Damage caused by rough handling is often a daily occurrence when transporting goods. However, the transportation processes and responsibilities, and therefore the issue of insurance, often remain unclear. If you want to make the processes during transportation transparent, you can monitor your transported goods with a sensor that records borderline events. Such monitoring solutions enable subsequent assessment of whether a certain parameter has left a defined range during the transportation of goods. The cause of the damage can thus be narrowed down and there is greater clarity.

The Karlsruhe-based company Aspion has developed the "G-Log", a sensor that records vibrations, shocks, temperature and humidity data when specified threshold values are exceeded. This data serves as proof for the manufacturer vis-à-vis the carrier, the customer and the transport insurer. The sensor is the size of a business card, weighs 35 grams and is attached to the transported goods with screws. The waterproof version of the sensor with protection class IP 65 is also suitable for use on unpackaged goods that are exposed to harsh environmental influences without protection.

G-Log logs shocks up to plus/minus 24 g per axis in all six directions - whenever the tolerance values defined by the user are exceeded. The sensor stores up to 286 versions, the latest version even up to 960. As the shock recordings are supplemented by date, time, visualization of the sensor's position, temperature and humidity, they enable product and quality managers to make a differentiated assessment of the circumstances during transport.

The authors of the study by the University of St. Gallen believe that the use of indicators leads to more conscious handling of freight, meaning that the number of claims could be reduced by up to 80 percent, depending on the company and the level of damage.

The data is read out wirelessly from the PC or from the Aspion smartphone app via NFC. G-Log 2 also communicates with the app via BLE. The "Aspion G-Log Manager" PC software prepares the data in a user-friendly way and generates clear reports. The sensor is powered by a button cell. With a battery life of up to one and a half years depending on the selected setting, the robust device can accompany many products on their travels around the world. Due to the battery type and the restriction to the passive radio technology NFC, the G-Log sensor is approved for air freight without restrictions.

The software-based "Aspion G-Log Premium" service extends the scope of the shock sensors to include cloud storage, location information and network functionalities. The GPS coordinates of the smartphone are determined by the app when the sensor is read out. This allows the read-out values to be assigned to the previous transport route.

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Aspion, http://www.aspion.de

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