IoT enabling PI: towards hyperconnected and interoperable smart containers

The Physical Internet (PI) concept is going to bring a disruptive change in the world of logistics, enabling effective and efficient supply chain operation management. A key building block of the PI is the smart container, the physical dual of the Digital Internet packet which will provide unprecedented real-time visibility over the goods flowing in the supply-chain. Internet of Things (IoT) systems are expected to play a crucial role in the implementation of smart containers, providing the needed pervasive and hyperconnected sensing infrastructure. While IoT sensor networks have always been used as an effective means to collect and transmit information in a wide range of operational systems, the modularity and dynamicity of the PI scenario introduce a number of new challenges to be addressed in terms of system architecture and interoperability. The paper discusses the solutions that are being developed in the context of the EU H2020 ICONET project to tackle those challenges, paving the way to future developments of the PI.

This paper was presented at the IPIC Conference in London in July by Claudio Salvadori from NGS Sensors – click here to read the paper