November/December 2023 - 16

LABELING
product names. The idea is I can hear
the products that are nearby without
having to tap or scan because Bluetooth
is pushing the data to me. But then if I
actually want to see information about
that product, this is the digital passport.
... The remembering is in the details of
the passport: Where did this product
come from? Where's it going to? What's
the temperature history?
We're going to open this up to people
that aren't even using our product. It
will work with regular QR codes. We
want this to be used more generally to
inspect digital passports and help increase
visibility for data that doesn't necessarily
fit on a small sticker on a product.
HOW WILL INCREASED VISIBILITY
IMPACT BOTH PRODUCERS AND
CONSUMERS?
SS: The devices will not just track where
the trailer is but what's in the trailer and
the state of it. Being able to measure
what's in the trailer is a huge step forward.
There's a lot of misshipment that results
in wasted products and disappointed
customers when the right thing goes to
the wrong store.
Being able to measure the temperature
is amazing because it turns out that we're
Wiliot's IoT Pixels and Visibility Platform uses stampsized,
self-powered compute devices affixed to
products, such as crates of tomatoes.
" I think in five years' time, this
will just seem like part of the
wallpaper. In fact, it will be in the
wallpaper. These ambient IoT
tags will be everywhere. "
- STEVE STATLER, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, WILIOT
seeing things that have never been seen
before - strawberries being frozen and
defrosted multiple times on the way to
the distribution center and the store. Then
if you add humidity, you really start to
move to this nirvana of having freshness
sensing and ripeness sensing, and that
allows a better product to be put in front
of customers and a reduction in waste.
You can start to control what gets taken
from the cold store in the back of the
grocery store and put in the front, not
just based on production dates or sellby
dates but on ripest first. That means
better-tasting, better-looking products in
front of consumers that they buy, and less
waste, which is better for the environment
and better for the bottom line.
(Shoppers) can see where the food's
coming from and much more information
about it: What is the carbon footprint of
this banana versus that banana? Where
does this product come from? It gives
(consumers) much more visibility, which
I think actually could mean that some of the
commodity players in the market, the value
players, could end up having more premium
products that satisfy higher standards.
WHAT CHALLENGES HAS WILIOT FACED
IN DEVELOPING THIS PLATFORM?
SS: It's taken six years to get this far.
(This) chip is the second-generation
product chip. There's probably been
maybe nine or 10 of these chips that
are produced, and each one is a bit of a
gamble. The process of producing one of
these chips takes months and months and
months, and you don't know whether it's
going to work when it comes back. It's a
very expensive process, especially when
you're producing them at a scale.
There's been a bunch of technical
challenges, (but) one of the biggest
challenges is getting people to think
differently. I think in five years' time, this
will just seem like part of the wallpaper.
In fact, it will be in the wallpaper. These
ambient IoT tags will be everywhere.
They'll be in the wallpaper, the picture
frames, the window panes. They'll be on
food, medicine, clothing.
16 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2023
November/December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November/December 2023
