YOU ARE AT:Internet of Things (IoT)Airbus embraces IoT for asset tracking and geolocation

Airbus embraces IoT for asset tracking and geolocation

The European aircraft manufacturer will work with IoT firm Sensolus on geolocation and asset tracking services.

Airbus selected the Stickntrack geolocation and asset tracking services from Belgian startup Sensolus to optimize its supply chain. The move is set to allow the European aircraft manufacturer to introduce internet of things functionalities into its operational processes.

The implementation of the Stickntrack solution allows Airbus to follow up on thousands of recyclable packages in real time as they transit through various warehouses and international departments. The packages contain spare airplane parts and serve as an integral link in the company’s supply chain. By integrating the Airbus IoT platform with the Stickntrack platform, Airbus said it’s able to manage and optimize the logistics activities for the entire group.

Sensolus said it allows companies to intelligently manage their assets through connectivity provided by French IoT company Sigfox, a non-standards-based low-power wide-area network provider.

sensolus asset tracking
Sensolus makes these Stickntrack asset tracking devices, which get connectivity from the Sigfox network.

Sigfox’s IoT network is present in 31 countries and on track to cover parts of 60 countries by 2018, with population coverage of 486 million people.

ZTE sees increasing opportunities in the smart city field

ZTE is currently focusing on new smart city projects in major Chinese cities, as well as in western European markets including Germany and France, the company said in its latest earnings statement.

ZTEsoft, a subsidiary of the vendor, has been working in the execution of smart city projects for the last five years. ZTE has been involved in more than 150 smart city projects across China, the company’s CIO and chairman of ZTESoft, Chen Jie, previously said. The executive said most of the projects are related to the implementation of smart metering, smart lighting, and smart parking solutions for municipal and regional governments.

In the IoT space, ZTE claimed to be the first vendor to release a precommercial narrowband-IoT based smart-parking system, helped by proprietary innovations in networks, chipsets and devices. ZTE’s self-developed chipsets posted 70% year-on-year growth in shipments in the first quarter, the vendor added.

In Q1, ZTE posted more than a 25% increase in shipments of set-top boxes as the company’s Big Video business continues to strengthen. ZTE is also gaining market share in rich communications suite and cloud computing solutions.

ZTE’s net profit for the quarter amounted to 1.21 billion yuan ($174.2 million), up 27.8% year-on-year. Revenues for Q1 increased 17.8% to 25.75 billion yuan.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Juan Pedro Tomás
Juan Pedro Tomás
Juan Pedro covers Global Carriers and Global Enterprise IoT. Prior to RCR, Juan Pedro worked for Business News Americas, covering telecoms and IT news in the Latin American markets. He also worked for Telecompaper as their Regional Editor for Latin America and Asia/Pacific. Juan Pedro has also contributed to Latin Trade magazine as the publication's correspondent in Argentina and with political risk consultancy firm Exclusive Analysis, writing reports and providing political and economic information from certain Latin American markets. He has a degree in International Relations and a master in Journalism and is married with two kids.