Cargometer wins Cargo Facts EMEA 2020 DEMOvation challenge

FRANKFURT – Austria-based freight-dimensioning company Cargometer beat out four other logistics technology startups to take home the top prize at this year’s Cargo Facts EMEA DEMOvation challenge on Feb. 5. The five startups presented live demos for audience polling and a final judging round conducted by air cargo industry professionals and members of the Cargo Facts editorial team.

Spain-based machine learning startup Allread MLT was the runner-up, and was selected by the audience to go head-to-head with Cargometer during the final judging round. The finalists were grilled about the state of their technology, and the potential value to air cargo.

Judges ultimately selected Cargometer for the solution’s use case for maximizing loads by making accurate weight and volume available in real-time for air cargo shipments. In the winning presentation, CEO Bernhard Obermaier demonstrated how sensors mounted on terminal walls scan and measure cargo as it passes through a loading gate by forklift. Cargometer’s software then removes the forklift from the equation and provides weight and volume data, along with a 3D rendering for the load.

“For Cargometer, it was a great pleasure to be among carefully selected startups. The vote of the audience and of the judges, to elect us as the winner of the DEMOvation challenge is a big honor,” Obermaier said. “It clearly shows us that there is a need of our disruptive technology of dimensioning, weighing and identifying the freight seamlessly “on-the-fly” in the air cargo industry. Therefore, we will continue our efforts to spread our already proven technology in the LTL cargo business to the air cargo industry.”

Allread was a close second at the event, where Chief Operating Officer Adriaan Landman delivered a lesson in machine learning, showing how the startup’s software can train algorithms to accurately convert text into usable data. In recent years, Bluetooth and RFID-equipped tracking technologies have been integrated into high-end containers and Allread’s solution is seen as a low-cost alternative for tracking complete ULD fleets. Last year, the company was selected by IAG’s accelerator, Hangar 51, to participate in a ten-week application trial held at IAG Cargo’s Madrid hub. During the program, Allread trained its machine-learning software to recognize ULD containers and read container numbers with great accuracy, even when containers were scratched or dented.

The other companies competing in the DEMOvation Challenge included:

• Emu Analytics and the U.K.-based startup’s Flo.w platform, which generates real-time visual insights from data points;
• Stargo, an Israel-based digital platform that uses AI to generate price and route optimization solutions based on historical and real-time data; and
• Synfioo, a Germany-based startup that enables real-time supply chain visibility.