occurred, or what it might mean for their products. He cites the example of a crate of zucchini, noting, "If that takes five days rather than two days… the quality is a lot less. The shelf life is less." Thus, he says, customers would take the product home only to have it not last as long as they'd expected, resulting in a loss of faith and future sales. "Good produce is one of the things that drives people to shop at one store versus another."
According to Wiliot, there is also an environmental impact when a supply chain is inefficient. Knowing where goods are located and how they are being transported or stored means fewer vehicles and potentially fewer miles being covered to get the same product to customers. The technology is also being used to understand the movement of apparel at stores, Statler reports. Last year, Wiliot deployed 50,000 tags for a U.S.-based apparel retailer that has asked to remain unnamed. That company was able to view metrics such as the time required to replenish each individual item, he says. The retailer now employs the software to monitor the amount of time between a product's sale and a replenishment order.
Additionally, the retailer has been able to track when goods are taken into changing rooms based on BLE tag reads, as well as know if garments are subsequently purchased. That BLE-based conversion rate metric was new to the retailer, Statler says, and it enabled the company to identify disparities for some stock-keeping units. It found that some products had a sales rate of 90 percent after a clothing item was tried on, whereas others might have a rate as low as 10 percent. This information can serve as a predictor of returns.
Finally, real-time inventory location data ensures that stores can make goods available for onsite customers. "If you're trying to fight to stay relevant," Statler says, "first of all. you have to deliver better service, which is not magic changing room mirrors—it's knowing where everything is."
Since releasing its starter kits, Wiliot has been shipping them in the hundreds. In the meantime, Statler predicts, technology costs will continue to drop. Next year, the company expects that version three of its IoT Pixel will be released, which could bring the cost of the BLE sensor tags to below 10 cents apiece.
