CargoAssist: Hybrid Communication Approach for Cargo Monitoring and Anomaly Detection

Cargo monitoring is essential for ensuring the safety and integrity of transported goods in maritime logistics. Traditional monitoring systems rely on wired communication, which is inflexible and costly. The CargoAssist project introduces an advanced wireless communication system utilizing LoRa for lowpower, long-range data transmission and WiFi for high-rate local data exchange to enable real-time cargo condition monitoring onboard ships. Additionally, WiFi Mesh technology is employed to interconnect gateways, ensuring robust and self-healing network coverage across the ship. By combining these technologies, CargoAssist enhances data reliability, latency performance, and scalability, addressing the unique challenges posed by maritime environments. The project is currently in the development and evaluation phase, focusing on optimizing communication performance and system scalability. This paper outlines the ongoing work, and next steps toward a fully operational solution.