Moving temperature-sensitive cargo across South Africa, the choice of communication protocol matters as much as the refrigeration. There is no single answer, so Augos blends RF, LoRa, 4G and NB-IoT to fit the journey, and unifies the data in one platform.
For temperature-sensitive cargo moving from farm to export terminal across a large country, the communication protocol is as critical as the refrigeration unit. The terrain forces a strategic blend to handle:
One logistics provider runs a hybrid Augos system: NB-IoT for pallet-level, long-haul monitoring, with multi-year battery life across the Karoo, plus RF sensors inside their distribution centres. That mix cut spoiled cargo at the receiving dock by 40% and gave the auditable data needed for insurance claims when a transit break occurred.
The right choice depends on what the cargo's journey demands:
Whichever protocols you use, the Augos platform is the hub that turns scattered sensor data into one picture:
NB-IoT. Its ultra-low power draw and small data bursts give multi-year battery life, which makes it ideal for individual pallet and package monitoring on long journeys.
RF offers high bandwidth and low latency over short range, so it gives fast, high-precision, real-time updates within a distribution centre where power and coverage are not a constraint.
No, and you usually shouldn't. Most operations blend protocols, for example NB-IoT on the pallet for the long haul and RF inside the DC. The Augos platform brings all of them into one place, so the mix is invisible to the people using the data.