Singapore-based Emass, a subsidiary of Australian firm Nanoveu, is collaborating with Bosch Sensortec to develop an intelligent asset-tracking reference design that combines sensing with low-power edge AI.

Emass specialises in efficient edge AI semiconductor technology. The jointly developed platform enables battery-powered asset trackers to process data locally and transmit only meaningful events instead of continuous streams of raw sensor data, delivering richer contextual insights while reducing power consumption.

This reference design makes it possible to track not only the location of assets when GPS is not available, but also environmental conditions during shipping. This makes it practical to track a much wider variety of assets, including cold-chain shipments, industrial equipment and tools, and high-value electronics.

Unlike conventional asset-tracking systems that continuously activate sensors and require frequent wireless transmissions, the reference design uses event-driven AI to determine when sensing, processing and connectivity resources are actually needed.

The reference design is based on the Emass ECS-DoT edge AI SoC (system-on-chip), which is singularly capable of orchestrating multimodal sensor inputs while remaining within the power budget of a coin-cell battery. By combining information from multiple sensing technologies, the platform runs edge AI models that continuously evaluate how an asset is moving, where it is located, how it is being handled and whether the cargo remains in good condition. This intelligent orchestration increases battery life while reducing connectivity costs.

“Developers have long faced a trade-off between intelligence and battery life in asset-tracking systems,” said Mark Goranson, CEO of Emass. “Our collaboration with Bosch Sensortec demonstrates that those compromises are no longer necessary. By processing information where it’s created and transmitting only meaningful events, this reference design gives developers a blueprint for building a new generation of smarter, longer-lasting tracking devices.”

The reference architecture integrates the ECS-DoT SoC with five Bosch sensors covering motion, environmental, magnetic, pressure and gas sensing technologies. The event-driven architecture enables continuous sensing and AI inference at low power, activating higher-power resources such as wireless communications and GPS only when meaningful events are detected. Designed as a configurable platform, the architecture can be adapted for warehouse logistics, cold-chain monitoring, high-value asset protection, industrial IoT and other battery-powered tracking applications.

“By combining Bosch Sensortec’s advanced sensing technologies with the Emass ECS-DoT edge computing platform, we’re demonstrating how context-aware sensor orchestration and edge AI can deliver richer insights while minimising power consumption,” said Marcellino Gemelli, director of business development at German firm Bosch Sensortec (www.bosch-sensortec.com). “By intelligently activating sensing, processing and connectivity resources only when needed, the solution transforms raw sensor data into actionable events, enabling smarter, more sustainable and highly configurable asset tracking across a wide range of logistics and industrial applications.”

The reference design is available for evaluation. To learn more, visit nanoveu.com/emass/products.