Enterprise Ambient IoT Enabled by Rigado and Wiliot Partnership, Unlocking New Use Cases for Retail Stores and Creating Granularity for In-Transit Asset Tracking

Enterprise Internet of Things (IoT) network provider Rigado recently partnered with Wiliot, with a focus on enabling and bringing Wiliot’s ambient IoT solution to the retail enterprise. The partnership combines Rigado’s edge solutions with Wiliot’s battery-free tags, and allows companies to connect the Wiliot IoT Pixels to its cloud-based Visibility Platform via Rigado Edge Connect, deployable on both new and existing IoT gateways.

Rigado provides the edge infrastructure necessary to support IoT solutions tracking and monitoring assets, offering “Edge-as-a-Service” with its Cascade solution that includes IoT gateways, secure application platform, tools for edge monitoring, and a managed service for delivering security updates. Rigado’s infrastructure ensures the Wiliot IoT Pixels are connected continuously across the network, enabling a continued stream of data to the cloud for real-time tracking and asset status monitoring.

Since being founded in 2017, Wiliot has pioneered in the field of ambient IoT, gradually bringing the cost of tags down to open more applications at increasingly granular levels. Wiliot has found success in industries that typically operate on very strict margins, such as grocery and retail, a credit to the scale and reduction in cost of the technology. In 2023, the company shipped over 100 million of its IoT Pixels.

Combining Rigado’s edge offering and Wiliot’s solution brings some notable benefits for deploying IoT at an enterprise level:

• Achieving a true Real-Time Location System (RTLS) requires multiple bridge connections that harness the data from the Wiliot Pixels as they move. Rigado supports companies in developing their IoT capabilities when connectivity is limited, as often retailers will have too few Wi-Fi Access Points (APs) to receive information from bridges.
• Rigado also has a container-based option that can work with Wi-Fi AP providers, meaning the system can run on existing edge devices, so companies can remain flexible when deploying the necessary base infrastructure. Rigado also provides the necessary management of edge devices in terms of monitoring, security, and updates.
• Rigado’s solutions for in-transit asset tracking through fleet telematics pairs well with Wiliot’s solution to enable more granular monitoring of goods on the move. The significant increase in connected vehicles marks a significant growth area for ambient IoT solutions.
• With effective bridge and gateway infrastructure, ambient IoT can be connected with other technologies such as Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs). This type of connection can enable use cases such as stock-to-light, through which an ESL will light up based on the product that is being restocked on a shelf.

Partnerships with complementary technology providers have always been top of mind and are essential for ambient IoT to be brought to more companies and industries at an enterprise level. It’s not difficult for companies to see the benefit of being able to track and monitor all their assets in real time, but most have lacked the necessary devices at each stage of their supply chain to capture and process the available data, something the Rigado and Wiliot partnership is directly resolving. As such solutions grow in the market, both providers and implementers must take note of the following trends to ensure IoT value is maximized:

• Data Management and Access: Translating data into actionable insights and ensuring access to the data is simple for all levels of the business is essential for implementers to gain value out of their tracking technology. Data should also be channeled effectively into broader supply chain applications such as control towers and demand planning systems so that the insights from a retail store, for example, can be leveraged by upstream stakeholders to improve supply.
• Facilitate Tangible Uses of AI: AI is made up of a collection of capabilities and is increasingly being applied at the edge, as well as in the cloud, with the most value obtained when AI is orchestrated correctly across each layer. Enabling enterprise IoT via multiple edge devices and cloud capabilities requires careful consideration about how AI can be leveraged to deliver tangible value, and in a cost-effective way.
• Support and Innovate Connections with Adjacent Technologies: Retail stores are becoming cocktails of advanced technologies, with a notable increase in the use of ESLs, handheld devices, and autonomous fixed and mobile inventory scanning solutions. Connecting such solutions enables new use cases on top of their primary function, meaning that compatibility and partnerships between providers will be essential for market-leading vendors.