CORE Transport Technologies has upgraded its COREInsight Bluetooth-tracking technologyby implementing a Bluetooth Low Energy resilient mesh network which can support hundreds of low-cost nodes over a large area.

According to CORE, the nodes can relay messages over multiple nodes to the nearest cellular gateway, making the network totally resilient to hardware or cellular failures. An initial operational deployment will begin on October 15, 2018.

The combination of BLE5 hardware and software means that the speed is twice as high, range is increased by four times, and payload capacity is increased by eight times.

“Now we can achieve highly optimal coverage as well better specific localization, two things our airline customers have requested,” said Ian Craig, CEO of CORE.

Existing readers and tags can be integrated into the mesh by software with over-the-air updates. In addition to the BLE5.0 mesh upgrade, CORE has also achieved further enhancements to COREInsight, including a waterproof solar-powered relay, better localization of ULDs, and BLE mesh-enabled readers that can share data with one another should cellular communications become inadequate.

“We’ve been preparing for today for a long time,” said Craig. “While we introduced a Bluetooth-tracking system to the world in 2016, today we have reached a new milestone in the COREInsight Bluetooth Tracking product line – BLE5.0, Relay Enhancement, BLE Mesh Readers – all of these together create a sound and successful system to enrich our customers’ tracking experience.”

CORE has already implemented over 800 readers and 20,000 tags to date.

“CORE’s patented Bluetooth applications for the air cargo industry are a game changer for airlines and their shipper customers,” said Steve Townes, CEO of ACL Airshop, CORE’s worldwide expansion partner. “Now implementing with a number of forward-thinking airlines, including one of the world’s top 10, this latest technology upgrade from CORE can yield new competitive advantages and logistics efficiencies for airlines.”