Feb 01, 2018The following are news announcements made during the past week by the following organizations:
The Center for Supply Chain Studies;
Synapse;
Frost & Sullivan, Smartrac;
Seldat Technology Services;
eCOUNT Embedded; and
Venture Research.
Center for Supply Chain Studies Launches Blockchain Research
The Center for Supply Chain Studies has announced the launch of two new studies to assess and demonstrate the use of blockchain technology for health-care supply chain applications. The Center is wrapping up its "DSCSA & Blockchain: Phase 1" study, examining the potential use of blockchain technology to establish trust between trading partners. The next two collaborative studies will take that initial exploration to the next step, the organization reports.
"We gained incredibly valuable data and insight from the simulated Reference Models we developed in Phase 1," said Bob Celeste, the center's founder, in a prepared statmenent. "As an exploratory study, we experimented with the nuances of the supply chain, the DSCSA and blockchain to see how they may all fit together. The contribution of supply chain stakeholders and solution providers on the team created a rich environment that allowed us to test ideas and explore new ways to address drug traceability. Based on the success of Phase 1, it's time to take these findings out of the virtual environment and show the industry and regulators that they may indeed hold up under real-world conditions."
Using current blockchain technologies, database platforms and intelligence gleaned from "Phase 1", the first new study, titled "DSCSA & Blockchain Phase 2: Proof of Concept", will develop proof-of-concept pilots to demonstrate blockchain's viability for the pharmaceuticals supply chain. Working scenarios include trading partner methods, data governance, data-persistence and other processes. With plans to invite industry and the FDA, the center and study teams will exhibit these pilot results and artifacts to audiences this spring.
The second study, titled "Blockchain for the Cold Chain," will explore the feasibility of incorporating blockchain technology into the process of capturing and disseminating cold chain sensor data. The team will consider various sensor inputs, including data loggers, online sensors, binary indicators and more. If the simulations generate viable models, proof-of-concepts for cold chain may be among the demos presented.
Cross-Platform Tool from Synapse Aids Development of BLE Devices
Product development firm Synapse, a Cambridge Consultants company, has launched a cross-platform tool called BlueSee as a smartphone and desktop application. The tool is intended for easy debugging and testing during the development of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices.
BlueSee decouples firmware testing and application development for professional and hobbyist Internet of Things (IoT) and peripheral developers, by providing a scriptable interface to interact with BLE devices. BlueSee can be used throughout the development process, from proof-of-concept and development stages to final testing.
Using BlueSee, developers can view, filter, connect to and interact with any discoverable BLE devices within range. Unlike other cross-platform BLE debugging tools on the market, the company reports, BlueSee provides a filtration option for advertised services, which are automatically generated from scan results and from any scripts a user has installed.
Once connected, the BlueSee scripting interface takes over, providing access to any recognized services. Scripts are universal, running BlueSee across any platform it supports. This means, for instance, that the same script used on an Apple MacBook will also work on an iPhone.
BlueSee provides scripts for several common BLE services, including device information, time and date, battery level and heart rate, as well as access to generic unknown services. It uses the Lua scripting application programming interface (API) to customize the interface and interactions for services of a device.
"Through our work on numerous Bluetooth LE projects here at Synapse, our test engineers uncovered a need for a simple way to speak to devices separately from the actual application," said Rachel Blackman, Synapse's head of mobile software development, in a prepared statement. "Yet, the tools that exist today require writing up raw bits of information in hexadecimal form and sending them to the devices – a tedious task to complete from a smartphone, and inconvenient for testing the same functionality on desktop or laptop machines."
The macOS and iOS versions of BlueSee are now available for download at the Apple App Store. "We initially developed BlueSee as an in-house Bluetooth LE debugging toolkit to improve and streamline the testing of our own device development," Blackman said in the prepared statement. "Now, we are thrilled to be able share its benefits with rest of the mobile and firmware engineering community."
Frost & Sullivan Honors Smartrac for Its RFID Solutions
Frost & Sullivan has named Smartrac as the recipient of its 2018 European Company of the Year Award, for its RFID technology solutions. The RFID and Internet of Things (IoT) company demonstrated its Smart Cosmos solution suite to Frost & Sullivan's analysts, which then chose Smartrac to be honored with the award.
The Smart Cosmos solution enables transparency for numerous industries, the company reports, such as retail and brand product manufacturers, and creates a communication channel between brands and consumers. "As industries worldwide move toward smart business models, the role of RFID has become all the more important," said Christian Uhl, Smartrac's CEO, in a prepared statement. "We leverage the cloud and Internet of Things applications while being among the pacemakers and leaders in the RFID market. This award is a great honor and confirmation of our hard work and our ability to drive innovation for the benefit of our customers."
To receive the Company of the Year Award, a company must demonstrate excellence in growth, innovation and leadership. Such excellence typically translates as high performance in demand generation, brand development and competitive positioning, based on two main criteria: visionary innovation and performance, as well as customer impact.
Seldat Technology Services Intros RFID-based Warehouse-Management System
Seldat Technology Services has announced its WMS360 warehouse-management system, designed to monitor supply chains. The modular system, the firm reports, is intended to increase visibility, integration and control of warehouse operations across multiple industries and at any scale.
The system is customizable to meet a company's business operational needs. It features inbound and outbound planning, inventory management, an EDI gateway platform, RFID tracking, integration with automation hardware, omnichannel integration, task-monitor and real-time alerts, a customer portal, business intelligence dashboards and role-based access. Dedicated implementation, development and support teams help to ensure that the system is deployed successfully.
"Driven by Seldat's vision to be the global leader in technology-driven supply chain solutions, we are proud to bring the power of WMS360 to warehouses across all industries," said Chacko Verghese, Seldat's global CTO, in a prepared statement.
Verghese added, "Our team of supply chain experts developed WMS360 in the field—observing, responding to, and anticipating future warehouse needs of the modern supply chain. Proven against real-world scenarios, WMS360 helps companies overcome the challenges of outdated warehouse management strategies by delivering an affordable, easy to use, and highly configurable solution."
eCOUNT Embedded Offers Flat-Panel Controller With Integrated RFID Reader, IIoT Cloud Connectivity
eCOUNT Embedded has announced that its CRTtoLCD-91 flat-panel controller is designed for the development of customer-specific monitors, displays and control panels, and supports flat screens with up to 4K UHD resolution. The controller offers cloud connectivity and an integrated RFID reader.
The new solution platform, part of the company's CRTtoLCD product family, provides high-resolution 4K UHD graphics, RFID support for screen unlock authentication and easy management via cloud apps. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) connectivity for monitors, displays and control panels offers convenience, efficiency and reliability, enabling users to configure distributed installations remotely, monitor operating status constantly and manage access control centrally.
"Our new CRTtoLCD-91 flat-panel controllers will significantly change the way how OEMs design and deploy and how users operate their monitors, displays and control panels, as RFID and cloud connectivity open up whole new worlds of possibilities," said Dirk Finstel, eCOUNT embedded's managing partner and CTO, in a prepared statement.
"Today, the control of devices, machines and systems are carried out by touch displays and their peripherals," Finstel said in the prepared statement. "When it is possible to monitor the usage or to manage the authorization processes and user-dependent configurations of these touch displays centrally, even payment systems for pay-per-use applications can be connected. This is just one of many scenarios that can be implemented with our new CRTtoLCD-91 flat-panel controllers. We are very excited to see what new applications our customers will think up."
The new 4K UHD CRTtoLCD-91 flat-panel controller from eCOUNT embedded is based on the Himax HX6310-A scaler chip and supports flat-panel displays. It utilizes a content-dependent backlight control and new scaling algorithms. An optional HF RFID reader with Near Field Communication (NFC) support and Wi-Fi cloud connectivity can be plugged onto the controller board.
Later this year, the company reports, a UHF RFID reader with a range of up to 10 meters will be added as an option for logistics applications. The reader enables user-authorization management or the identification of RFID-tagged goods. The Wi-Fi cloud connection can be customized or expanded as needed. With on-screen display functions, as well as extended configuration and scripting options for OEM-specific designs, the LCD controller board enables OEMs to develop custom monitors, displays and control panels.
The new display controller is available with optional accessories, including a keypad with an infrared receiver and an ambient light sensor for situational brightness control, as well as RFID support and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Wi-Fi Internet of Things (IoT) modules for cloud connectivity. Off-the-shelf cable sets for flat panels and eCOUNT's customer-specific integration support simplify integration.
Venture Research Unveils 4G LTE Mobile Solution With Support for RFID, IoT
Venture Research has announced its MultiTrak tracking solution, which integrates multi-sensors; GPS, UHF RFID and BLE functionalities; and PTCRB-certified 4G LTE cellular capability. Available for immediate deployment, MultiTrak is housed in a rugged IP67-rated enclosure, suitable for hazardous or outdoor use. Constructed initially to satisfy the needs of the waste- and recycling-management industries, MultiTrak can also be used in construction, vehicle-tracking and yard-management applications.
"With MultiTrak, we now provide a full-featured, PTCRB certified solution that opens up new opportunities for asset tracking in even more industry sectors," said John Baker, Venture Research's president, in a prepared statement. Anticipating growth of the global waste and recycling management data-collection market from $57 billion in 2016 to more than $223 billion in 2025, Venture Research says it expects its customers will secure an early leadership position in this emerging, highly digitized sector.
As a mobile outdoor-rated solution able to integrate cloud-based computing connectivity with RFID and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, MultiTrak can collect data as an IoT node and deliver it directly to the cloud for monitoring, alerting and analysis. This, the company reports, eliminates the need for middleware, reduces the cost of implementation and allows the solution to scale.
The MultiTrak solution can be deployed rapidly in virtually every application in any industry, according to Venture Research, including waste and hazardous waste management, vehicle and yard management, asset tracking, quality control management, logistics and supply chain management, parcel pick-up systems and IoT devices.
