The secure food supply chain of the future will require 5G technologies
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON — MAY 19, 2020 — Transparent Path, a pioneering, Seattle-based food supply chain visibility company, today announced its acceptance into the 5G Open Innovation Lab, a Seattle-based accelerator for edge connectivity, computing and intelligence ventures. The 5G Open Innovation Lab is a global ecosystem of developers, start-ups, enterprises, academia and government institutions working together with start-ups to fuel the development of new 5G capabilities and market categories that will transform the way we work, live and play. The Lab is sponsored by T-Mobile, Intel, NASA, and others. And as a member of its first cohort, Transparent Path benefits from investor connections, commercial opportunities, engineering help, and a 5G testbed for trials, experimentation and demonstration purposes.
The food supply chain has been plagued for decades with low margins and technology barriers that made it difficult for stakeholders to have a continuous view of products as they moved through the supply chain. This lack of a digital chain of custody impacted both food businesses and public health negatively. For example, temperature abuses can result in the growth of pathogens that create food-borne illness. Without full visibility into food origin, provenance and environmental conditions, a recall can generate upwards of US$10M in costs on average. Multiple recalls can ruin a food business, through operational costs, government fines, lawsuits, and lost consumer confidence.
In the supply chain, 5G is about more than just speed
5G wireless technologies — providing the bandwidth required to carry data for millions of sensors — are a requirement for the food supply chain of the future, claimed Transparent Path founder and CEO Eric Weaver. “Most people, as users of mobile networks for personal purposes, think of 5G primarily from a speed perspective, as a faster means of connecting to data on their mobile phones. The reality is that the need for interconnected devices — the Internet of Things (IoT) — is growing exponentially, and with it, the need for increased bandwidth. 5G gives us that bandwidth”
Continuously-connected IoT sensors provide GPS data, temperature, humidity, and other environmental data for the Transparent Path blockchain-secured platform. As increasing numbers of sensors come online, the millions of connected devices will require the increased bandwidth provided by 5G.
“The Open Innovation Lab has introduced us to global technology partners who are helping us integrate AI and blockchain into our edge computing features,” added Koduri. “With this support, our technology is helping create a more secure, more scalable and more interoperable future for food.”
In addition to Transparent Path — and three other companies that are currently in stealth mode — the first cohort includes:
- Aarna Networks – 5G/edge app orchestration, management and automation
- Evolute – Enterprise container migration, management, and optimization
- Expeto – Platform to manage global enterprise IoT connectivity
- Iunu – Computer vision platform for greenhouse-based agriculture and tracking
- Gybe – Hardware platform and edge service for employee connectivity
- Mutable – AirBnB for servers (distributed public edge)
- NLM – Optical computing materials and design
- Numurus – Making robots smarter
- Omnivor – Holographic real-time and on-demand video platform
- OptiPulse – Optical fronthaul mesh networking
- PlutoVR – Spatial communications platform
- Scivista – Collaborative, virtual reality data visualization
- Taqtile – AR/VR platform for frontline workers
About 5G Open Innovation Lab
The 5G Open Innovation Lab (5G OI Lab) is an ecosystem of developers, start-ups, enterprises, academia and government institutions working together to fuel the development of new 5G capabilities and market categories. These capabilities will transform the way people work, live and play — both now and in the future. The Lab provides developers at all stages unparalleled access to open platforms, enterprises and markets needed to create, test and deploy new use cases and innovations for 5G. To learn more about the Lab and its portfolio of companies, please visit https://www.5GOILab.com/ or follow us on Twitter at @5GOILab.
About Transparent Path
Transparent Path spc is a technology company focused on supply chain visibility for the food industry. Our mission is to reduce food waste and risk by creating a more agile, efficient, and certain supply chain.
Powered by IoT sensors, blockchain security, and artificial intelligence, Transparent Path’s secure, scalable platform provides food manufacturers, processors, logistics partners and retailers with the ability to see and act upon supply chain issues in real-time. As a result, Transparent Path’s customers know immediately when something goes wrong, can act to prevent risk, and can anticipate future supply chain issues before they occur.
Headquartered in the US, Transparent Path was founded by Eric Weaver, a 30-year enterprise transformation specialist. Prior to founding Transparent Path, Weaver launched the Xerox Customer Experience Practice, where he managed a $550M services book of business.
Please visit xparent.io to learn more.
Media Contact
Lana McGilvray
Purpose Worldwide for Transparent Path
+1 512 970 8310
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