Situated in the heart of Switzerland, the Ambrosus Innovation Laboratory (also known as the InnoLab) in Yverdon-Les-Bains has been busy developing cutting edge technology for the Ambrosus ecosystem. As the fundamental competitive advantage Ambrosus possesses over virtually any other supply chain system, the InnoLab concentrates on innovating upon and creating entirely new forms of managing data, quality assurance, and security in global supply chains.

As the first update in a series of blog posts coming from the Ambrosus InnoLab, the focus below is concentrated around: 1) What the InnoLab does, and what kind of products it focuses on developing, 2) What kind of research the InnoLab conducts, and for what purposes, 3) what kind of industrial manufacturers the InnoLab partners with, and why such partnerships are important, and finally, 4) Who works at the InnoLab as well as what their different roles are.

Ambrosus InnoLab Products:

Oftentimes, the Innovation Laboratory is referred to as the research and development (R&D) facility for Ambrosus’ hardware solutions. In context, AMB-NET is the Ambrosus software solution that has been specifically designed to seamlessly connect to enterprise IT systems. However, in order to ensure that what is connected to the Ambrosus Network (AMB-NET) and recorded on the blockchain is properly stored and has not been tampered with, very specific smart devices must be calibrated or created specifically for use in supply chain processes. Herein lies the fundamental role of the Ambrosus Innovation Laboratory: creating smart devices, smart containers, and smart gateways, to ensure that high tech internet of things (IoT) devices can securely and efficiently record and organize data from any designated local source. Altogether, the Innovation Laboratory contributes to the sustainable development of the core Ambrosus Product: a decentralised blockchain and IoT platform, equipped with high tech sensors, secure gateways, and an easily configurable blockchain that can be seamlessly integrated and configured for both companies and the end consumer.

In terms of the specific products that the Innovation Laboratory focuses on, the primary production lines center upon a) Smart Devices, b) Smart Containers, and c) Secure Gateways. Each production line will be discussed at length, in separate blog entries.

Meanwhile, the products used at the lab and specifically designed for the Ambrosus Network (AMB-NET), are sourced in two different ways: First, if there is a certain product already on the market, that has not been calibrated for optimal security and efficiency in the supply chain the InnoLab team will innovate upon such a product in order to optimize its usability for real time data collection and transmission. Second, if a certain client company has a particular need for any of their food or pharmaceutical products, then the InnoLab custom designs a more sophisticated solution to collect certain data in a very particular manner.

Research and Development at the InnoLab:

Innovation is best understood as a process that allows for the further development or completion of radically new or already existing ideas. The Ambrosus Innovation Laboratory in Switzerland, is the center of both innovation and applications: research and development is thus concentrated on making products that are cutting edge but also equally applicable to real world applications and problems. In the context of supply chain management and Internet of Things devices, the InnoLab concentrates on 4 core research areas, so as to build practically applicable solutions to modern day supply chain vulnerabilities. Importantly, while each area can be considered a direction for innovation in its own right, the various research initiatives all can be combined for a maximally secure, intelligent, and automatised supply chain.

Objective Fully Secured:

One of the most important objectives of the InnoLab concerns the design and implementation of devices that are secure and fit for transmitting sensitive data to the blockchain. When the InnoLab concentrates on ‘securing’ a device or gateway, this means that some aspect of the device has been reconfigured in the following ways:

The communication protocol may be equipped with a cryptographically secured private key.

The product may be designed to be mechanically tamper-proof.

All data on the device can be encrypted for maximal security during transmission.

All devices may be required to be signed upon initial implementation, and during the period from which they are functional.

Altogether, the various configurations and improvements to devices function to enhance trust, assure data integrity, and increase the overall strength of the blockchain’s dependability due to a fully secured hardware solution. Importantly, the securing the devices should be understood on a spectrum of development: some client companies and products will not require maximum security, others may do.

Objective Fully Networked:

Network communication among IoT devices is a crucial component for device communication, and for improving data precision. In short, the smart devices, containers, and gateways designed by the InnoLab can be designed to form ‘Mesh Networks’ whereby the devices can communicate and interact with one another to validate data and enhance data quality before transmitting only the most accurate data to AMB-NET. Such discussions between devices are particularly ideal for stationary monitoring whereby multiple sensors can be attached to a single locale to guarantee a range of data values. Importantly, the InnoLab innovates upon device networking, in order to allow for both wired and wireless discussion between devices. A maximally ‘networked’ system operates as its own side chain: hundreds of thousands of sensor readings of data are pre-processed and validated by central gateways before it is sent to AMB-NET. Innovative networking ultimately brings intelligence into the system and effectively creates smart supply chains.

Objective Fully Autonomous:

Devices capable of storing large amounts of data on their own, notifying a central gateway in the event of tampering, or those able to monitor other devices as an increased security measure, can all be understood to be autonomous. Device autonomy combines edge sensing with memory and computational capabilities to make intelligent decisions without the oversight of any human actor.

Innovating upon a device or container in order to make it fully autonomous often times involves big data analytics and artificial intelligence: it is about configuring devices to do more than just sense, monitor or transact data. As such, autonomous devices possess the capability of measuring features of their environment, logging or processing such information, and eventually acting upon the information as a form of independent decision making (Machine Learning). Fully autonomous devices are made to be artificially intelligent, in such a manner where they require minimal guidance and oversight, and can eventually respond to a system malfunction, sensing defect, or gateway failure in an efficient manner.

Objective Fully Printed:

In order to maximize the integration of Ambrosus solutions into client company logistics systems, the InnoLab specializes in developing cutting edge printing systems for both active and passive chips, to be implemented in smart packages and even the packaging of products themselves. More specifically, the InnoLab is capable of Role-to-Role (R2R) printing, 3D printing, and electro-circuit moulding of tags, chips, sensors, batteries and codes onto and inside of packaging. In doing this, the traceability and security of products becomes integrated and cheap, while new opportunities for sensing individual units of products becomes possible.

In terms of the applicability of such innovation, the products and devices that are custom created for client companies always leverage one or more of the four central research objectives of the InnoLab. Not only does such innovation contribute to a burdening patent portfolio, but even more important is the fact that all such devices and products are designed for very practical use cases. Ultimately, the various innovation directions should be read in light of the underlying philosophy of the Innovation and Applications Laboratory: building things that make sense.

Industrial Partnerships:

To better understand the functional process of tech development at the InnoLab, a map of how a product is made for a client or custom designed from the InnoLab is provided below.

As the map demonstrates, products are originally sourced from what exists on the shelf and need to be improved, or from what a client company requests to be monitored for a specific supply chain solution. Once a product idea has been attained, a design is then created as a blueprint for the product in question. Based upon this blueprint, a select number of devices are made so as to test and tweak the product as it continues to be developed and configured. In parallel to the process by which the product is effectively developed to fulfill its pre-designed function, a provisional patent is obtained for up to a year, in order to allow for additional changes. Once the product is completely developed, it can beofficially patented and submitted for industry approval by a relevant authority. In the final stage the product is outsourced to a manufacturing partner of Ambrosus, through which the product can be reproduced on an industrial scale.

During the process as a whole, Ambrosus has developed a number of industrial partnerships with patent companies, universities, manufacturers, and IoT specialists. Among others the publicly disclosable partnerships include:

Importantly, many of these partnerships have been formed for specific purposes that directly suit the needs of the Innovation Laboratory (i.e. for IoT device creation, security, and design).

Team Members:

A highly skilled team of experts has been acquired for the ambitious objectives set forth by the InnoLab. Totaling over 10 people full time, the InnoLab is consistently the source of research, patenting, and the designing of practical applications to be used with a client company.

Importantly, due to the multi-faceted nature of the InnoLab, it sits inbetween many different research areas: biosensing, machine learning, big data analytics, software development, hardware engineering, and applications design (among others). As such, the various team members of the InnoLab must be versatile and capable in numerous fields, and such requirements are often times difficult to find all in one person. A broad outline of the various skills and expertise that is required from the laboratory team members include: Bio-sensing, Internet of Things (IoT), Electronic Circuit Engineering, Food Science, Software Engineering, Supply Chain Management Systems, and Web Application Engineers. As a unique space for highly qualified and motivated individuals, the Ambrosus Innovation Laboratory is well equipped for the task of building the supply chains of the future.

Future Outlook for the Ambrosus InnoLab:

In less than year, the Ambrosus Innovation Laboratory has created a number of partnerships, hired a number of highly skilled individuals, and successfully created a number of smart devices to be used for practical application in modern day supply chains. The future growth and development of the Innovation Laboratory will ultimately allow Ambrosus to widen its applicability of supply chain solutions in terms of its scope and depth: Ambrosus solutions will not only be optimal for collecting real-time data, but they will also be secured, autonomous, networked, and printed in eco-friendly ways. For future smart farms, smart cities, and smart supply chains, Ambrosus stands as a uniquely positioned ‘one-size fits all’ solution.