Here’s a talking box.
Yes, it’s a talking box.
Late last year FedEx announced a service they’re launching called SenseAware - a fantastic example of a useful Internet of Things based service.
The Senseaware service is based around a small device containing a small array of sensors. It knows its location, speed, temperature and whether or not its box has been opened or dropped. Clever little thing.
Here’s the talking box again.
Great. But before you go “yeah but what use is that to me?” The thing that makes it so cool is that the little device has a data uplink that allows it to “phone home” and tell you all this stuff as it happens. All its sensor information is relayed to a central system and is available to you through a web dashboard or via alerts you can set up for specific events.
The SenseAware site says it can monitor items that are:
- Unique or rare — such as samples from clinical trials.
- Temperature sensitive — such as pharmaceuticals.
- Light sensitive — such as film or art
- Time critical or location critical — such as human tissue and organs.
- Highly controlled or regulated — such as materials requiring chain-of-custody certification.
- Biohazardous or dangerous — such as explosives.
- Highly valuable — such as medical equipment.
You can see how valuable something like this could prove to be.
If you want to know more here’s the full press release.
