As part of a consortium funded by Innovate UK, leading technology partner Excelerate Technology has successfully completed prototype bench-testing at Westcott Venture Park for the ‘Trusted Bytes’ project.
This included two use cases, where communications between transportation vehicles and containers and through to stakeholders’ frameworks was achieved through bonded satellite and cellular connectivity.
The two-year, £2.8M Trusted Bytes project will aid compliance and provide real-time ubiquitous digital connectivity between supply chains and central government, increasing efficiencies between stakeholders across borders and within the food supply chain.
Excelerate Technology joined the consortium led by Melon & Co Limited, and is accompanied by ukFPN Lincolnshire, Contained Technologies UK Ltd, British Standards Institute (BSI), the University of Lincoln, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult’s Manufacturing Technology Centre, and the Satellite Applications Catapult.
In the week commencing October 18 and throughout the month of November, integration and testing of hybrid satellite and terrestrial solutions was led by the Ubiquitous Connectivity team at the Satellite Applications Catapult working alongside Contained Tech UK and Excelerate at the Future Network Development Centre (FNDC) in Westcott.
As part of the project in the first use case, five food transportation vehicle trailers utilised the hybrid solution which included Excelerate Technology’s combination of cellular and satellite technologies to have ubiquitous connectivity for Contained Technology Limited’s BlueRing software on each device allowing for a secure connection to all service providers under the Trust Framework development programme led by Steve Brewer.
The second use case involved the solution being deployed in a shipping container and provided a combination of cellular and satellite technologies for a further five food transportation containers, resulting in robust telecommunications and delivering a reliable connection to the In-Container Systems (ICS).
After success with the initial testing, the consortium is set to integrate the prototype into vehicles and undertake further tests at Westcott Venture Park. Beyond this, the consortium will test in the field with a number of suitably equipped vehicles that can drive around the UK to confirm we still get the same performance as we do at Westcott.
Bethan Evans, operations director at Excelerate Technology, said: “We are delighted that the early stages of testing have gone so well, and are excited to see the development of the Trusted Bytes project.
“Being able to play such a crucial role in developing and implementing resilient communication technology is something we are extremely proud of and we look forward to future opportunities such as developing onboard automated ripening processes.
“Now more than ever we are seeing supply chain and logistical issues affecting the UK, and the successful development of projects like this will be vital in securing long term food security.
“I would like to say a big thank you to all the partners involved in this project and the hard work all our teams have put into making these initial tests successful.”
Excelerate Technology will continue to support the Trusted Bytes project providing essential end-to-end telecommunications infrastructure.
Alex Szymborski, CEO of Contained Tech UK and supplier of the Octosense devices used in the first use case said: “It’s a privilege working with Excelerate as part of Trusted Bytes and I’m delighted the trials with the OctoSense have gone smoothly; a tribute to the excellence of both teams.”
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