Determining item mortality based on tracked environmental conditions during transit

Abstract

Item mortality, such as failure rates and expected remaining lifespan, may be determined based on tracked environmental conditions during transit, such as vibration, temperature, and other conditions. For complex items, multiple different internal components may have varying degrees of susceptibility to damage from unfavorable conditions, with each of the components able to individually cause a failure of the entire item. Thus, the specific set of internal components may drive item mortality prediction. Sensors may be located in shipping containers that share data collected throughout the supply chain, using a blockchain, to increase confidence in the integrity of the data. The use of mortality models generated with anonymized component or process data may enable manufacturers to protect trade secrets, such as the specific components or manufacturing processes used, even while leveraging the manufacturer's detailed knowledge of an item.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for determining item mortality based on tracked environmental conditions during transit implemented on at least one processor, the system comprising:
 a processor; and   a computer-readable medium storing instructions that are operative when executed by the processor to:
 receive sensor data for environmental conditions experienced by an item during transit; 
 based at least on the received sensor data, determine mortality data for a first component of the item; 
 based at least on the received sensor data, determine mortality data for a second component of the item, different from the first component; 
 based at least on mortality data for the first component and mortality data for the second component, determine mortality data for the item; and 
 based at least on the mortality data for the item and disposition rules, generate a disposition recommendation for the item. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein receiving sensor data comprises receiving sensor data from a blockchain. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the sensor data comprises measurements from at least one sensor selected from the list consisting of:
 temperature, humidity, air pressure, condensation, salinity, CO2 level, time, shock, and vibration. 
 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the sensor data comprises measurements from at least two sensors selected from the list consisting of:
 temperature, humidity, air pressure, condensation, salinity, CO2 level, time, shock, and vibration. 
 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1  wherein determining mortality data for a component of the item comprises:
 comparing the received sensor data against a damage threshold to generate the mortality data. 
 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  wherein determining mortality data for a component of the item comprises:
 using the received sensor data in a mortality model to generate the mortality data. 
 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6  wherein the instructions are further operative to:
 generate the mortality model using a neural net trained with historical sensor data and historical mortality data. 
 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7  wherein generating the mortality model further comprises generating the mortality model using data for the first component and data for the second component. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7  wherein the instructions are further operative to:
 further train the neural net trained with the received sensor data. 
 
     
     
         10 . A method for determining item mortality based on tracked environmental conditions during transit implemented on at least one processor, the method comprising:
 receiving sensor data for environmental conditions experienced by an item during transit;   based at least on the received sensor data, determining mortality data for a first component of the item;   based at least on the received sensor data, determining mortality data for a second component of the item, different from the first component;   based at least on mortality data for the first component and mortality data for the second component, determining mortality data for the item; and   based at least on the mortality data for the item and disposition rules, generating a disposition recommendation for the item.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein receiving sensor data comprises receiving sensor data from a blockchain. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the sensor data comprises measurements from at least one sensor selected from the list consisting of:
 temperature, humidity, air pressure, condensation, salinity, CO2 level, time, shock, and vibration. 
 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the sensor data comprises measurements from at least two sensors selected from the list consisting of:
 temperature, humidity, air pressure, condensation, salinity, CO2 level, time, shock, and vibration. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10  wherein determining mortality data for a component of the item comprises:
 comparing the received sensor data against a damage threshold to generate the mortality data. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10  wherein determining mortality data for a component of the item comprises:
 using the received sensor data in a mortality model to generate the mortality data. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising:
 generating the mortality model using a neural net trained with historical sensor data and historical mortality data. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  wherein generating the mortality model further comprises generating the mortality model using data for the first component and data for the second component. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising:
 further training the neural net trained with the received sensor data. 
 
     
     
         19 . One or more computer storage devices having computer-executable instructions stored thereon for determining item mortality based on tracked environmental conditions during transit, which, on execution by a computer, cause the computer to perform operations comprising:
 receiving, from a blockchain, sensor data for environmental conditions experienced by an item during transit,   wherein the sensor data comprises measurements from at least two sensors selected from the list consisting of:
 temperature, humidity, air pressure, condensation, salinity, CO 2  level, time, shock, and vibration; 
   based at least on the received sensor data, determining mortality data for a first component of the item;   based at least on the received sensor data, determining mortality data for a second component of the item, different from the first component;   based at least on mortality data for the first component and mortality data for the second component, determining mortality data for the item; and   based at least on the mortality data for the item and disposition rules, generating a disposition recommendation for the item.   
     
     
         20 . The one or more computer storage devices of  claim 19   wherein determining mortality data for a component of the item comprises using the received sensor data in a mortality model to generate the mortality data,   and wherein the instructions further cause the computer to perform operations comprising:   generating the mortality model using a neural net trained with historical sensor data and historical mortality data and using data for the first component and data for the second component; and   further training the neural net trained with the received sensor data.