It’s scary to consider that perishable food and medical items often go through harsh conditions during transit that can damage the products. For example, if a truck’s refrigeration system breaks down while transporting milk or meat, it is possible that the end user wouldn’t know it. The results could be dangerous if a medicine that is temperature sensitive is impacted by improper temperatures.
 
For this reason, companies have developed temperature sensors for food and medicine. For example, a thermochromic ink can change if a temperature is low or high, signaling the product is spoiled. Still, being able to track when damage occurs, or have a log for the whole transportation process, is of even greater value.
 
This is where PakSense comes in. PakSense manufactures and markets various electronic environmental monitoring solutions that monitor perishable products through the supply chain. PakSense serves any market that distributes or stores perishable items. This includes food produce, meat, poultry, seafood, floral, wine, life sciences vaccines, pharmaceuticals, biologics and industrial chemicals, adhesives, sealants and epoxies. The company works with both retailers and suppliers/processors to monitor all segments of the supply chain.
  
For example, PakSense Ultra Wireless Labels were placed on a load of potatoes to track time and temperature during the shipment. Optimal temperature range for potatoes is 36°F to 50°F.
 
At the beginning of the shipment, the label identified the product had been loaded too warm, at about the 78°F mark. The potatoes were then brought down to proper temperatures and shipped at optimal range for two days. The shipment then spiked and held steady at 89°F for three days. In order to bring the product within proper temperature range at delivery, the load was rapidly cooled at freezing levels between 21°F and 30°F.
 
The result of all of these temperature swings, should the product be sold to the consumer, would be massive reduction in shelf life and potatoes with a “mushy” texture. PakSense’s intelligent label provided visibility to the retailer into all of this, and enabled them to reject a substandard load before the potatoes could reach their store shelves.
 
“Over the past 10 years our company has grown to approximately 1,700 customers in 75 countries,” said Kaz Lawler, CTO of PakSense. “We have many retail grocery customers who have either mandated or approved the use of PakSense in their supply chain. Virtually all major produce, meat and seafood suppliers are PakSense customers.”
  
The company was founded in 2004 in Boise, ID, on the premise of finding a better temperature monitoring solution. Existing devices were big and bulky and the food industry was in need of a more sophisticated yet easier-to-use solution.
 
PakSense’s first success in the market was its “smart label,” which allowed the user to download data.
  
“After two years of development, we launched our first product in 2006 – a temperature monitoring ‘smart label,’” said Lawler. “Built on a traditional printed circuit board, this flat, adhesive label is about the size of a sugar packet and records time and temperature of product during distribution and storage. Data is downloaded from the label via a handheld reader that physically connects to the label.
  
Since this initial product introduction, PakSense has introduced different label models, including one that downloads data via a USB connection point for export markets, as well as a wireless version of its label that can be downloaded via a handheld reader 300 feet line of site.
  
With the introduction of the cloud, data is now more readily available that ever, and PakSense is prepared to fill the need for information.
  
“Most recently, we have seen an increased interest in automating the transfer of cold chain data and making it available to users via cloud computing for anytime, anywhere access and analysis,” Lawler observed. “We have responded to this with the recent launch of our AutoSense Inbound product.
  
“The AutoSense Inbound system utilizes PakSense Wireless Labels and our cellular M2M readers,” Lawler said. “Labels are placed on loads by suppliers and when they arrive at a distribution center, the truck door opens and the temperature data from the wireless label is automatically downloaded to the reader without any human intervention. Data is then automatically sent to predefined user’s smartphones. We also offer a facility monitoring system that utilizes fixed wireless sensors and an M2M reader for stationary monitoring based on the same premise. You could say these solutions are our industry’s version of IoT.”
  
For PakSense, designing easy-to-use products is a key to success.
  
“From a design standpoint, all of our monitoring products are easy to use,” Lawler said. “For example, optimal temperature ranges are preprogrammed into labels; our customers simply start them and apply them to product or product packaging. Flashing lights will indicate if temperature goes out of range and all historical data collected by the label can be downloaded and graphed via various methods, including wireless and USB connectivity. They are small and flat and can be placed on the side of a carton or pallet easily.
  
“With our AutoSense Inbound solution, our wireless labels are placed on perishable loads to monitor temperatures,” he added. “When product is received, the labels are auto-detected by the AutoSense M2M Reader and cold chain data is automatically forwarded to pre-defined users via email or text. Data delivered to the smartphone includes supplier name, product description, temperature alert condition, receiving location, high/low/average temperature and a temperature graph. Data can also be forwarded to a central repository for ongoing carrier, supplier and route analysis as part of an overall business intelligence strategy. The is no human intervention required to receive the data.”
  
“We think this simplicity in design is one of the reasons we continue to capture market share. Ultimately the consumer benefits by having access to fresher, safer and higher quality products,” Lawler noted.
  
Printed electronics is well positioned to play a significant role in temperature monitoring. For example, PakSense is collaborating with Thin Film Electronics (Thinfilm) on printed sensors for food temperature sensors, with market introduction anticipated for September.
  
“PakSense has aligned with Thinfilm to provide temperature monitoring labels based on printed electronics to the food industry,” Lawler said. “Terms of the agreement authorize PakSense to distribute Thinfilm Smart Labels to food suppliers and retailers of produce, meat and seafood in North America, South America and Central America. We anticipate receiving first units in September 2015. We have already lined up several food suppliers and food retailers to test this new printed electronics technology.”
  
The cost benefit of printed electronics system is an important advantage for food temperature monitoring.
  
“We expect price to go down as printed electronics matures, which will promote ubiquitous monitoring of the supply chain,” Lawler observed. “As with any new, disruptive technology, there will be an initial learning curve while our customers internalize the benefits of printed electronics and the additional applications that can be developed.”
  
Lawler said that PakSense sees good opportunities for printed leectroncis in the food temperature monitoring field.
  
“We are very encouraged by the potential use of printed electronics in the food markets,” he concluded. “Initially we see them as an alternative to chemical indicators, providing a ‘go or no go’ indication if a temperature threshold has been breached. We also envision more robust environmental monitoring applications based on printed electronics in the future as the technology matures.”