Southwest Airlines introduced a tracking method that will allow cargo customers to “see” their device from the beginning to the end of the trip.
Global positioning devices are not new, said Wally Devereaux, director of cargo sales and marketing for Southwest Airlines.
“The devices have been around for a number of years and are used extensively in the transportation industry,” Devereaux said. “But this technology is relatively new to the aerospace sector. ”
Beginning last Tuesday, the airline is marketing the Southwest Flight Companion. It allows Southwest cargo customers 24/7 visibility on the 3,400 daily Southwest Airlines cargo flights, said Colin Rogers, senior manager of cargo sales at Southwest.
Tracking technology is the convergence of several technologies that over time have merged to create systems that track everything from livestock to vehicles.
The device is manufactured by Texas-based OnAsset Intelligence Inc., which makes remote monitoring electronic equipment for airlines and the transportation sector.
OnAsset works with many companies that use the technology for ground and air operations, said Adam Crossno, president and CEO of OnAsset Intelligence, in a statement.
The device, about the size of a cellphone, has been in testing for a year, and Southwest has been working with OnAsset on the technology, Rogers said. Southwest first announced that it would employ the device in July 2011, Rogers said.
Previously, tracking equipment was only able to see cargo that was on Southwest planes, Rogers said. The new equipment has the ability to track cargo anywhere.
“It is cradle-to-grave tracking,” Rogers said.
The wireless device is a personal electronic device, or PED, Rogers said.
Besides location tracking, the equipment is sensitive to light, and has the ability to track temperature, air pressure and whether the package is dropped, Devereaux said.
“It includes sensors that read temperature, humidity, pressure, shock, location and vibration with additional patented intelligence,” Rogers said.
The device is “smart,” as it is able to be Federal Aviation Administration-compliant during flights, Devereaux said.
“A feature allows the device to automatically go into airplane mode, turning its wireless radios off without human intervention,” Devereaux said. “At the same time, the sensors keep working to monitor the cargo. ”
Location tracking is not one single technology, said Nikki Cuban, OnAsset vice president of marketing and sales.
Current technologies being used as location-based systems include Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, and Global Positioning Systems, or GPS, Cuban said.
“GIS is more of a mapping application and ours is a single sensor that collects cargo information,” Cuban said.
Another device, the Radio Frequency Identification device, or RFID, is a microchip that is attached to consumer goods, cattle and other objects to track movement.
With the introduction of the cargo tracking equipment, Southwest Airlines Cargo has full chain-of-supply tracking on all Southwest flights, Devereaux said.
Southwest declined to disclose financial details of introducing the equipment.
“The real cost has been the time spent on testing,” Rogers said.
Copyright 2012 Dolan Media Newswires
