Last week the GS1 Connect conference came to San Diego. Speakers included auto-ID leaders from Mc Donald’s, Wendy’s and Chipotle. It reminded us of one of our favorite conversations with Melanie Nuce, SVP at GS1, a fascinating person who happens to be a leader at the standards body that is responsible for almost all of the bar codes and data encoded on the products we see everyday. 300,000 companies across 25 industries turn to GS1 for guidance. GS1 is a not-for-profit global stan...
Jun 14, 2022•50 min•Ep 153•Transcript available on Metacast Logistics is pivotal in shaping modern business operations. As businesses compete and deal with supply chain disruption this is driving some fascinating new technologies and systems. For technologists that seek to embed their technology into the arteries of modern supply chains, it’s important to understand the problems and trends that are driving the adoption of these latest technologies. In this episode we talk to a journalist who is completely focused on logistics, the trends, and...
May 31, 2022•34 min•Ep 152•Transcript available on Metacast This week we talk with the leader of the lab that is at the heart of RFID and Auto-ID, about tags in outer space and on the ocean floor. We learn about Auburn University’s pivotal relationship with the giants of retail, aerospace and the biggest vendors of the technologies that are bringing the digital and physical worlds together. Justin Patton is the Director of the Auburn University RFID Lab, a research institute focusing on the business case and technical implementation of emerging technolog...
May 17, 2022•51 min•Ep 151•Transcript available on Metacast What’s going to happen to the world when the Internet explodes by a factor of 100 times, from billions to trillions of things? Steve talks with a friend of the show, and Deloitte’s Chief Futurist, Robert Schmid, to explore when this change will happen, where the opportunities lie, and how to take advantage of what will be a disruptive revolution in the IoT. We also discuss the prospects for the retail industry and what it must do to survive as we move into an ever more connected world. Hosted on...
May 03, 2022•36 min•Ep 150•Transcript available on Metacast This week we switch things up as Steve puts his Wiliot hat on and shines a light on the inside story of Wiliot’s initiative to democratize access to its revolutionary Internet of Everyday things technology. Sitting on the other side of the virtual interview table and asking the questions is Robert Schmid, Deloitte’s Chief Futurist, otherwise known as Mr IoT. We’ll talk about Wiliot’s starter kit and what comes inside the box. Clearly $500 for the kit goes a long way for business leaders looking ...
Apr 19, 2022•25 min•Ep 149•Transcript available on Metacast This week we are joined by Mattan David, the UK Managing Director of Digipal, an innovator in the next generation of plastic pallets. We discuss how sustainable plastic pallets - as well as trackable ones - are game-changers. Years of coping with the limits of RFID tracking - clumsily monitoring movement as pallets enter and leave storage facilities - is being replaced by the superpower of Bluetooth tracking? Learn how this newer technology will transform the way Digipal - and others - kee...
Apr 05, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep 148•Transcript available on Metacast We are thrilled that George Anderson - the all-seeing, all-knowing Editor-in-Chief of Retail Wire - will be sharing his often unexpected wisdom on the impact of Covid-19 on the retail economy. Of course, the supply chain implications are profound, which brings us around to the IoT. Given that the pandemic has accelerated everything - collapsing five years into one, as the cliche goes - how will the supply chain demonstrate "automation acceleration"? Hosted on Acast. See acast...
Mar 22, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep 147•Transcript available on Metacast This week we have a very special guest, the CEO of Wiliot Tal Tamir. We’ll talk about Wiliot’s latest release, which includes new versions of their IoT Pixel tags (battery-free, postage stamp sized computers), and version 2.0 of their cloud service, designed to scale the IoT 100x, from billions to trillions of intelligent connected everyday things. These technologies are primed to disrupt the IoT and make it much easier for companies to not only track things that were previously offline, b...
Mar 08, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep 146•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Mr. Beacon Podcast we’re talking with the CEO of Blyott, Gery Pollet. Healthcare is one of the most lucrative markets for asset tracking solutions, but how do you crack it? Gery reveals his company’s approach and tells the story of how he figured out the secret. We go deep on the importance of asset tracking in the medical space. Covering the best tools for keeping track of both expensive equipment, as well as consumables. Tackling the challenges healthcare providers face today....
Feb 22, 2022•44 min•Ep 145•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Mr. Beacon Podcast we’re talking with Brielle Jaekel, who is the Managing Editor of Supply and Demand Chain Executive, and host of the L.I.N.K. podcast. She has a lot of insight on the current issues with the supply chain. How can innovations in the IoT help? We talk about this, as well as the environmental implications, tech company visibility, and much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 08, 2022•50 min•Ep 144•Transcript available on Metacast This week we get to know Russian indoor location and Indoor Positioning System vendor of 10 years standing Navigine. We're joined by the CEO, Alexey Panyov, and partnership manager, Margarita Vlasova. They've adopted an open source strategy, giving away some of the most valuable software assets they have developed. We learn why they did it and some surprising benefits. Songs mentioned by the guests are here below. Margarita: Reasons by Minnie Riperton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOOgY6CN6Xc&...
Jan 25, 2022•46 min•Ep 143•Transcript available on Metacast Can you guess what the world's largest indoor location services platform is? Cisco’s DNA Spaces platform handles over 1 trillion location updates from 1 million access points deployed across 120,000 locations worldwide, so it is a serious contender for this title. The strategic implications of a giant like Cisco building a services platform like this impacts the entire ecosystem of customers and vendors that are in adjacent and overlapping spaces. This week we’re taking a look back at the...
Jan 11, 2022•48 min•Ep 142•Transcript available on Metacast From the leading journalist and podcaster on IoT – Host of The Internet of Things Podcast, Stacey Higginbotham introduces us to Sidewalk, Matter and the subject of IoT interoperability. Plus, we have a lively discussion on privacy and Stacey’s predictions on the future of the IoT industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 28, 2021•35 min•Ep 141•Transcript available on Metacast This week we speak with one of the leaders in indoor navigation, Pointr sales leader Paul Dupont, who shares how their platform has evolved over the past 5 years, the use cases that are taking off and insights into the issues that buyers should be aware of before investing into Indoor Positioning Systems. Plus, we share some advanced information on Wiliot’s new Starter Kit, which now makes their Internet of Everyday things technology available to Everyone for the first time. Hosted ...
Dec 14, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep 140•Transcript available on Metacast Supply chain issues are impacting our business and personal lives. They are also a major driver of IoT projects. This week we’re talking with Bob Trebilcock, who is the editorial director at Supply Chain Management Review, about the current state of the supply chain, where it is failing, and how it will evolve moving forward. We also talk about omni channel supply chain, which companies are using it currently, as well as which companies are falling by the wayside. And towards the end...
Nov 09, 2021•54 min•Ep 139•Transcript available on Metacast This week we’re talking with Bryan Merckling, CEO of Thinaer, about the tools and methods that companies like his are implementing which are helping to bring true scale to the IoT space. This is helping businesses take a good idea and bring it to life profitably. We cover everything from tags to robots in an effort to roll back the curtain on how companies like Thinaer are bringing asset tracking to businesses as a turnkey service. Also, how is a technology like RFID stacking up against newer im...
Oct 12, 2021•50 min•Ep 137•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’re talking with Ramesh Kesanupalli, who is the Co-Founder of the Accountable Digital Identity Association (ADIA), about the benefits of a single digital identity for accessing all accounts over the internet. Not only is this a much easier way to access all your accounts, it is also far more secure, preventing fraud and bringing accountability to the real world. Listen along as we discuss various aspects of cybersecurity, current authentication technologies like FIDO, and much more. We e...
Sep 28, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep 136•Transcript available on Metacast This episode we’re talking with Andy Ward, who is the Co-Founder and CTO of Ubisense, about various technologies from ultra wideband, to bluetooth, machine vision and many more, which his company utilizes within car manufacturing factories to automate the assembly line process. Listen as we discuss these various technologies, old and new, and how in combination they have the chance to change the manufacturing process from top to bottom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...
Sep 14, 2021•58 min•Ep 135•Transcript available on Metacast This week we’ve brought on Tim Debus, who is the President and CEO of The Reusable Packaging Association, to talk about the various benefits businesses can realize when they turn to sustainable, reusable packaging. Tim’s focus is on transportation and distribution packaging (such as bins, crates, etc.), which is an area primed for disruption and improvement. Combined with auto-ID technology, reusable packaging is sure to change the supply chain industry as a whole, making the experience better (...
Aug 31, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Ep 134•Transcript available on Metacast This week we’re talking about the circular economy and the process of making fashion more sustainable with auto-ID technology. We’ve brought on Tom Cridland, who is a fashion designer, podcaster, and musician who has created a new clothing line with a 30-year guarantee in order to promote more sustainability in the fashion and clothing space. We discuss the impact of auto-ID in the fashion industry, and how Bluetooth tags in clothing could be implemented to improve supply chains as well as creat...
Aug 17, 2021•58 min•Ep 133•Transcript available on Metacast For this week's episode on branding in the IoT space, we have Adam Hanft on the show to share some of his strategic findings from working in the branding arena for the last several decades. Adam has a creative director background, working at many agencies as an advertiser, and has worked with the likes of Alan Kay ("If You See Something, Say Something"), and even Barack Obama with the "get out the vote" campaign. The truth is, there is no industry or category of business that can avoid the need ...
Aug 03, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Ep 132•Transcript available on Metacast This week we will hear a unique perspective. Our guest is from Minew, a Chinese company that has focused on the IoT field for more than a decade, both manufacturing their own products and acting as the hardware supplier for many other Bluetooth beacons and tag brands. They have seen the Bluetooth beacon market from its birth and have collaborated with many notable corporations, including Alibaba, Google, Here, and Huawei. Eason Huang joins us from China to discuss the demand for IoT today, where...
Jun 30, 2021•31 min•Ep 131•Transcript available on Metacast Can you guess what the world's largest indoor location services platform is? Cisco’s DNA Spaces platform handles over 1 trillion location updates from 1 million access points deployed across 120,000 locations worldwide, so it is a serious contender for this title. The strategic implications of a giant like Cisco building a services platform like this impacts the entire ecosystem of customers and vendors that are in adjacent and overlapping spaces. This week we have the opportunity to...
May 27, 2021•45 min•Ep 130•Transcript available on Metacast Every day, Kontakt.io ’s products touch millions of people in shopping malls, office buildings, and hospitals. With devices in over 50 airports, it likely that many of us have departed and arrived at once equipped with Kontakt.io ! This week we are excited to have Rom Eizenberg, Chief Revenue Officer and an industry veteran with 15+ years of experience in IoT, on the podcast. It has been three years since Kontakt.io ’s last appearance on the podcast, and Rom is here to sh...
May 04, 2021•50 min•Ep 129•Transcript available on Metacast What is the state of IoT on the high seas? What can those of us on dry land learn from the evolution of this business we all depend on? A lot has changed in the past year, and the shipping industry has been no stranger to the effects of COVID-19. Sam Jha joins us back on the podcast after his debut in 2017 to share how the shipping industry has been evolving and what Alpha Ori is doing to enable transparency, analytics and increase productivity. Join us this week to hear about Ship Op...
Apr 20, 2021•42 min•Ep 128•Transcript available on Metacast Do you know the global language of business? The language of Unique Product Codes (UPCs) that identify products and companies for sale in stores and major online marketplaces? This language enables barcodes, playing to the beat of 6 million scans a day, all over the world. This week we sit down with Melanie Nuce, SVP Corporate Development at GS1 US , to learn why more than 300,000 companies across 25 industries turn to GS1 for guidance. GS1 is a not-for-profit global standards organizatio...
Mar 23, 2021•48 min•Ep 127•Transcript available on Metacast For the first time on the Mr. Beacon Podcast, we have put the rubber to the road and experimented with a solution internally before sitting down for the interview. This week, we are happy to welcome Nathan Dunn, CEO of BlueCats , back on the podcast to discuss the experience of deploying their contact tracing solution in our local Wiliot office. The BlueCats solution is both preventative and reactive in nature, by warning users to keep a safe distance while providing a tracing system to warn use...
Mar 09, 2021•50 min•Ep 126•Transcript available on Metacast What does it mean to ‘modernize your supply chain’? To Digimarc, it involves moving beyond the conventional barcode to an imperceptible data carrier, the Digimarc barcode, that can be repeated many times on packaging without spoiling the appearance. Digimarc is helping businesses across many industries solve for brand protection, sustainability, and traceability. Their digital identity can be applied to material and media of all kinds, including packaging, labels, audio, fabric, and more. We wel...
Feb 18, 2021•48 min•Ep 125•Transcript available on Metacast How is it ‘that virtually every person on the face of the earth has the ability to scan a barcode in their pocket’? Success in IoT depends on understanding how the ecosystem operates. Auto-ID is a building block at the heart of IoT and AIM is the industry group that defines auto-ID standards. It does the things that companies on their own, even giants, can’t achieve. This week we have a peek inside AIM. For ‘nearly half a century, it has provided unbiased information, education...
Feb 04, 2021•50 min•Ep 124•Transcript available on Metacast The next time you buy a product, a purse or a pair of shoes, imagine the capabilities that could be unlocked if it were really a platform. The purse could digitally verify its own authenticity, your shoes could seamlessly share the story of their design and origins. ‘Product to Platform’ is the transformation Blue Bite have been enabling: A new way of engaging customers throughout the entire product lifecycle to protect the brand, tell its story, and enable new product commerce oppor...
Jan 19, 2021•45 min•Ep 123•Transcript available on Metacast 
