Temp2Net

The Challenge

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the demand for transporting highly temperature-sensitive vaccines in passively cooled thermoboxes. To ensure the quality of these vaccines for customers, a seamless monitoring and comprehensive documentation of the transport chain is essential. However, a closer look at the transport processes in the pharmaceutical industry reveals that these requirements are currently not adequately met. For instance, it is difficult to detect unacceptable temperature deviations within the supply chains, which increases the risk of a loss in vaccine quality. This can have various consequences for companies, including increased costs due to complaints and potential damage to reputation caused by low-quality products, ultimately jeopardizing the company's competitiveness.

The solution

To tackle this challenge, researchers from the Fraunhofer IML, as part of the Silicon Economy project »Modular IoT Devices« have developed an innovative device capable of meeting the current requirements for the transportation process: the temp2net blockchain device. This is a digital shipping label that operates in conjunction with blockchain technology.

The use case

At a pharmacy distribution center, the temperature-sensitive vaccine is assembled and transferred to a transportation service provider in activated thermoboxes with digital shipping labels (temp2net device). Based on the temp2net device, it is possible to obtain active, sensor-based monitoring of temperature, acceleration values, and geodata during the entire shipping process. The individual box statuses and process steps with responsibilities are documented in real-time upon receipt by the recipient. Through this step, possible quality losses can be directly identified, enabling direct intervention. What is special about this is that the integrated blockchain technology ensures tamper-proof documentation of process and event information.

The Facts

• Intuitive operation 
• High-resolution e-paper display for easy readability 
• 8 freely configurable buttons for displaying information as needed 
• 2-core architecture for increased reliability and security 
• Ultra-low-power technology for long battery life 
• Versatile communication technologies (LTE Cat. M1/Cat. NB2/WLAN/Bluetooth/NB-IoT) 
• Modularly configurable feature set depending on the application 
• Support for paperless logistics processes for greater sustainability

Curious to learn more?

...then contact our designated contacts listed on the side!

You can also find further information about the project on the Silicon Economy website.