WO2024042080A1

WO2024042080A1 - A method and a system for operating a wireless logger device aboard a ship

Info

Publication number: WO2024042080A1
Application number: PCT/EP2023/073034
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gisli Bergur SIGURDSSON
Original assignee: Controlant Hf.
Priority date: 2022-08-23
Filing date: 2023-08-22
Publication date: 2024-02-29

Abstract

This invention relates to method and a system for operating a wireless logger device configured to monitor an environmental related parameter of an asset at least while the asset is aboard of a ship and is transported by the ship from an origin location to a destination location. The logger device includes a power source, at least one sensing device for regularly measuring the environmental related parameter resulting in environmental related data, a storage medium for storing the regularly measured environmental related data, a communication module, a processor for operating the power source, the at least one sensing device, the storage medium and the communication module. The communication module is configured to receive automatic identification system (AIS) signal from the ship, where the received AIS signal comprises, data for uniquely identifying the ship and the position of the ship, and transmitting, by the communication module, the received AIS signal to an external control computer. The external computer then tracks the position of the ship via a ship tracking service (VTS) using the data from the received AIS signal as input data.

Description

A METHOD AND A SYSTEM FOR OPERATING A WIRELESS LOGGER DEVICE ABOARD A SHIP

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and a system for operating a wireless logger device aboard a ship.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the expansion and growth of global sourcing in the supply chain industry, more prevalent interest has been placed on automatic electronic monitoring of environment related parameters to increase food and drug safety and improve food defense systems throughout all areas of production, processing, storage, transportation and operations. Food and drug products require proper handling of environment related parameters such as temperature during transport to assure shelf quality, longevity, and safety.

Logger devices are electronic monitoring devices commonly used for these purposes, and namely, to be associated to assets such as food, beverages or medicine to automatically monitor and record various environmental related parameters of the assets throughout the supply chain, such as temperature, humidity, acceleration, and air pressure, over time. A recent example of importance of such logger devices is the temperature monitoring of the COVID-19 vaccines, which is a critical monitoring parameter.

Logger devices used for real time monitoring have a wireless communication module to allow them to transmit positional data of the logger devices together with measured environmental related data of the asset wirelessly and, in that way, enable a real time supply chain monitoring solution during the transport of the assets. This means that position data of the logger device (and thus of the asset) together with measured environmental data such as the temperature of the assets are provided in real time. By doing so, it is possible to monitor the position and the environmental condition of the assets in real time. Thus, issues such as the temperature of the asset being too high or too low may be identified before these issues escalate which allows for proactive actions to prevent the assets from being damaged.

A common part of such a supply chain is the transport of an asset aboard a ship, but such a transport can vary in time period from days, up to several weeks or even months as illustrated in different routes in figure 2. A large part of such a transport is without any cellular connection meaning that there is a large communication gap that might last days, weeks or even months as already mentioned, before the asset having the associated logger device reaches a destination where cellular connection is available.

Figure 1 depicts this graphically a ship 110 starting from an origin location 101 having an asset aboard with a logger device associated to it towards it’s destination location 102, where at the beginning and at the end of the journey, the data packages 103, 104 containing positional data “p” and other environmental related data “m” such as temperature are sent to an external control computer 105. This obviously results in poor data resolution and risks the asset being damaged in case e.g. the temperature goes below or above a pre-defined target temperature window during transport where there is no cellular connection.

Moreover, when a shipment order for this asset/logger is created, the wakeup frequency of the logger device is commonly set to a ship mode having a fixed wake-up frequency while being shipped aboard the ship. Because of how long the shipment journey is aboard a ship like 110, the wakeup frequency of a logger device is set to be longer compared to the transport of a logger in a vehicle, e.g. every 12-24 hours aboard a ship, compared to e.g. 1 hour if the means of transport is e.g. a truck. This is merely to ensure the most optimal power usage for the logger device during the transport aboard a ship hence ensuring sufficient power is available for the subsequent parts of the transport process. It is also worth noting that the most energy consuming process is when the logger device tries to communicate with the cellular network and particularly if there is no cellular connection.

However, this 12-hour wakeup frequency results in the drawback of poor data resolution when e.g. the first part of the supply chain transport is a vehicle transport where a higher wakeup frequency would be preferred, and the subsequent part of the supply chain transport is a ship transport. Thus, the 10-hour drive from the origin location to the ship would not give any data points regarding the position of the logger device/asset or any measured environment related data of the assets during the transport.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to enhance the data visibility when a logger device is associated to an asset, and particularly when the asset is to be transported by a ship from an origin location to a destination location. A further object of the present invention is moreover to enhance the data visibility/resolution in the transport leg prior to and/or subsequent to the ship transport, where this transport may e.g. be a motorized vehicle such as any type of a car, truck, and train.

In general, the invention preferably seeks to mitigate, alleviate or eliminate one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art singly or in any combination. In particular, it may be seen as an object of the embodiments of the present invention to provide a method and a system that solves the above-mentioned problems, or other problems.

To better address one or more of these concerns, in a first aspect of the invention a method is provided for operating a wireless logger device configured to monitor an environmental related parameter of an asset at least while the asset is aboard a ship and is transported by the ship from a first location to a second location, where the logger device comprises:

• a power source,

• at least one sensing device for regularly measuring the environmental related parameter of the asset hence providing environmental related data for the asset,

• a storage medium for storing at least the regularly measured environmental related data,

• a communication module,

• a processor for operating the power source, the at least one sensing device, the storage medium and the communication module, wherein the method comprises:

• receiving, by the communication module, an automatic identification system (AIS) signal from the ship, where the received AIS signal comprises unique identification (ID) data that uniquely identify the ship and positional data indicating the position of the ship,

• transmitting, by the communication module, the received AIS signal to an external control computer associated to the logger device,

• tracking the position of the ship and thus the asset via a ship tracking service (VTS) module using the data from the received AIS signal as input data, the tracking comprising the steps of: o connecting the external control computer to the VTS module, o extracting, by the external control computer, the real time positional data of the ship from the VTS module using the ID data of the ship, and o presenting the extracted real time positional data of the ship as a real time positional data for the asset. The AIS signal contains information such as ship name, course and speed, call sign, registration number, type, position (e.g. GPS), navigational status and other safety-related information, Maritime Mobile Service Identities (MMSIs) to mention few.

The VTS module may according to the present invention be understood as any kind of software, platform, or service that is capable of tracking the positions of vessels in real time based on AIS signal transmitted by the vessels. An example of such VTS module is MarineTraffic®.

The control computer is associated to the logger device in a way that it may act as a platform for the logger device, where the external computer amongst others receives the coordination position (GPS) of the ship and thus of the logger device, in addition to other detailed information about the ship, via the AIS signal. Moreover, the external control computer may present measured and stored environmental related data together with the position of the asset in “real-time” to e.g. a third party which may be the owner of the asset or a party that is responsible for tracking the asset. Real time may be understood as presenting said data with a fixed frequency (unless an excursion is detected, then typically an immediate alarm is triggered), which obviously depends on the cellular connection available.

Accordingly, the fact that the external control computer takes over the tracking of the ship via the received AIS signal enables real-time position tracking of the ship even though the logger device is not transmitting any data during the transport aboard the ship.

The tracking of the position may in one embodiment include positional data with e.g. a time-stamp, and/or the positional tracking can be done at a pre-defined frequency, e.g. every minute, or every 5 minutes, every hour etc..

In an embodiment, the step of extracting, by the external control computer, the real time positional data of the ship from the VTS module using the ID data of the ship includes extracting discrete position points of the ship and storing the discrete position points.

In an embodiment, the communication module comprises a receiver adjusted such that only AIS signals above a pre-defined signal strength threshold are received. Accordingly, a solution is provided ensuring that the logger device is actually aboard the ship, and not e.g. in the vicinity of a ship, e.g. resting on a pallet at the harbor. In an embodiment, the method further comprises automatically switching the logger device to a “ship-mode” when the AIS signal is received, and optionally after an identical AIS signal has been detected for time period exceeding a pre-defined time period limit.

Thus, a more reliant way is provided to ensure that the logger device is aboard the ship, but not e.g. in proximity or passing by the ship in a vehicle. The term “ship-mode” may be understood as where the wake-up frequency of the communication module connecting to a communication network, e.g. 2G, 3G, 4G or 5G cellular network is significantly less than that with other transport means on solid ground such as a truck or train. This may also include zero-wakeup frequency as will be discussed in more details later, simply because of the large communication gap during sailing. It is as an example not uncommon that the ship mode has a wake-up frequency between 12 hours or 24 hours, whereas the wake-up frequency when the logger device/asset is transported with any other type of vehicle may be 1 hour.

In an embodiment, the logger device is configured to wake-up with a first wake-up frequency while being transported with a land transport means, such any type of motorized vehicle, from an origin location to the first location, wherein the step of automatically switching the logger device to the “ship-mode” comprises adjusting the wake-up frequency of the logger device from the first wake-up frequency to a second wake-up frequency, the second wake-up frequency being lower than the first wake-up frequency or is zero.

An improved method is thus provided to ensure optimal data resolution during the transport from the origin location to the first location, where the transport is typically any type of motorized vehicle, such as, but not limited to, a car, truck, train, etc.. The first wake-up frequency may be set as a default frequency, e.g. 1 hour, when the shipment order for the asset is created, i.e. the communication module connects to the communication network every hour and transmits the measured and stored environmental related data to the external control computer along with data indicating the position of the logger device and thus of the asset. When the logger device/the asset is onboard of the ship and it has been determined that the next transport type is the vessel, this frequency may thus be automatically adjusted to a suitable ship frequency, e.g. 12 hours, 24 hours, in special circumstances which will be discussed later the frequency may be set to zero. Thus, optimal data resolution of the measured and stored environmental related data along with the position of the logger device/the asset is provided in the first part of the transport from the origin location to the first location.

In an embodiment, after arrival at the second location where it is determined that the transport with the ship is completed, e.g. by knowing in advance the coordinates of the second location or the estimated arrival time via the VTS module, the logger device may again automatically be switched to a higher wake-up frequency mode, e.g. said 1 hour or higher, while transporting the asset to e.g. a final destination location.

Using the same arguments as above, an optimal data resolution (position data and measured environmental related data such as temperature, humidity) is ensured for the transport from the second location to the destination location.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises automatically switching the communication module into a lower power mode when a cellular signal strength received by the communication module is below a pre-defined target strength and/or the ship leaves a geofence around the origin location, the lower power mode being a power mode where the logger device measures the environmental related parameter and where the measured resulting environmental related data is stored in the storage medium, but where no transmission from the logger device via the communication module takes place.

This ensures optimal power consumption of the power source and therefore efficiency of the logger device.

In an embodiment, further comprising automatically switching the communication module into a lower power mode when the ship leaves a geofence around the first location, the lower power mode being a power mode where the logger device measures the environmental related parameter and where the resulting environmental related data is stored in the storage medium, but where no transmission from the logger device via the communication module takes place.

In an embodiment, the at least one geofence is stored in the storage medium, where the at least one geofence surrounds at least one stored area where the cellular signal strength within the at least one stored geofence is above the pre-defined target strength, where the position data comprised in the AIS signal is received by the communication module and utilized in determining if the logger device is within the at least one geofence, where in case the logger device is determined to be within the at least one stored geofence, the processor instructs the communication module to switch to said higher power mode where transmission from the logger device via the communication module is possible.

In an embodiment, the timing of switching the communication module to higher power mode may also be based on a pre-stored time-estimate in the memory of the logger device where communication network, e.g. cellular network, is expected to be present. Until then, the logger device is in a lower power mode having zero wake-up frequency. This could as an example be 36 hours after leaving the first position where there should be a cellular connection for e.g. 5 hours, and after 41 hours there is no cellular connection. Thus, in this 5 hour time period the wake-up frequency might be switched to a higher wake-up frequency, e.g. 1 hour wake-up frequency.

Accordingly, a solution is provided to allow the logger device to automatically connect to a cellular network, when the signal strength is good enough or is likely to be good enough, otherwise the logger device remains at a zero wake-up frequency. It is thus not only ensured that the communication with the external computer will be realized, but additionally, the lifetime of the power source of the logger device will be maximized as already mentioned. The term geofence may also according to the present invention be understood as a geofence covering the largest ocean areas world-wide, where if the ship is within these geofence ocean areas, the logger device stays in lower power mode, and if the logger device is outside of this geofence it switches automatically to a higher power mode.

In an embodiment, the step of tracking, by the external control computer, the position of the ship via the VTS module using the data from the received AIS signal as input includes registering discrete position points of the ship and storing the discrete position points, wherein upon switching the communication module to the higher power mode includes transmitting the environmental related data stored in the logger’s storage medium to the external control computer. The transmitted environmental related data are in one embodiment synced to the discrete position data points such that the environmental related data corresponds with the measurement at the different positional data points. Accordingly, highly improved data resolution is provided although the transport with the ship is not yet completed, where as soon as the logger device is within an area where there is a cellular connection, the measured data, e.g. temperature, humidity, light intensity, etc., may now be associated to the position points where the measurement took place. As an example, the position, in the absence of cellular connection, may be registered 1 hour (can of course be more or less frequent) by the external control computer, without any measurement data (which is stored in the memory of the logger device), where the measured data may retroactively be associated to the right position point. The measurement data may e.g. have a timestamp, so accurate linking of the measurement data to the right position point is simple.

In one embodiment, the communication module is further configured to receive the AIS signal and where the processor is configured to process selected data comprised in the AIS signal to determine if the communication module is to be switched from lower power mode to higher power mode, or vice versa, from higher power mode to lower power mode. The selected data comprised within the signal may as an example include:

• speed of the ship, where in case the speed is below a pre-defined threshold or is zero, the processor switches the communication from lower power mode to the higher power mode,

• moored status so as to determine if the ship is attached by cable, rope or anchor to a shore.

Thus, another alternative solution is provided to identify when the ship is highly likely to be in an area where the cellular signal strength is sufficient to communication with the external control computer, namely, the ship is obviously likely at a harbor if the speed of the ship is zero and/or or if the ship is attached to the shore.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises defining one or more Point Of Interest (POI) area(s) between the origin location and the destination location, the POI areas representing locations having a potential risk of excursion in environmental related parameters, at least some of the POI areas being areas where the cellular signal strength is sufficiently high to transmit data from the logger device to the external control computer, where in case the position data in the AIS signal indicates the ship is within one of the POI areas where the signal strength is above the pre-defined threshold, the processor instructs the communication module to switch to a higher power mode. Accordingly, different POI areas may represent intermediate stops where merchandise may be picked up or delivered. The POI areas may each have a defined geofence at least partially surrounding the POI areas, where e.g. via the real time position data for of ship from the VTS module, or based on the timeestimate as discussed previously, the processor instructs the communication module to switch to higher power mode.

In another embodiment, the communication module is further configured to receive coordinate data comprised in the AIS signal from the ship to determine the position of the ship and thus the position of the logger device, where the determined position is compared to pre-stored positional data stored in the storage medium, where the pre-stored positional data links different position data to cellular signal strengths, where in case, based on the comparison, the determined position of the ship indicates that the cellular signal strength is above a pre-defined limit, the processor instructs the communication module to switch to a higher power mode where the transmission of data via the cellular network is possible. Accordingly, this may be considered as being a similar technology as discussed previously in relation to utilizing geofence data, but instead a kind of a look of table or similar with a list of latitude and longitude coordinates that may be utilized to identify where the cellular connection’s strength is sufficient to activate the logger device to transmit measured environmental related param eters/data.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises, in case of detecting two or more different AIS signals at the first location or in the vicinity of the first location transmitted from two or more vessels, the two or more different AIS signals are compared with pre-stored data associated to the logger device, where the pre-stored data includes one or more of: final destination data of the ship, intermediate stop data of the ship, ship identification data, and/or partial or complete routing information associated to the data logger, where information contained in the AIS signals having at least one match with the pre-stored data is identified as the signal of the correct ship.

In one embodiment, the at least one measured environmental related data includes one or more selected from: ambient temperature of the asset, ambient humidity of the asset, acceleration or vibration, orientation, light intensity, and/or air-pressure.

In a second aspect of the invention a logger device is provided and configured to monitor an environmental related parameter of an asset at least while the asset is aboard of a ship and is transported by the ship from a first location to a second location, where the logger device comprises:

• a power source,

• at least one sensing device for regularly measuring the environmental related parameter related to the asset resulting in environmental related data,

• a communication module, • a processor for operating the power source, the at least one sensing device, the storage medium and the communication module, wherein the communication module is configured to receive an automatic identification system (AIS) signal from the ship, where the received AIS signal comprises unique identification (ID) data for uniquely identifying the ship and positional data for indicating the position of the ship, and further to transmit the received AIS signal to an external control computer associated to the logger device, wherein the external control computer is adapted to track the position of the ship and thus of the asset via a ship tracking service (VTS) module using the data from the received AIS signal as input data by means of: o connecting the external control computer to the VTS module, o extracting, by the external control computer, the real time positional data of the ship from the VTS module using the ID data of the ship, and o presenting the extracted real time position data of the ship as a real time position data for the asset.

In an embodiment, the storage medium contains a pre-stored geofence(s) indicating boundaries where a cellular signal strength is above a pre-defined signal strength and where the cellular signal strength is below a pre-defined signal strength, and/or a pre-stored cellular connection chart indicating areas where the cellular signal strength is above a pre-defined signal strength and below a pre-defined signal strength.

The term logger device may according to the present invention be a single use, or multiuse device, where the power source may be a re-chargeable battery of any type. The logger device may also be understood as a so-called “Smart label” or loT label having thickness in a millimeter range, or even less than a millimeter.

In a third aspect of the invention a system is provided for operating a wireless logger device configured to monitor an environmental related parameter of an asset at least while the asset is aboard of a ship and is transported by the ship from a first location to a second location, where the logger device comprises:

• a power source,

• at least one sensing device for regularly measuring the environmental related parameter resulting in environmental related data, • a storage medium for storing the regularly measured environmental related data,

• a communication module,

• a processor for operating the power source, the at least one sensing device, the storage medium and the communication module, wherein the system comprises:

• an automatic identification system (AIS) associated to the ship for automatically broadcasting information related to the ship, the information including identification (ID) data for uniquely identifying the ship and positional data for indicating the position of the ship,

• an external control computer associated to the logger device, and

• a ship tracking service (VTS) module, wherein the communication module is configured to receive the AIS signal and transmit the received AIS signal to the external control computer, wherein the external control computer is configured to track position of the ship and thus the asset via a ship tracking service (VTS) module using the data from the received AIS signal as input data by means of: o connecting the external control computer to the VTS module, o extracting, by the external control computer, the real time positional data for the ship from the VTS module using the ID data of the ship, and o presenting the extracted real time position data of the ship as a real time position data for the asset.

The external control computer may in on embodiment be configured to store discrete position points of the ship via the VTS module, and this may e.g. happen every hour or more/less frequently, depending on what kind of data resolution is preferred. Moreover, in an embodiment, switching the communication module to the higher power mode may include transmitting the environmental related data stored in the storage medium to the external control computer.

In one embodiment, the system comprises means for associating the time stamps to the transmitted environmental related data, where the time stamps are utilized in syncing the transmitted environmental related data to the discrete position data points such that the environmental related data corresponds to the measurement at the different position data points.

Moreover, in an embodiment, the system further comprises means for defining one or more Point Of Interest (POI) area(s) between the origin location and the destination location, the POI areas representing locations having a potential risk of excursion in environmental related parameters, and at least some of the POI areas being areas where the cellular signal strength is sufficiently high to transmit data from the logger device to the external control computer.

The ship may moreover comprise one or more sensors attached to the AIS, where the sensor reading from these one or more sensors may be utilized to dynamically and automatically update the information from the ship, e.g. such as the Positional Timestamp in UTC, Course over ground (COG), Speed over ground (SOG), Heading, and Rate of turn (ROT). The ROT is automatically updated from the ship’s ROT sensor or derived from the gyro.

The communication module may in an embodiment comprise two independent communication modules, one that is only a receiver (AIS) and one that is a receiver and a transmitter (GSM).

In general, the various aspects of the invention may be combined and coupled in any way possible within the scope of the invention. These and other aspects, features and/or advantages of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings, in which

Figure 1 depicts prior art solution showing a ship carrying an asset and associated logger device,

Figures 2 shows an example of different sailing routes for vessels and the large communication gap that may occur between different countries and continents, Figure 3 shows a flowchart of a method according to the present invention for operating a wireless logger device configured to monitor an environmental related parameter of an asset at least while the asset is aboard a ship,

Figure 4 illustrates graphically the method according to the present invention, and as discussed in relation to figure 3,

Figure 5 depicts an embodiment showing an extension of the embodiment shown in figure 4, further illustrating a first transport type, before delivering the asset to the ship, and a second transport type for transporting the asset to a final destination, and

Figure 6 shows a system according to the present invention for operating a wireless logger device configured to monitor an environmental related parameter of an asset at least while the asset is aboard of a ship and is transported by the ship from a first location to a second location.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Figures 3 shows a flowchart of a method according to the present invention for operating a wireless logger device configured to monitor an environmental related parameter of an asset at least while the asset is aboard of a ship and is transported by the ship from a first location to a second location. The asset may as an example be medicine, food or beverages that are sensitive to environmental conditions, such as, but not limited to, temperature, humidity, and light intensity, and where a real time monitoring is needed to identify if these environmental conditions exceed some pre-defined limits, e.g. the temperature of the asset goes above a predefined temperature max over a given time-period.

The logger device comprises a power source which may be any type of battery, at least one sensing device for regularly measuring the environmental related parameter of the asset resulting in environmental related data, a storage medium for storing the at least regularly measured environmental related data, a communication module, and a processor for operating the power source, the at least one sensing device, the storage medium and the communication module. The logger device may be an loT label where the power source may contain an ultrathin flexible battery, e.g. a ZincPoly solid-state battery, where the thickness of the logger device may be within the millimeter range. The power source may also be any type of battery, which may be a re-chargeable battery. In a first step (SI) 301, the communication module receives the automatic identification system (AIS) signal from the ship, where the received AIS signal comprises unique identification (ID) data uniquely identifying the ship and positional data indicating the position of the ship. The communication module may comprise two independent communication modules, one configured to receive the AIS signal and one that is a receiver and a transmitter (GSM).

In a second step (S2) 302, the communication module transmits the received AIS signal to an external control computer associated to the logger device. The logger device and the external control computer are a part of a common solution needed to carry out these method steps.

In a third step (S3) 303, the position of the ship and thus of the asset is tracked via a ship tracking service (VTS) module using the data from the received AIS signal as input data. The tracking comprises the steps of, connecting the external control computer to the VTS module, extracting, by the external control computer, the real time position data of the ship from the VTS module using the ID data of the ship, and presenting the extracted real time position data of the ship as the real time position data for the asset.

The method may in an embodiment further comprise automatically switching the logger device to a “ship-mode” when the AIS signal is received, and optionally after an identical AIS signal has been detected for a time period exceeding a pre-defined time period limit.

In another embodiment, the logger device is configured to wake-up with a first wake-up frequency while being transported with a transport means, such any type of motorized vehicle, from an origin location to the first location, and where the method further comprises automatically adjusting the logger device to the ship-mode, the ship-mode being where the first wake-up frequency of the logger device is adjusted to a second wake-up frequency, the second wake-up frequency being lower than the first wake-up frequency or zero.

In still another embodiment, the step of extracting, by the external control computer, the real time position data of the ship from the VTS module using the ID data of the ship includes extracting discrete position points of the ship and storing the discrete position points.

In yet another embodiment, the method further comprises automatically switching the communication module into a lower power mode when a cellular signal strength received by the communication module is below a pre-defined target strength, the lower power mode being a power mode where the logger device measures the environmental related parameters and where the resulting environmental related data is stored in the storage medium, but where no transmission from the logger device via the communication module takes place.

In another embodiment, the method further comprising automatically switching the communication module into a lower power mode when the ship leaves a geofence around the first location, the lower power mode being a power mode where the logger device measures the environmental related parameter and where the resulting environmental related data is stored in the storage medium, but where no transmission from the logger device via the communication module takes place.

Figure 4 illustrates graphically the method according to the present invention, and as discussed in relation to figure 3, where the ship 110 is at a first location 101 and is to transport an asset (not shown) having associated a logger device (not shown) to a second location 102.

There are several ways to confirm that the logger device is actually aboard ship 110.

One alternative is to adjust a receiver comprised in the communication module such that it perceives when the AIS signal generated by the ship is above a pre-defined signal strength threshold. And if the AIS signal is below this signal strength, it is likely that the logger device is not aboard the ship. This may also, or additionally, be based on determining, if one and the same AIS signal has been received for some pre-defined period. If one or both of the criteria is fulfilled the logger device is actually aboard the ship.

When it is confirmed that the logger device is aboard the ship 110 it may automatically be switched to a ship mode wake-up frequency (vessel/ship- mode) where the wake-up frequency of the logger device is lower compared to the previous wake-up frequency.

In this embodiment, the ship mode frequency may be a zero wake-up frequency meaning that the logger device will not have some fixed wake-up frequency, e.g. every 12 hours or 24 hours. Instead, the logger device will automatically be switched to a lower power mode, where measurements of environmental related parameters are regularly measured, e.g. every 1 hour, and where the AIS signal is regularly received.

As depicted graphically, at the first location measurement data 103 is transmitted from the logger device to an external control computer 105 associated with the logger device, where the transmitted data includes measured and stored environment related data (ml), temperature of the asset (or around the asset), humidity, light intensity etc., along with data indicating the position of the logger device (pl) (or data needed to calculate the position of the logger device by the external control computers 105). This results in a first data point at time tl, i.e. (tl,pl,ml).

At a later time t2, there is no cellular connection, but yet the control computer 105 tracks the position of the ship via the VTS module as discussed previously, but this may be done with some fixed frequency, e.g. every hour, or x hours or once a day.

The second position point p2 at time t2 results in a second point (t2,p2,x), where x represents a “blank” in the real-time measurement data due to the lack of cellular connection. Accordingly, at this moment there is a real time position tracking data available, pl and p2, but with only one measurement data from the first location.

The third position point p3 at time t3 is at a position where a cellular connection is available, which is within geofence 413 that is pre-stored and defined in the memory of the logger device. At this moment, the processor together with the pre-stored geofence detects that the received position data of the ship comprised in the AIS signal is within the pre-stored geofence 413. This triggers automatically switching the logger device from being in the low power mode to the higher power mode, where the communication module communicates with the communication network (e.g. 3G, 4G or 5G). This results in a third data point (t3,p3,m3), where m3 is the stored measured data at p3. Moreover, the previous stored measurement data at p2, m2, is synced to the second datapoint where thus additionally the measurement is visible at p2.

Accordingly, at this timepoint (t3) all measured and stored data have been associated with the positional data. It should be noted that this third datapoint is triggered when it is detected that the logger device is within geofence 413, and thus, it may appear shortly after the second datapoint, depending on when the position of the ship within geofence 413 is detected.

When ship 110 leaves geofence 413 which can be known via the positional data in the AIS signal, the logger device is switched back to a lower power mode.

The fourth datapoint at time t4 is again at a position where there is no cellular connection available (the ship is outside geofence 413), hence similarly to the second datapoint, the results are (t4,p4,x), where as discussed previously, x is because of a lack of cellular connection.

Upon reaching the second location 102 at time t5 where there is a cellular connection, the last datapoint p5 is shared in real time together with measurement data m5. Moreover, and as discussed in relation to the third datapoint, the logger device syncs the measurement data m4 to the p4 datapoint, and the “x” is replaced with m4.

It should be noted that the number of such datapoints, where the position of the ship is shared in real time via the VTS module as discussed previously can be tens, hundreds, or thousands, and where a third party such as the owner of the asset and/or the supplier of this tracking module enables this real time position tracking during the transport, together with the measured and stored data, when possible, as discussed above.

Figure 5 depicts an embodiment showing an extension of the embodiment shown in figure 4, including additional transport portions of the asset 520 starting from an origin location 518 to the first location 101, and from the second location 102 to the destination location 519.

As illustrated here, the first transport type, which is a vehicle such as a truck 522, transports the asset from the origin location 518, which may e.g. be production facilities where the asset 520 is produced. The second transport type 523, which may e.g. be a train, transports the asset 520 from the second location 102 to the destination location 519.

When preparing such a delivery throughout the supply chain from the origin location 518 to the destination location 519 , but such a supply chain consists of several transport legs such as a primary transport, secondary transport and last mile transport, a shipment order must be prepared for the logger device 521. Such a logger device may comprise a processor 530, a power source 531, a memory 532, a communication module 534 and at least one sensor, which may as an example include one or more of: a temperature sensor 535, an accelerometer 533, a light detector, a barometer, and a TV tuner etc..

The shipment order is typically customized for the transport with ship 110, where the wake-up frequency is customized to be much lower because of the long transport time, hence ensuring that the power source will not run empty or be depleted due to higher frequency of wakeups in the absence of cellular connection and the length of travel with the vessel. However, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first wake-up frequency /i from the origin location 518 to the first location 101 is adapted to the first transport means, i.e. a vehicle 522 as shown. This may as an example mean that the logger device 521 transmits position related data together with measured environmental related data such as temperature data every 1 hour (can of course be more or less frequent), as illustrated with the dots. This ensures high data resolution during the first transport portion. The subsequent transport with ship 101 from the first location to the second location 102 has been discussed in relation to figures 3 and 4. The second frequency fa may be zero as discussed previously, but where the logger device “wakes-up” only when there is cellular connection available, or, the wake-up frequency may also be set to be much slower, e.g. every 12 hours or so.

After reaching the second location 102 and after identifying that the transport with the ship 110 is completed, a third and final transport remains, which may e.g. be with train 523 as shown, that takes the final path in the supply chain to the destination location 519. The wakeup frequency fa during this transport may be automatically adjusted to the transport type and even be different (or it may of course be the same) as the first wake-up frequency.

Accordingly, optimal data resolution and visibility is ensured throughout the supply-chain.

Figure 6 shows a system 600 according to the present invention for operating a wireless logger device configured to monitor an environmental related parameter of an asset at least while the asset is aboard of a ship and is transported by the ship from a first location to a second location. The system 600 comprises an automatic identification system (AIS) 601 associated to the ship for automatically broadcasting information related to the ship, the information including identification (ID) data uniquely identifying the ship and positional data indicating the position of the ship, an external control computer (E_C_C) 602 associated to the logger device, and a ship tracking service (VTS) module 603. The communication module receiver comprised in the communication module is configured to receive the AIS signal, and the transmitter that is also comprised in the communication module is configured to transmit the received AIS signal to the external control computer. The control computer is configured to track position of the ship and thus the asset via a ship tracking service (VTS) module using the data from the received AIS signal as input data by means of: o connecting the external control computer to the VTS module, o extracting, by the external control computer, the real time positional data for the ship from the VTS module using the ID data of the ship, and o presenting the extracted real time positional data of the ship as the real time positional data for the asset.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and the foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Claims

1. A method of operating a wireless logger device (521) configured to monitor an environmental related parameter of an asset (520) at least while the asset is aboard of a ship (110) and is transported by the ship from a first location (101) to a second location (102), where the logger device comprises:

• a power source (531),

• at least one sensing device (533, 535) for regularly measuring the environmental related parameters related to the asset resulting in environmental related data,

• a storage medium (532) for storing at least the regularly measured environmental related data,

• a communication module (534),

• a processor (530) for operating the power source, the at least one sensing device, the storage medium and the communication module, wherein the method comprises:

• receiving (301), by the communication module, an automatic identification system (AIS) signal from the ship, where the received AIS signal comprises unique identification (ID) data uniquely identifying the ship and positional data indicating the position of the ship,

• transmitting (302), by the communication module, the received AIS signal to an external control computer associated to the logger device,

• tracking (303) the position of the ship and thus of the asset via a ship tracking service (VTS) module using the data from the received AIS signal as input data, the tracking comprising steps of: o connecting the external control computer to the VTS module, o extracting, by the external control computer, the real time positional data of the ship from the VTS module using the ID data of the ship, and o presenting the extracted real time positional data of the ship as a real time position data for the asset.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the communication module comprises a receiver adjusted such that only the AIS signals above a pre-defined signal strength threshold are received.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising automatically switching the logger device to a “ship-mode” when the AIS signal is received, and/or optionally after an identical AIS signal has been detected for time period exceeding a pre-defined time period limit.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the logger device is configured to wake-up with a first wake-up frequency while being transported with a land transport means, such any type of motorized vehicle, from an origin location to the first location, wherein the step of automatically switching the logger device to the “ship-mode” comprises adjusting the wake-up frequency of the logger device from the first wake-up frequency to a second wake-up frequency, the second wake-up frequency being lower than the first wake-up frequency or zero.

5. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the step of extracting, by the external control computer, the real time positional data of the ship from the VTS module using the ID data of the ship includes extracting discrete position points of the ship and storing the discrete position points.

6. The method according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising automatically switching the communication module into a lower power mode when a cellular signal strength received by the communication module is below a pre-defined target strength, the lower power mode being a power mode where the logger device measures the environmental related parameter and where the resulting measured environmental related data is stored in the storage medium, but where no transmission from the logger device via the communication module takes place.

7. The method according to any of the claims 1 to 5, further comprising automatically switching the communication module into a lower power mode when the ship leaves a geofence around the first location, the lower power mode being a power mode where the logger device measures the environmental related parameter and where the resulting environmental related data is stored in the storage medium, but where no transmission from the logger device via the communication module takes place.

8. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the logger device has at least one geofence stored in the storage medium, where the at least one stored geofence surrounds at least one area where the cellular signal strength within the at least one stored geofence is above a pre-defined target strength, where the position data comprised in the AIS signal is received by the communication module and utilized by the processor in determining if the logger device is within the at least one stored geofence, where in case the logger device is determined to be within the at least one stored geofence, the processor instructs the communication module to switch to a higher power mode where transmission from the logger device via the communication module is possible.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein switching the communication module to the higher power mode includes transmitting the environmental related data stored in the storage medium to the external control computer.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the external control computer is configured to sync the transmitted environmental related data to the previous discrete positional data points such that the measurements environmental related data corresponds to the different position data.

11. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the communication module is further configured to receive the AIS signal and where the processor is configured to process selected data comprised in the AIS the signal to determine if the communication module is to be switched from lower power mode to higher power mode, or vice versa, from higher power mode to lower power mode.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein selected data comprised the signal includes:

• speed of the ship, where in case the speed is below a pre-defined threshold or is zero, the processor switches the communication from lower power mode to the higher power mode, moored status so as to determine if the ship is attached by cable, rope or anchor to a shore.

13. The method according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising defining one or more Point Of Interest (POI) area(s) between the first location and the second location, the POI areas representing locations having a potential risk of excursion in environmental related parameters, and at least some of the POI areas being areas where the cellular signal strength is sufficiently high to transmit data from the logger device to the external control computer, where in case the positional data in the AIS signal indicates the ship is within one of the POI areas where the signal strength is above the pre-defined threshold, the processor instructs the communication module to switch to the higher power mode.

14. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the communication module is further configured to receive coordinate data comprised in the AIS signal from the ship to determine the position of the ship and thus the position of the logger device, where the determined position is compared to pre-stored positional data stored in the storage medium, where the pre-stored positional data links different position data to cellular signal strengths, where in case, based on the comparison, the determined position of the ship indicates that the cellular signal strength is above a pre-defined limit, the processor instructs the communication module to switch to a higher power mode where transmission of data via the cellular network is possible.

15. The method according to any of the claims 3, 4, 8 to 14, further comprising automatically adjusting the wake-up frequency of the logger device from the ship-mode wake-up frequency to a higher wake-up frequency when the cellular signal strength is above the pre-defined limit.

16. The method according to any of the preceding claims, further comprises, in case of detecting two or more different AIS signals at the first location or in the vicinity of the first location being transmitted from two or more vessels, the two or more different AIS signals are compared with pre-stored data in the logger device, where the pre-stored data includes one or more of: final destination data of the ship, intermediate stop data of the ship, ship identification data, and partial or complete routing information associated to the data logger, where the information contained in the AIS signals having at least one match with the prestored data is identified as the correct ship.

17. A system (600) for operating a wireless logger device configured to monitor an environmental related parameter of an asset at least while the asset is aboard of a ship and is transported by the ship from a first location to a second location, where the logger device comprises:

• a power source (531),

• at least one sensing device (533, 530) for regularly measuring the environmental related parameter resulting in environmental related data,

• a storage medium (532) for storing the regularly measured environmental related data,

• a communication module (534),

• a processor (530) for operating the power source, the at least one sensing device, the storage medium and the communication module, wherein the system comprises:

• an automatic identification system (AIS) (601) associated to the ship for automatically broadcasting information related to the ship, the information including identification (ID) data for uniquely identifying the ship and positional data for indicating the position of the ship,

• an external control computer (602) associated to the logger device, and

• a ship tracking service (VTS) module (603), wherein the communication module is configured to receive the AIS signal and transmit the received AIS signal to the external control computer, wherein the external control computer is configured to track position of the ship and thus the asset via a ship tracking service (VTS) module using the data from the received AIS signal as input data by means of: o connecting the external control computer to the VTS module, o extracting, by the external control computer, the real time positional data for the ship from the VTS module using the ID data of the ship, and o presenting the extracted real time position data of the ship as a real time position data for the asset.